Eco-Friendly Products

In a town where fashion trends are defined and are as fleeting as the next “Sex in the City” shoe style, it seems that many of the celebrities these days are choosing fashion accessories in “green.” Check out hot young stars like Vanessa Minnillo, Molly Sims, Hilary Swank or Jessica Biel; all of whom have been spotted wearing the latest in “green” bag designs.

It's a sign of the times, or for those of us who were children of the sixties and seventies, it's deja vu all over again. But however you see it, it's become fashionable once again to be environmentally conscious, or in today's terms “thinking green."  And this isn't a bad thing!

“Green” is a new term currently being used to loosely encompass all things having to do with environmental consciousness and sustainability; what we are doing today and tomorrow that impacts our environment. These days, buildings, companies and even cities “go green,” meaning they are being built or are utilizing systems or technologies that embrace environmentally friendly and sustainable practices and principles. Decreasing the emission of greenhouse gases (atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect), decreasing the amount of water pollution, decreasing the amount of refuse in landfills, preserving natural areas and forest land, reusing and recycling are all topics and issues now encompassed in the term “green."

As is often the case when people are faced with subjects of such magnitude, it's hard to know what to do, individually, to help and contribute on a personal basis. One way that people have found to do so is by utilizing reusable grocery bags.

Plastic bags became a way of life for shoppers to transport their purchases in the 1970's, and soon replaced the use of paper bags. While completely reliable statics are not easy to obtain, the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) states that 380 billion plastic sacks, wraps, and bags are consumed in the United States alone each year. Figures from the country of China indicate that 3 billion plastic bags are used each day in that country. The problem is that plastic bags are not environmentally friendly, and they have a huge negative impact on our environment. Plastic bags are not biodegradable, (able to be broken down in a process that would turn them back to a natural, environmentally friendly state) but are instead “photodegradable” where they break down and degrade into small, toxic pieces which can then be ingested by animals, clog waterways and contaminate the soil.

Reusable bags are a simple means for individuals to do our part in helping to combat the huge problem of lessening our toxic waste, and the adverse environmental impact of our daily lives. So the next time you decide to go shopping, do what the “fashionistas” do – grab a cloth bag, sling it over you're shoulder, channel Sarah Michelle Gellar and “Go Green!"