Yes, I am a bag lady ... and proud of it!

I love bags. Tote bags, that is. One of the things I've learned in being a 'greenie' is that those oh-so-convenient plastic bags every store on the planet stuffs your stuff in at the check-out counter are really about as convenient as a case of poison ivy on your butt. You might laugh at that, but let me give you a few statistics to put in your poke ...

• Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistaken them for food
• The manufacture of plastic bags add tonnes of carbon emissions into the air annually
• In the UK, banning plastic bags would be the equivalent of taking 18,000 cars off the roads each year
• Between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year
• Approximately 60 - 100 million barrels of oil are required to make the world’s plastic bags each year
• Most plastic bags take over 400 years to biodegrade. Some figures indicate that plastic bags could take over 1000 years to break down. (I guess nobody will live long enough to find out!). This means not one plastic bag has ever naturally biodegraded.
• China uses around 3 billion plastic bags each day!
• In the UK, each person uses around 220 plastic bags each year
• Around 500,000 plastic bags are collected during Clean Up Australia Day each year. Clean Up Australia Day is a nationwide initiative to get as many members of the public to get out and pick up litter from their local areas. Unfortunately, each year in Australia approximately 50 million plastic bags end up as litter.

The above info was snitched from Natural-Environment.com. 

Think about it.

Now think about how simple it is to not use those plastic bags of woe. My personal choice is canvas bags. They are sturdy. They are washable. They last for years. They are easy to take with you, whether it's for buying groceries, getting books from the library, or even to haul your stuff out to the park for a picnic! They are easy to store when not in use. They can be decorated a million different ways - which appeals to the artist in me. They multi-task - which appeals to the 'greenie' in me.

I love my skinfood tote bag. You can get one at our CafePress Store. They are really nice, heavy weight cotton duck canvas. Roomy sized to hold lots of stuff. I have lots of other tote bags, too. Big ones. Small ones. Plain ones. Decorated ones. I use them all the time for all kinds things.

But, if you find yourself stuck with the plastic bags of woe and want to get rid of them, what do you do?

A lot of grocery stores have a big bin for collecting bags for recycling. Some of your 'convenience centers' (where you haul your trash off) also have plastic bag collections. And then, I've read about some creative folks who use them for creative things.

I've seen them woven into rugs at Homestead Weaver.com

I've seen them knitted or crocheted into tote bags at My Recycled Bags.com

I've seen them crocheted into sandals at Craftsters.org

I've seen them made into wallets, dish cloths and scrubbies, hats, raincoats, jewelry ... an incredible array of crafts all from plastic bags! I, for one, am truly impressed with these people and their efforts to make something good out of something bad.

Namaste, y'all ...
Carol