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~ Cleaning Up the Planet, One Bag at a Time

ECOBAGS® blog

Monthly Archives: November 2010

Schumer Takes Stand Against Lead

16 Tuesday Nov 2010

Posted by ecobagsbrand in legislation

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The internet is abuzz this morning with news that Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) has taken a stand against reusable bags containing high contents of lead. And good for him! We applaud and support all efforts to make household products, especially reusable bags, cleaner and safer.

It is unfortunate and unacceptable that many households have purchased and used bags containing lead to transport their food. Senator Schumer is right to ask the FDA to investigate and oversee this matter in the future. But it seems to be an unfortunate consequence of the sudden concern that some supermarket chains are pulling all reusable bags from their shelves and many consumers are giving up on the reusable bag movement altogether. Lucy Yang of ABC says, “Sometimes you just can’t win for trying. Take reusable grocery bags made in China. They’re supposed to be a green way to shop, good for consumers, good for the Earth, except now officials fear they pose a real health risk. ” But really, if you make a mistake once, you don’t throw in the towel, you try to make a better, more informed decision in the future. Plastic and paper disposable bags are not the answer to this problem.

The answer is to choose reusable bags that are clean and safe for your family during their useful life and will not harm the planet during their eventual disposable. Unfortunately the press has been using the phrase “Eco Bags” quite freely and recklessly and we just want to assure you that our bags do not contain lead. Since 1989 our ECOBAGS® Brand products have been made with 100% natural, recycled and organic cottons and are absolutely safe if used properly (ie. appropriate washing) and will biodegrade naturally and safely once they are no longer of use.

The moral of the story, for me at least, is always question the cheap alternative. Why is it so cheap? Is something being skimped on? Whether it’s food, clothing, bags or automobiles examine your options thoroughly and weigh the consequences. And for me, natural is always the better way to go.

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Season of Crafts!

15 Monday Nov 2010

Posted by ecobagsbrand in Green Craft Corner

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The Holidays always make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, not just because I’ll soon be stuffed with stuffing, but also because it’s the perfect excuse to jazz up my surroundings and my loved ones’ lives with some festive crafts! We just debuted our new recycled wine and gift totes and they are absolutely perfect ways to dress up your hostess gifts or give the perfect present this season. But being a blank canvas and all, they’re just begging for some adornment. So I gave it a go!

In the spirit of being green, I elected to use old decorations, mostly from wreaths on their last legs, but did buy some new things that I thought would be really useful. I bought a fabric pen (which ended up dying after 2 uses) and a cookie cutter and ornament for some flair with purpose! I love giving gifts and decorations that the recipient will actually get use out of while still making for a beautiful presentation.

Things you may need:
– Marker or craft pen
– Random holiday decorations
– Fabric Glue
– Ribbon (I keep all ribbon I receive on presents and reuse it. Twine and string are great too!)
– Scissors
– A Holiday Spirit!


Here’s an easy one. I used the fabric pen to write “Cheers!” in a festive gold and used a fake grape cluster from my grape/wine/vineyard-obsessed days to top it off.


More of a champagne crowd? Scribble a “Pop!” and some simple graphics like these and you’ll be sure to get your point across; that point being, Let’s party!

Sidenote: The wine tote is very roomy and fit both (on their own) of the bottles of champagne in our cupboard just fine.


Wary of leaving a permanent mark on your wine tote? Then ribbon and ornaments are your friend! I love these little wooden ornaments because they’re beautiful as is or when colored in by a child. I top it off with a festive copper cookie cutter (behind ornament, same snowflake shape) and a bright red ribbon.


For the gift bag, I discovered that Coco Chanel really was right about everything but namely about removing one thing before you leave the house. In this case, I removed my poinsettia and the Gawdy Police thanked me.


Here’s a wine and gift combo I’d be proud to ring the bell with!


Finally, I decided to go all out and chop up one of those cheap stockings that seem to accumulate in my holiday decoration bin for some unknown reason. Where do they come from?! I cut off the foot (sorry Santa) and glued it to the bottom of the wine tote with fabric glue. Kinda cute!

If you’ve made it this far through my treasury of amateur crafts, kudos to you, and I hope you’re inspired to whip out your holiday craftiness and kick it into full gear. If not….we also offer custom printing 🙂

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Got More Bags?

08 Monday Nov 2010

Posted by ecobagsbrand in Customer Stories

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A couple months ago we introduced you to a truly inspiring organization in Washington, DC called Bread for the City. So far their bag drive has been a HUGE success but they still need more! Their upcoming Holiday Helpings program will provide over 8,000 people in the DC area with a low fat, nutritious holiday meal, including a full turkey and all the trimmings. That means it would typically take about 24,000 disposable bags to deliver these meals.

Please consider helping Bread for the City eliminate plastic and paper by contributing your extra reusable bags. Each reusable bag eliminates 3 disposable ones from ending up in the trash, or worse yet, in the Anacostia River. We contribute by donating any less-than-perfect bags from our stock to Bread for the City. Bags of differing colors, shapes and materials – they’ll take ’em all!

Host a bag drive at your school or work and help your family and friends get into the true spirit of the holidays. Once collected, please send your bags to the following address and make sure to include a piece of paper stating (1) Your name and (2) Quantity of bags you’re donating.

Attn: Jeffrey Wankel
Bread for the City
1525 7th St NW
Washington, DC, 20001

Visit the Bread for the City blog for more info on the program and how to help.

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Changespotting

03 Wednesday Nov 2010

Posted by ecobagsbrand in Customer Stories

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A time of change is upon us. Between election time, the changing of the seasons and the approaching holidays, I know I find my own attitude shifting towards the positive. We’d like to celebrate the positive change we see in our everyday lives and the larger world community by joining together in some “changespotting.” Simply post your photos of progress you see in your surroundings with a short caption describing (1) what the change is (2) where it was spotted and (3) why it’s important. Here’s one to get the ball rolling…


This photo is of solar panels our CEO saw in New York City. I, personally, have never seen panels displayed in such a way before. Usually people tend to hide or camouflage their panels but these are right out there, proud to be providing shade for their energy users! Yay for proud, green people!

We invite you to join us in celebrating positive change. If we can get 20 changespotting photos posted on the wall of our ECOBAGS.com Facebook Fanpage, we’ll send out a free “Simple Ideas, Big Impacts” tote to all 20 spotters. So get out there and see the change in your world!

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