Habits are hard to break! ...but this one is worth breaking! I tell you what, congratulations to those of you who have been on this 'banning of the plastic bag movement' for several years now! How we wish we would have been more alert to severity of using plastic bags and plastic water bottles sooner! But, as they say, better late than never! I can't tell you the amount of times while at the grocery store checkout lines we were asked the typical question "paper or plastic", and without a second thought answered, "either or is fine"...ughhhhhh.
A great source for bags that make you want to use them....Flip and Tumble (www.flipandtumble.com)
"A bag that’s designed for those of us who only seem to remember our reusable bags the moment we need them. A stretchy pouch makes it a cinch to go from a full size bag to small ball in seconds flat. Stash one in your messenger bag or purse, ready to go, 24-7."
The topic and "issue" of plastic, wasn't really brought into our FULL awareness until a very good friend, vegan of 20 years, and native of California stopped in Kansas City for a visit. One of our stops was the market and let's just say we had the plastic talk- or how should I put this, we had "uh- why are you guys using plastic talk"! :)
When he mentioned the idea of not bagging our fruits and veggies up, you know what my first thought was, (it had nothing to do with the environment, ironically) but everything to do with the man or woman that was going to have to check my produce out. In my mind, thinking back, I had never seen 10 tomatoes loosely on a conveyor belt not to mention ALLLLLLLL the other produce that the checkout staff was going to have to one by one weigh and bag! Well, what I soon realized was the person checking me out DOESN"T WANT ME TO USE PLASTIC EITHER....so, lesson learned! We have gathered some veryyyyy good reasons to ban the use of plastic bags in your own life! One by one we can make a difference!
Incredible Reasons To STOP USING plastic bags and plastic water bottles!
1~ You will feel so free knowing you are contributing to a better earth! It wasn't to long ago that bottled water was the only way we drank water, and as much as we loveeeeeee the taste of our favorite bottled water, and the ease of this method of just grabbing and going...we couldn't in good conscience continue to purchase a case and a half every WEEK! Our recycled bins were beyond full, and then, as with every area in raw living, an awareness and a shift occurred and that 'something' clicked for us....in a split second we made a decision to no longer contribute to the major issues that the landfills are facing not to mention our oceans, waterways, and soil due to over consumption of plastic!
2~ It will save you money to NOT purchase water bottles: Want to know what our solution to no longer drinking water bottles? We purchased a 5 gallon water jug from Whole Foods ($20, almost the cost of 2 cases of our favorite bottled water which was completely gone in just 2 weeks) which will last yearsssssss, and we fill it up with PURE FRESH water from Whole Foods, for 39 cents a gallon! Is that unreal!? We then easily pour the water from the 5 gallon into a non plastic 2 liter bottle which also is designed to last for years!
3~ Animals become terminally entangled and nearly 200 different species of sea life including whales, dolphins, seas, and turtles die due to plastic bags. (World Wildlife Fund Report '05) If you were to see a photo of one of these precious animals entangled in a plastic bag it would be enough to turn you away from choosing plastic.
4~ Plastic bags account for 10% of the debris washed up on the US coast line (National Marine Debris Monitoring Program) which eventually contaminate our soil and waterways! Keeping the coastlines clean is one reason we hold near and dear to our hearts as our parents live in Florida and so does our brother, his wife and their 4 children! One day in the next 5 years I believe we will be moving to the coast, to know we are making the slightest difference is empowering! (CNN.com/technology Nov. 16, 2007)
5~ Because You alone WILL make a difference: Have you seen the cloth bags that Whole Foods and other environmentally conscious stores now have to offer? Did you know that if you used a cloth bag you would save up to 6 bags per week, 24 bags per month, 288 per year, 22,176 in your lifetime! If just one out of 5 people did this we would save 1,330,560,000,000 in a lifetime. (Source, unknown)
6~ Be a part of a world that is striving to make a difference- Bangladesh has banned plastic bags. (MSNBC.com March 8, 2007) China has banned FREE plastic bags. (CNN.com/asia Jan 9, 09) In 2005 Rwanda banned plastic bags! On March 2007, San Fransisco became first US city to BAN plastic bags! (NPR.org)
So make a difference, stock up on a few cloth bags and say NO to PLASTIC!
Don't forget to bring your cloth bags to shopping malls, Target, Wal-mart, and Bookstores!
Love, Susan and Stacey
called Raw Girls. Real Solutions. Your Down-To-Earth Guide to Going Raw, Losing Weight, and Feeling Sexy-Great!
