Reusable Bags Instead of Gift Bags

November 20th, 2008

Last month, I wrote about these bags over at Tree Hugging Family. They’re available through Whole Foods for only .99 cents and feature a special design by Sheryl Crow.

Well, like Sheryl Crow or not, that doesn’t change the fact that giving gifts inside reusable shopping bags is a smart choice. They cost about the same or less than a fancy paper bag, and they just might be a gift to the earth as well.

Of course you can’t force your gift recipient to use the bags for shopping, but they are sure to comment on the unique choice. That’s your chance to explain why you take your own bags to the store. I’ve found bags like this are also helpful in sorting recycling as well.

And the bag featured from Whole Foods is made of 80% post-consumer plastic bottles. So, not only it is saving plastic from being used, but it’s also keeping plastic bottles out of landfills!

Even if you don’t choose Whole Foods Market bags, I do hope you’ll consider wrapping your holiday gifts in recycled paper or reused fabric.

Previous gift wrap posts at Light Green Stairs:

The way we used to wrap gifts?
Catalog sheets as gift wrap
Do you hate to wrap gifts?
If you really want paper

Image via Whole Foods.

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My SIGG bottle

February 22nd, 2008

siggbottle.jpg

UPDATE: August 2009, SIGG bottles made prior to August 2008 contain trace amounts of BPA.

Isn’t it lovely? (Sorry about the glare on the photo. It’s so nice it shines.)

Since a main focus of this blog is sharing steps I take to be greener in my everyday life, I thought I’d tell you about my new best friend: My SIGG bottle. (It may seem like I’m bragging a little too much on this bottle, but I promise I did pay for it myself. This is my unbiased review.)

I stopped buying bottled water a few years ago. It’s too heavy, too expensive and too too wasteful.

What are the reasons people consume bottled water on a regular basis? (I understand the occasional emergency bottle.)

•Tap water doesn’t taste good.

•No handy water container to take on the go.

Here’s what I do: Continue reading »

The mighty sewing machine

October 12th, 2007

I’ve never had a desire or ability to sew, but I’m starting to feel a bit left out. If you can sew, your ability to reuse fabrics is limited only by your creativity.

I’m so bad when it comes to getting stains on my clothes. It’s usually food on shirts. It’s uncool to donate stained clothing to charity, but if you can sew you can magically remove the stain and turn the fabric into other things, like bags and scarves or dog toys.

Anyway, for you sewers out there, www.morsbags.com is a great site to visit. They encourage sewing parties to make reusable shopping bags out of old fabric. That sounds like fun!

Morsbags.com includes instructions on how to make morsbags as well as facts about the evils of plastic shopping bags. You can also send them photos of your creations.

I wonder, will this finally inspire me to sew?