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!

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Saving the environment has never been so cool; fashion designers made “organic, green” grocery  bags that will cost you just as much as your monthly food bill would be.  Organic fashions are simple, eco friendly, and will make your bank cry.  If you’ve went food shopping with only buying organic in mind, you probably were a bit surprised when your bill was double what you normally pay, right?

For the average person, affording these things isn’t realistic. Sure it might be nice to sport the coolest, greenest hybrid car on the market, but the truth is right now they are still pricey, and we still need to be able to get around.  I’m going to give you ten ways to green your life, without spending a ton of money

1. Turn off your lights dude. You want to be green, but how many times have you fallen asleep with the TV on? How many nights go by that your computer buzzes away even though no one’s checking their email?  Before you leave the house, and before you hit the sack make sure your appliances and lights are OFF. You’ll be saving money on your bill, and preserving some energy.

2. DON’T buy in bulk. Cosco, BJ’s, Sams Club; these chains cater to large families who need 27 invididually wrapped candy bars, not just one. We understand the concept of buying in bulk, but think of all the waste that goes into making these products? If you can, avoid shopping there. If you feel like you can’t live without a thirty pack of chocolate milk, figure out a way to recycle the material.

3. BUY LOCAL! You may think there’s no one selling local produce in your area, but websites like Local Harvest use a search engine to find farmers markets, and farms in your community that are selling the good stuff. Who wouldn’t want to buy CHEAP, fresh organic produce? A tip: hit up the markets towards the ends, and sellers will lower the prices of their good signicantly since they can’t re-sell them. I’ve gotten homemade organic pies, vegges, and fruits all for under ten dollars by going an hour before the vendors closed up!

4. Direct Deposit and Automatic bill pay - does anyone actually pay their bills by mail anymore? If you do, stop. You’ll be saving a ton of trees by paying your bills online; almost every credit card, bank, and store offer free, safe ways to deposit money online and it’s easy as pie.

5. Eat at home, and compost while you’re at it. Eating out (especially at fast food joints) = tons of waste.

6.  Get thrifty! You don’t need to buy fancy organic materials to be more “green…” You’d be surprised at how much cool stuff you can find at your local Salvation Army, or even on Craigslist. One mans junk is another mans treasure, and you can find some amazing things to call your own, without breaking a budget.

7. Turn the heat down! Winter’s coming, and we all want to be toasty and warm, but we can acheive this buy throwing on another layer, NOT turning up the heat.

8. Get a water filter: Most of us love a cold bottle of water…but think about the waste! You can have clean, fresh water by getting a filter, and purchasing an eco friendly water bottle to carry arouind.

9. Reusable coffee filters. Have you ever run out of coffee filters and felt like life was over? I have. Purchasing a resuable filter will save you sanity, and help you live a bit more “green…”

10.  Nix the paper towells. I’ve got a toddler, two dogs, and two cats so paper towells were always a must in our home, and we’d go through five rolls in a week. When I realized (gulp) how much waste that was I felt a little sick, so now I collect old clothes, dishtowels, etc and use them as washclothes that I can wash when I’m done!

Most of these are probably in your face obvious, but many of us choose not to change. If you can try and green your life in any of these ways, you’re making a small but important step. Being eco-concious isn’t a trend, it’s a way of life. Share with us other ways you “green” yourself!

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