Last weekend, Jameson, who teamed up with city officials on an environmentally friendly project, surveyed shoppers at two different Ralph’s grocery stores regarding their plastic bag use.

Through a brief questionnaire, shoppers will be asked questions such as “How many plastic bags do you think would be saved in the lifetime of one person using reusable bags?” and “How do you think most plastic bags are disposed of?” The survey also asked how often and where people use reusable shopping bags.

Jameson will report his full findings to the City of Mission Viejo and I’ll be sure to let readers know what he finds.

First, they have their action page where they ask people to switch to reuable bags as a great way to protect our oceans.  Thousands of marine animals die each year from ingesting plastic bags, and reusable bags help keep plastic from inadvertently ending up in our waterways. 

Then they have  a clear explanation by Conservancy Caribbean program director Phil Kramer about why plastics are so damaging to the ocean.  Also, you will  find a first hand account by Cara Byington who had a crisis in the checkout line after seeing the skeleton of a whale that died from eating plastic bags.  We’re going to send her one of our new ultimate portable bags so that she will never have that problem again!

The Nature Conservancy is asking people to join in the conversation and send stories to them about their experiences with reusable bags.   It’s a great campaign and a lot of fun to see other people understanding the problem and seeing that the solution is so easy!  I hope you will check it out and share your stories with them or with us in our comment section. We always love stories from our readers!

If you love freebies, it’s the place to be.  We gave out bags to everyone who came by our booth and listened to us tell our stories.  I told a lot of people about how it took me two years to convince my supplier in China to pay her workers properly, but once she did, she thanked me because it led the factory to better productivity and better quality.  We told a lot of people about heat transfers and how popular more colorful graphics are becoming.  We saw friends from shows in the past and reconnected with them and with many of our clients.  

I am not ashamed to say I collected a few freebies myself.   I eat Kind bars regularly and the guys at the Kind bar booth gave me free bars and a T-shirt! Can’t wait to wear it at the gym or out hiking.  I discovered Sahale snacks, which are also very whole snacks in a lot of fun flavors.   Every other booth had something with pomegranate in it, but my favorite was the Chobani greek yogurt with whole pomegranate seeds.  Yum!  We trade bags for greek yogurt!

People seemed to love our bags but we had a corner decoration made from two trays of wheat grass which seemed equally popular.  Most people stopping by ran their hands through it.  I’m  not sure if it is the look of grass or the feel of that is so appealing but it was fun to watch people respond to it.  

I can’t wait to see what I discover and who will discover us next year at Expo West!

The video had no clear place in our new site, but we love it as much as many of you do.  So we are making it available here. It will have a more permanent link on our Links page, too. 

I hope you will watch it and see why I have become committed to reducing waste and reusing bags and other items rather than throwing them “away.”  When I watch it, I am reminded that there is no “away.”   Throwing away means simply throwing things into our own environment, where they blight the beauty of our world and degrade the health of our eco-systems.  

We can all reduce waste every day by reducing unnecessary waste.  Bringing your own bag helps and every bag counts! 

Watch our video here.

This report confirms what we know about bags:  reusable bags are best for the environment, and PP reusable bags have particularly low environmental impacts.  Ireland commissioned a similar study in 2002 and Australia did in 2005.  

The momentum is building now here in the US for reusable bag policies that will help Americans make the switch to cleaner bags and help clean up our air, our roadways, and our waterways.  The report, a Master Environmental Assessment, emphasizes 3 key points: 

• Reusable bags have substantially lower impacts than single  use bags, particluarly PP fiber bags. 
• Paper bags have an overall worse affect on air quality and water consumption than plastic bags.
• Biodegradable bags do not biodegrade in open environments and contaiminate the recycling stream.

 You can read the whole report, or just the 2 page the executive summary here.  Thanks to everyone who worked hard on this report to make it comprehensive, honest, and help California cities and other municipalities make decisions that make sense! 

This report will help set real, quantitative standards for bag use and reduction  programs throughout California and across the nation.

Would you like a bag?!?  It was startling to be in such a familiar setting faced with such a strange question. 

The woman in front of me looked back.  She had her groceries neatly packed in 2 green bags.  The woman behind me stared, holding an armful of green bags, and the cashier waited for my answer.  A stack of 99 cent bags hung by the checkout stand, so I grabbed a few and said, “I’ll just use these.”  

It was such an easy choice, really.  I have been surrounded by reusable bags ever since, helping to offer you a choice and a chance to change and help the world.

Here you will meet the people who work  in our offices and learn about their committment to the environment.  We all bring ideas and skills that help reduce waste and keep our environmental footprint as low as possible.  From reducing paper waste, to re-using plates and cutlery for lunch, to recycling all packaging materials, our efforts help us walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

We will be posting tips on greening your office and our adventures in greening (like the story of our worm bin) here soon.  Check back every week for another post or tip!  Comment back if you have tips of your own to contribute and we hope we can all work together for a greener planet!

I was born in Long Beach, California & grew up in the Los Angeles Harbor area.  I have been married since 1995 & have two beautiful daughters ages 10 & 6. I’m a Board member of my daughters’ softball association & also coach. I like all sports, but enjoy playing golf in my spare time.

I have been in Logistics & Supply Chain operations since 1999 & in 2008 passed the Customs Brokers Exam here in Los Angeles.

My duties include pick, pack, & ship all web & phone orders, & all transportation related inquiries.  If you have a special request for getting your order to you, please give me call and I’ll help out!