Eco-Friendly Products

Review of "Reusable Bag with Heart Print" available from ReusableBagsDepot.com

This is a fantastic reusable shopping bag that will be very functional for any buyer. The heart print is nice looking and is subtle enough to not draw a ton of attention. The red background is vibrant and overall the bag is very attractive. The lightweight, rip-stop material will not rip (hence "rip-stop") and is very strong. I loaded this thing up with my heaviest grocery items (milk, laundry detergent, and a 2 liter bottle of soda) as well as a few miscellaneous items and the bag performed like a champ. The long handles make it easy to sling a full bag over your shoulder, freeing your hands for other things like opening doors and holding you child's hand. The bag also comes with a nice little pouch that the bag easily packs in to when not in use. This sets the bag apart from other reusable bags I've seen, such as the ones sold at most grocers. The little pouch is barely bigger than a deck of cards and easily fits in a purse or glove compartment to ensure you never forget your bag. The light weight of the bag makes it convenient to carry with you during even the longest trip to the mall.

ReusableBagsDepot.com has a variety of bags available if the "Heart Print" isn't your style.  They have bags themed for kids and adults alike.  All of their current selection is similar to the bag reviewed here in the material, construction, and features.

The amount of energy consumed during the life cycle of a reusable bag varies according to the material it is made from. A good way to find out how much energy it takes to produce a reusable bag is to find a life cycle assessment of the material it contains. Comparing cotton and polyester, for example, reveals that cotton uses less energy during its life cycle than polyester, though cotton consumes more water and emits more CO2. According to Sustainability-Ed.org, 1 kg of cotton fabric requires 140.1 mega joules (MJ) of energy during a two-year life cycle (which includes 12 washes), while 1 kg of polyester uses 171.5 MJ. A medium-weight cotton or polyester tote weighs about 8-10 oz., or between 0.2 and 0.3 kg, so these figures represent the two-year life cycles of about four reusable bags.

Compared to any type of disposable bag, both cotton and polyester bags consume less energy if used regularly for two years in place of disposable bags. According to a life cycle analysis conducted by the American Chemistry Council, the life cycle of 1,500 polyethylene plastic bags consumes 763 MJ of energy. In a two year period, the average American uses about 660 plastic bags, consuming about 336 MJ. At 140.1 MJ for cotton and 171.5 MJ for polyester, four reusable bags consume about one half the energy of disposable polyethylene over the course of two years. If eight bags are used for two years, reusable polyester bags consume slightly more energy than disposable polyethylene, and cotton bags still consume considerably less. If reusable bags made from recycled or second-hand materials are used, a great deal of energy can be saved from the fiber production process. According to a life cycle assessment published in “Resources Conservation and Recycling” comparing reused and recycled textiles with those processed from virgin material, the energy involved in preparing used cotton garments for reuse is only 2.6% that involved in making new cotton garments, and for polyester the figure is 1.8%.
The difference in energy consumption between reusable and disposable bags is more extreme when comparing reusable bags with paper or compostable plastic. According to the American Chemistry Council, paper bags consume 2,622 MJ during the life cycle 1,000 bags, which have approximately the same carrying capacity as 1,500 plastic bags. If we use the same carrying capacity of paper in place of plastic, over the course of two years we consume about 1155 MJ— nearly seven times the energy of four reusable polyester bags and over eight times that of four cotton bags. If we use compostable bags, we consume about 912 MJ, over five times the energy of four reusable polyester bags and about 6.5 times the energy of four reusable cotton bags. If eight reusable shopping bags are used in place of either of these disposables for two years, we still use considerably less energy.

Plastics make up a large portion of marine debris, the trash that finds its way to the ocean primarily from land sources, polluting water and decimating wildlife populations. Some sources of marine debris are runoff from coastal landfills, litter, sewage overflows, storm-drain discharges and industrial activities. According to a Greenpeace report entitled “Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans,” of the 6.4 million tons of trash that reach the ocean every year, 60-80% consists of plastics. Plastic bags make up a sizable portion of this garbage. A 1993-94 study of the seafloor around the coasts of Italy, France and Spain published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin found 77% of the debris to be plastic, of which 92.8% were plastic bags. We can greatly ameliorate the problem of marine debris by using reusable bags instead of plastic.

While the amount of trash in the ocean is difficult to quantify, a 2006 study by the United Nations Environment Program estimated an average of 18,000 pieces of floating plastic garbage per square kilometer of ocean. According to Greenpeace, the North Pacific Gyre between Hawaii and California (also known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”) hosts an estimated average of 334,271 pieces of litter per square kilometer, and in some places the density is nearly one million pieces per square kilometer. Most of this floating debris consists of plastic films, plastic fragments and fishing line. According to a 2001 study conducted by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, plastic fragments in the North Pacific Gyre outweigh surface zooplankton by six times. So much litter converges in the North Pacific Gyre because clockwise ocean currents prevent it from floating back to the mainland.

When plastics find their way to the ocean in such quantities, the effect on marine life is devastating. The biggest problems plastics cause for many species are entanglement, starvation and intoxication from chemicals in the plastic. Ingestion of plastics is particularly destructive for many species of sea turtles, marine birds and mammals because plastics photodegrade, breaking down into microscopic pieces and making it impossible for animals to avoid ingesting them. Animals may also mistake pieces of floating plastic for prey. According to Greenpeace, studies on dead sea turtles in 2002 revealed ingestion of marine debris in 56%-79% of the animals. Ingestion of plastic has also been linked to an increased mortality rate in albatross chick populations. When an animal ingests marine debris such as plastic bags, their digestive tract can become clogged, they may stop eating due to an artificial feeling of fullness, or their bodies may incorporate harmful chemicals from the plastics. Small pieces of plastic can act as sponges for persistent organic pollutants such as PCBs and various pesticides, which can cause cancers and reproductive problems. These effects can transfer to humans who consume marine animals. It is imperative both for our own health and for that of marine life that we reduce our waste, particularly our consumption of plastic, by turning to environmentally sound products such as reusable shopping bags.

Much attention has been paid to the environmental and economic benefits that exist when it comes to using reusable bags, and the truth is that there are many, but there are also other advantages to reducing your use of disposable bags.

Reusable bags reduce waste not only in landfills, on the ground, and in the ocean, but also around our houses, in our cars and in our yards. Our drawers and cabinets need not be overflowing with plastic bags that we can’t get rid of fast enough, and we shouldn’t need to clean them out of our hedges and gutters.

Sturdy reusable bags are not dangerous to small children, and there is no need to worry about letting children play with them or leaving one in the room with a crawling baby. These bags are versatile and can be used to carry many items besides groceries. They can be used as school bags and for library books; they can be taken to the beach, on picnics, on airplanes, road-trips, overnight trips and on countless other outings.

Reusable bags can be personalized, decorated and express a fashion statement. If we don’t want to be walking advertisements for grocery or retail stores when carrying our purchases, we don’t have to be.

Often, reusable grocery bags pay for themselves when we add up the discounts we receive from many stores by carrying them.

Above all, many reusable bags are durable, high-quality products that last for years. With all of these personal benefits on top of environmental, why not take the next step toward an environmentally conscious lifestyle and regularly use reusable bags?

Though recycling may seem like an easy solution to disposable bag waste, there are negative as well as positive environmental consequences of recycling both paper and plastic bags. Because both paper and plastics become weaker through the recycling process, they can only be recycled a limited number of times, each time being downgraded to a different consistency. Plastic bags, bottles and other products may eventually become carpet or building materials that themselves cannot be recycled. Ultimately, even our recycled paper and plastic bags will end up in a landfill. In the long term we can help to reduce this waste by using reusable grocery bags and containers.

The recycling process requires a lot of energy and water, sometimes more than it is worth for the end products. Recycling paper bags requires more energy than plastic. According to the US EPA, it takes 91% more energy to recycle a pound of paper than a pound of plastic bags. However, plastic bags are less likely to be recycled than paper, with only 1-3% being recycled compared with 10-15% of paper bags. While recycling plastic bags uses less energy than recycling paper, it is also not a simple solution. Plastic bags cannot be recycled with other plastics because they can jam the recycling facility’s machines. They have to be brought instead to grocery store collection centers for recycling, which, according to the Wall Street Journal, only about 10% of consumers bother to do.

Plastic bags are also not very economical to recycle. According to Jared Blumenfeld, director of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment, it costs $4,000 to recycle one ton of plastic bags, the products of which can then be sold for $32. While in the short term recycling plastic bags may be more environmentally sound than throwing them away, it is by no means a sustainable solution. Instead, make a habit of carrying reusable bags.

Still using plastic bags?  You are out of style my friend!  Today's savvy shopper uses reusable shopping bags.

Why?  Maybe I don't want to be "trendy."

Trendy isn't the issue.  The real issue of using plastic bags is the financial burden, environmental damage and harm they are causing to wildlife.

In California alone, nearly 600 bags are used by consumers EVERY SECOND!  What happens to these bags?  They are mostly discarded.  It costs California tax payers nearly 8.5 million dollars a year to deal with plast bag litter.  Another $25 million is spent on landfilling the plastic bags.

Marine life suffers terribly with an estimated 267 different marine species being adversely affected by plastic bag debris.  Sea turtles often eat the bags because they look a bit like their favorite food:  jelly fish!  Others become tangled in the bags.  The bits and pieces are altering the ecosystem in that in some areas, the particles actually outnumber plankton 6:1!

Can't they be recycled?

Barely.  The cost of recycling plastic bags is enormous.  For example, the costs of recycling 1 ton of plastic bags is around $4000.  The return on investment?  $32 on the commodities market.  Quite a loss.

As a matter of fact, a growing trend is to ship the used plastic bags to countries such as India and China where the environmental laws are less stringent and the bags are incinerated.

Moreover, the mere production of plastic bags utilizes precious non-renewable resources as well as dangerous toxic chemicals.  We use an estimated 500,000,000,000 (don't bother with the zeros, that's 500 billion!) plastic bags yearly.  That amounts to around 1 million per MINUTE!

That's a lot of bags being produced.  That's a lot of bags to attempt to recycle.  And that's a lot of bags that end up all over the planet mucking up the environment!

The silliest part of all is that it's a super easy thing to fix.  Just stop using them!  Reuasble bags come in all sorts of colors and patterns.  Many stores offer them at a very low cost.  They are far sturdier.  You can pack more groceries into one reusable bag than you can a plastic bag which means less trips unloading groceries.

It's a trend that's worth following.  Do it to be trendy.  Do it for the cost effectiveness or practical sense.  Do it for the sea turtles and whales.  Do it for future generations.  I don't care why… just do it!

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month in the United States.  This month in your community is likely full of events focused on raising awareness about breast cancer.  Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer found in individuals worldwide and it effects men and women.  All this month, you'll see people walking around with pink ribbons on their shirts, cars, and various other places.  You'll probably see some signs posted around town and might even see some increased television coverage focusing on the topic of breast cancer awareness.

You can certainly participate in all of these activities and help support a good cause.  Another great way to promote breast cancer awareness, and help reduce the consumption of paper and plastic bags, is by carrying a breast cancer awareness shopping bag like the one pictured below.

Not only will you be doing your part to live a "Green" life, but you'll also do your part to live a "Pink" life.  The greatest thing about this reusable shopping bag is that it will continue to serve you and the environment well after the month of October.  Why just wear pink and support breast cancer awareness during one month of the year when you can do it all year long with this fashionable shopping bag?

What happens to paper and plastic bags in a landfill?

In the short term, nothing. Trash in a sanitary landfill is so isolated from air, water and soil that nothing in it can biodegrade very quickly. It can take up to 1,000 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade in a landfill, and even paper and food scraps can remain intact for decades. In a 1973 experiment known as “The Garbage Project” led by Tuscon archaeologist Dr. William Rathje, excavations of a landfill revealed legible 50-year-old newspapers and 25-year-old heads of lettuce still intact. Having a lot of trash that doesn’t biodegrade is a problem because we have a limited amount of landfill space. By consuming fewer disposable items and increasing our use of reusable products such as reusable shopping bags, we can help keep this problem from getting worse.

Another reason to avoid adding to landfills is that they emit methane gas, a contributor to global warming, and can leach toxic runoff into groundwater in spite of efforts to keep their contents separate. According to Greenpeace, runoff from coastal landfills is one source of estuary contamination and marine debris, which pollutes water and endangers wildlife. According to the US Energy Information Administration, plastics occupy 25% of landfill space in the US, while paper takes 30-35%. For the environment and for our health, it is best to reduce waste by using reusable containers and grocery bags. Some cities, such as Warwick, UK; Naples, Italy and San Francisco, CA are already confronting or anticipating maximum capacity in their landfills.

Landfills anywhere are costly to build and maintain, and must be monitored for decades after they close. Alternative waste disposal practices such as incineration and ocean disposal also have negative environmental consequences, namely air and water pollution and harm to wildlife. We can mitigate all of these costs of waste disposal simply by generating less of it. Remember to use reusable grocery bags!

Living green can save money and the planet.  In these economic times, we can all kill two birds with one stone!

1.  Use reusable bags! The savings is both indirect and direct.  Millions of tax dollars are spent on the disposal and recycling of plastic and paper bags each year.  The direct savings is two-fold:  1.  Many stores now offer a discount on your grocery bill when you use reusable grocery bags because they are saving themselves money spent on the disposable bags.  2.  Your more delicate items like bread, eggs, buns and glass bottles are more likely to make it home in proper shape (unless of course you like pre-scrambled eggs and smooshed bread).

2.  Change your light bulbs! Though the initial cost of CFLs (compact florescent lights) is higher than incandescent lighting, the energy savings and longevity of this switch far outweighs the few extra dollars spent.

3.  Avoid fast food and convenience foods. Fast food contributes to the gluttonous use of beef and the environmental impact that farming that beef has on the planet.  Both fast food and convenience foods use a lot of packaging which is also bad for the environment.  And of course, both are more expensive than dining on prepared meals at home.

4.  Walk! With today's gas prices, you can save loads by walking, biking, carpooling or taking public transportation.  Don't forget the savings on wear and tear of your vehicle as well!  Less use means less maintenance!

5.  Use a reel mower. You can improve the health of your lawn and water less when you use a reel mower.  Plus, you don't have to buy gas or oil for the mower.  Hey, if you have a lot of lawn to mow, you could even ditch the expensive gym membership because you'll be getting more exercise!

6.  Buy locally produced organic produce at a farmer's market.  Buying direct eliminates the middle man and transportation costs.  You'll have less spoilage as well because the produce is fresher!