No more paper or plastic - 5 Great DIY ideas for Reusable Shopping Bags

So you are going green on a budget, or just want a bag that makes more of a statement than the branded shopping bag from your local store? Reusable shopping bags are an eco-friendly solution to a growing waste problem. Each year, 38 billion plastic bags are thrown away in the US alone. Only a tiny percentage of these bags are recycled - the rest:

• Make their way to the ocean and kill thousands of marine creatures each year.
• Some float through the air, endangering birds and littering the streets.
• Others sit in landfills and decompose, contaminating the water, soil, and food supply with harmful micro-toxins.

Plastic bags also increase our dependency on nonrenewable oil - the material polyethylene is derived from oil and is used to manufacture bags. Some grocery chains are doing their part by offering a green alternative to disposable shopping bags at checkout lines while others have decided to add a fee for the use of bags to encourage shoppers to bring their own tote. A number of areas are banning plastic shopping bags completely.

How to Make Your Own Reusable Shopping Bag

Handmade eco-friendly bags make wonderful shopping companions and are just as much fun to make! Some are extremely simple - perfect kid-friendly crafts - while other shopping bag patterns are more time-consuming and require a little skill. From recycling harmful plastic bags to reusing old clothing, these do-it-yourself ideas are as eco friendly as they are creative.

Green shopping bags are stronger and roomier than their harmful disposable counterparts, not to mention much better looking. Be sure to make a few for friends and family too - consuming fewer bags saves oil, saves animals, and improves the landscape as well.

Make a Tee-Bag

This reusable shopping bag pattern is so easy a child could make it - in fact, the 10 year old behind Tee Bags contributed the simple steps needed to make your own eco friendly bag from a t-shirt!

A Rogan Gregory Exclusive

A fashionable crocheted tunic can create a one of a kind reusable shopping bag that looks chic and sophisticated, even when its brimming with your favorite fruits and veggies. While this pattern is a bit more involved than the tee-bag above, its stylishness makes the extra effort worthwhile. Visit TeenVougue to learn how to make your own Rogan Gregory eco tote

Reuse Colorful Sheets to Make a Unique Shopping Bag

Morsbags have taken homemade reusable shopping bags to a whole new level. Not only are these eco friendly bags easy to make, they cost next to nothing! Best of all, Morsbags encourages us to spread the environmental love by forming a pod and donating bags throughout the community.

Another Way to Reuse Your Favorite Tee

Another way to reuse your old t-shirts, this green shopping bag pattern includes pocket designs to make your tote more functional. Durable straps and a fold-over flap add to the appeal; rescuing old t-shirts from the garbage makes it even better!

Reusable Totes Made From Recycled Bags

Crocheted shopping bags typically expand easier than cloth totes. This pattern offers even more elasticity and is stronger than 50 plastic shopping bags. Turning plastic bags into recycled yarn is a tedious process, but the eco friendly shopping bags they create are stylish and extremely durable.

There are hundreds of reusable shopping bag patterns available online - these are just 5 of our faves. Feel free to share your own resources and thoughts on eco friendly shopping bags in the comments!

9 Unusual Alternative Energy Options - the Potential of Biomass

Biomass energy and biomass fuel are becoming more and more viable options for a sustainable future. But Biomass is a lot more fascinating than most people realize, with fuel sources ranging from chicken excrement to human fat and even stranger substances you might never have guessed. The many, many different possibilities for biomass materials makes it one of the most fascinating forms of alternative energy - especially when you consider these unusual methods of biomass production:
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Scented Candles: The Toxic Health Risks

What could be more harmless than nice-smelling scented candles, right? No problem and no harm. Light one, let it flicker away, and allow the aroma to set the mood, right? There are dangers and risks associated with scented candles that may have you scrambling for greener alternatives to these apparently neutral everyday products.

Scented Candles – Risks You May Not Know

The average commercially produced candles contain substances, such as paraffin wax, which when burned release toxins into the air and can lead to health problems. Such scented candles may have been made using methods that are linked to refining crude oil and are comprised of fossil-fuel generating hydrocarbons. Carcinogenic toxins that may be released could even cause cancer over an extended period of time, and additional pollutants such as acetone (an ingredient in nail polish remover and paint thinner!), soot, lead, and benzene may all leave their mark, as well. Are your aromatic candles as attractive now?

According to the US Consumer Public Safety Commission, candles are producing more soot than ever before, and lead wicks still remain a problem in imported products up until the last couple years. So how does a discerning consumer avoid harmful candles and toxins?

Scented and Unscented - Healthy Candle Alternatives

Aside from devotedly reading labels and avoiding products made with perfumes and artificial dyes (found in most mass produced candles and fresheners), turning to soy-based candles or beeswax candles may be the best option. Beeswax candles are a fantastic natural alternative, and soy-based candles emit less soot than their paraffin-based cousins and are made from plant waste. If unscented candles won’t do however, make sure your aromatherapy/scented candles avoid synthetic mess and instead utilize plant essential oils. Some names to keep in mind: Vermont Soy Candles, Aveda, Blue Corn Naturals and Honeyflow Farm.

Also, for those that store their candles and may have purchased some before 2003, you may want to check your wicks for lead. There may be a small, thin wire in the center of your wick, and while this may not be lead due to the 2003 Consumer Public Safety ban, there may be zinc or tin elements that you may find undesirable, too. Make a thorough pass over your stored candles to ensure you’re not burning something that may contribute to compromising your health – or the environment.

For those looking for a little more information, here are a couple handy links to lead you on the right path towards healthier and greener candle choices: Pristine Planet and Soy Candles

Sustainable Prefab Living in Custom Style - Homes by FlatPak

What is FlatPak?

FlatPak homes combine the luxury of a custom designed house with the environmental benefits of a sustainable lifestyle to create unique and beautiful homes, hotels, and townhouses that are friendly to the planet. Each 8′ by 8′ component is custom built according to your specifications - choose glass types, windows, and a variety of eco-friendly finishes and accents to design your dream home.
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Should You Have Some Beef with Your Beef?

 

Where’s the beef?

It’s not down on the farm these days, alas. The healthy, natural beef of years gone by is almost extinct. It has been driven out by cheap beef, raised on gigantic feedlots, fattened on corn. The problem is: corn isn’t healthy for cows, and raising beef this way ultimately isn’t healthy for us either. Here are some things to watch out for and ways to be more healthy when it comes to your beef-related choices.
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