I’ll admit I’ve never been an ‘accessories’ girl. I own one watch (a Roots sports watch that has a night light so I can clock what ungodly hour my kids get me up), no jewelry, purses, umbrella, and really only 1 pair of shoes. I wait until I’ve worn out my current pair of crocs or boots, then buy another pair to wear. It’s not because I don’t want to look cute, I just know I’ll lose anything that isn’t nailed down to me. I might be the last person on this planet that doesn’t own a cell phone. It’s all I can do to keep track of my wallet and camera. Oh yes, the 4 kids, their stuffed animals, snacks, change of clothes, diapers…. yikes! No wonder I don’t have accessories.
However, lately I’ve been carrying a green reusable canvas tote for my wallet, kids’ snacks, diapers, etc. and I’m using it very proudly. It might not be the most attractive bag ever, but if I loose it (give me a week and that thing is gone); I’m only out a few dollars. I think I’m onto something…girls, can the canvas totes be our new Prada? My sister was recently here with her latest Betsy Johnson purse and I was temped to ask how much, where can I find one, etc., but I think I’m ok with my new discovery.
Especially when using the canvas tote is in the top 10 ways to green your home. Read the below from www.livescience.com:
“Eschew plastic bags by bringing your own reusable canvas totes the next time you’re at the supermarket or store. Because petroleum-based plastic isn’t biodegradable, it’s certain to outlive you-by about a millennium or so. Each year, thousands of marine animals, including the endangered leatherback turtle, choke to death on plastic trash they mistake for snackable morsels. Our unholy love for plastic disposables has also bred a swirling vortex of plastic trash the size of Texas in the North Pacific Ocean-not surprising when you consider that Americans run through about 100 billion plastic bags annually, using up an estimated 12 million barrels of oil.
You’ll easily forget about horrible plastic bags when you see the amazing totes found on Etsy. I love this site devoted to selling handmade items. Just to demonstrate that the reusable canvas tote doesn’t have to be ugly like my green selection…check out this one with owls!
Loose Caboose Designs is the adorable shop on Etsy that created this bag.
Happy Earth Day! Find an Earth Day event in your community, have fun, and learn!
My thanks to Suzanne C who wrote this article to assist the everyday consumer with purchasing paper goods that are the best environmental choice. Not only is she an amazing mom of 2, but she works with her husband and his business, Wisent Environmental Inc. Based in Burnaby BC, Wisent Environmental works with businesses to deliver sustainable solutions for the way they purchase, manage, use and dispose of their supplies and materials. Read on…
Increasingly, parents are looking for greener and more sustainable products and experiences when it comes to their children and families. People are making changes, and you see the evidence everywhere. Folks are opting for thermoses for their daily coffee fix instead of throwing away paper or Styrofoam coffee cups, refilling water bottles instead of buying and disposing of them after each use, and bringing reusable bags for their trips to the grocery store. What about paper products? It’s the simplest of items – things we buy for our households all the time. Items like paper towels (if you’re not already using re-usable kitchen cloths such as microfiber instead) or bath tissue (there’s really no getting away from needing this) or even the seemingly endless supply of craft and drawing paper your children need for their daily drawing, colouring, cutting and pasting?
Here is a bit of a refresher on what exactly we should be looking for when we go to buy these paper products – made from our natural resource – trees.
“Recycled” Paper Products such as paper towels and bath tissue:
When purchasing paper products it is important to understand the “recycling logo” and its meaning. Paper that is designated as “recycled” can be a mixture of virgin wood fiber, pre-consumer waste and /or post-consumer waste. It is important to consider that producing recycled paper produces 74% less air pollution, 35% less water pollution, and creates 5 times the number of jobs than producing paper from virgin paper sources – trees. It saves old-growth trees, forest ecosystems, native habitat and biodiversity – providing an all around much better choice for increasingly green conscious customers.
The difference between Pre-consumer and Post-consumer content in recycled paper:
Pre-consumer (sometimes referred to as Post-industrial) content is paper made out of paper scraps and trimmings left over from the paper manufacturing process. These paper scraps and trimmings are easiest to recycle, as they do not have to be collected, separated, de-inked etc. Post consumer waste (PCW) is paper that has been used by the end consumer and then is collected for recycling from various recycling programs. This is the best paper to buy, as it uses and creates demand for paper that would normally end up in the landfill and no trees are cut down for making the paper.
When looking at the labeling on paper products we look for 2 numbers – the first expresses the percentage of total recycled content and the second number shows the post-consumer waste recycled content. For example, on a label that reads 50% recycled 20% PCW, this means of the 50% recycled content, 30% is pre-consumer recycled and 20% is post-consumer recycled, leaving 50% of the content coming from virgin fiber. 100% post-consumer waste (PCW) is of course the best environmental choice.
Another note – if something says its “recyclable” that only means it can be recycled and pretty much any paper product can be recycled so it’s really an empty statement. Worse, it probably means the product had no better redeeming environmental qualities to state so it’s likely made from 100% virgin fibers…and that’s our trees. (more…)
