Way to Go, Big Red!

Big Red gum has made a "revolution" in Gum-Wrapper technology! The "paper" wrapper! And this is a "new-enough" concept that they thought they should "advertise" it. See for yourselves:

Ok, there's a touch of sarcasm there, but really I am proud of them. If I were to write them a letter, it would say:

Dear Big Red,

While I may not have the same enthusiasm for your gum as I did in high school, I will chew you out of respect for your respect for our environment. Keep making a difference!
Sincerely,
Me.
P.S. Maybe next you can stop having your gum in individual wrappers. It gets stale eventually, anyway.

But, I'm glad that big companies (Wrigley's) are at least trying to do "something." That's where it all starts, isn't it? With a "something." And maybe this way, the "paper" can be composted or recycled. Who knows? The possibilities are endless when only 1 step toward change is made. (I have to keep telling myself that every time I go without a straw or use a ceramic plate.) Just one step at a time.

♥

EDIT: Now with excessive quotation marks added for extra sarcasm!

Vacations are wasteful!

(Ok, so the title isn't really clever, but I couldn't think of anything to rhyme with "waste-maker"). So, I've kind of fallen off the bandwagon of keeping track of my waste since I got back from vacation, but there's a reason why.

Let me explain first...

I went on vacation to New Orleans with my M.a.t.h., his colleague and her bf for the ACLA Conference. And while the trip was fun and great, I was struck by something.

1). How many bottles of toothpaste, shampoo, water, soda etc. are thrown away at the security lines? Do they recycle them? Who knows? I'd like to find out more about this.
2). We threw away A TON of plastic cups/paper trash etc. just because we didn't want to deal with carrying them around. I even decided to throw away my novelty plastic gator cup b/c I didn't have room to pack it in my carry-on.
3). And the wastefulness wasn't just us, it was EVERYBODY on Bourbon St. there were cups up the wazoo lying by the curb, being kicked into piles then shoveled in big garbage bags.  Now the city of New Orleans has a really great street-cleaning team, but I bet that stuff just lands in the landfill.
4). There are SO many beads there - they are hanging from the telephone wires, tress, cars, houses, signs EVERYWHERE.  And so many more are dished out every night.  They go from this:

To this: 

Do you see the beads on the lamp post?  It's probably not that hard to get THOSE down, but what about the ones I saw hanging from a power line over the cable car tracks? Yeah, those are not coming down by any human hands. Also, it's apparently taboo to pick beads up off the ground (though I did a couple times cuz they were pretty. And I was freaking out about all the plastic) so people just leave them sitting around everywhere. And it had rained that day so there was water in the gutters. The beads would roll into the water then slowly slink their way to the drains. The drains DO have bars on them so cups can't go down, but they don't stop those persistent little strings of beads.... Here's another picture of beads hanging on the wire just below the deck:

And the funny thing is that we weren't even there on Mardi Gras or any holiday really. OK, it was Easter the next day, but do people party and get drunk and throw beads on Easter Eve? Apparently in New Orleans ANY weekend night is appropriate for that. Weekday nights too? Maybe So. And if this was just an average day, think about what it would be like on Mardi Gras, or St. Patrick's Day or New Year's Eve or any day that involves raucous consumption, destruction and waste for that matter.....


*Sigh....* In the end, all this excess made me wonder if what I'm doing is really worth anything. Am I just a drop in the bucket or am I really doing something? Is traveling really worth it? Well, actually, I don't think too hard about that one because, yes...it really is. But maybe I could try to change my habits in the future so I can at least contribute more to the solution rather than the problem. I guess the point of this blog is to just encourage me to do something...ANYTHING...because "any" is infinitely more than "none."

I'll try to get back on my tracking soon and I have many more good posts stored up for future use. So please come back often! Oh, that's another thing...I seriously need readers if I am to keep this up. Please tell friends! And if you have blogs I will return the favor and eventually, everyone will feel loved. ^_^

Double Threat: Help the Environment & Yourself - AT THE SAME TIME!

Ok, I realize that I owe y'all a blog post about consuming, but things have been really hectic since I've gotten back from New Orleans. (I also have another post I want to write on  New Orleans and plastic waste. But that'll be later. For now I'll try to tide you over with an article I found.  I'll sum up the article here, but will also past the link.  This article gives you some tips on how to live healthier and less wastefully. And hopefully will post again soon!

Enjoy!



*****
One of the other topics that is near and dear to my own heart is our individual responsibility to  ourselves and our health, so my contribution for Blog Action Day is the following list of 3 simple ways to get healthy while saving the environment!

1) Leave your car in the garage!
I am not one of those people who thinks that cars are "bad" or that we shouldn't take advantage of the convenient as well as the fun aspects of having motorized vehicles. However, not to put too fine a point on it, but people have simply gotten lazy!

Do you need to take your car somewhere that is more than a few miles away? Usually, yes. However, do you need to take your car to the store that is just a few blocks or even a mile from your house? No.
Save money, lessen pollution, and get some exercise all at the same time by simply walking or taking a bicycle. What are you afraid of? That you'll work up a sweat? Good! Sweating is very healthy and all recent health studies point to the fact that elevating your heart rate for at least 20 to 30 minutes every day is not just a good idea, but that it could actually save your life.

So, even if you don't care about the environment, why don't you put the car keys down, strap on some walking shoes, or just go grab your bike and work up a sweat. Do it every day, and before you know it, you will be losing weight, having a higher level of energy, saving money, and {GASP} – you might even enjoy it!

2) Stop buying bottled water!
This is one of the biggest "end around" health issues that I have ever seen. Many years ago, someone decided (rightfully so) that we all needed to be drinking more water. However, the need for us all to drink more water does NOT mean that we need to keep buying bottled water in plastic bottles!

Pop Quiz: What is the one solitary substance that is physically impossible for the environment to break down?
PLASTIC! All of the plastic that there ever was is still here on earth, and every time you buy a plastic water bottle and then throw it in your trash can, you are contributing to the problem. I don't have the facts and figures about how many of these plastic water bottles are sold every day, but I'm sure it is a staggering amount.
Yes, you should drink water – and a lot of it. However, just buy one or two plastic drinking bottles that can be washed and refilled every day. If you need to buy three or four so that you always have plenty of water available, then do that. However, stop buying disposable plastic water bottles!
Does the term "reduce, reuse, recycle" mean anything to you?

Author's Note: There are also icky things in bottled water like e-coli, bacteria, choloroform and other fun stuff. Check out this study and the chart by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). I was going to do a whole post on bottled water...but maybe some other day.

3) Eat fresh food instead of frozen food
There is no real discussion needed about the fact that fresh food is more healthy for you than the packaged frozen food that people buy at the grocery store. There are innumerable health benefits associated with eating fresh food – especially fruits and vegetables.
However, in addition to the instant and obvious health benefits, let's look once again at the issue that was just mentioned – plastic. What do those Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers frozen meals come packaged in? Plastic. How are those types of meals heated up? In the microwave. Ah yes, the microwave – you know, that massively power draining box that sits on top of your counter, using as much electricity as a television set, if not even more?  And what are the ingredients in all of those frozen foods? Chemicals. Those chemicals – other than being nothing less than poison for your body – are manufactured in a factory somewhere. That factory is using massive amounts of energy and it is also polluting the environment on many different levels.
By switching exclusively to fresh foods, you would:

• Instantly increase your level of health 
• Live longer
• Stop putting more plastic into the environment
• Help to put companies out of business that are polluting both our bodies and our planet

Given the 3 simple ways to get healthy and save the environment that I just listed, what are your thoughts? Do they sound something like this?

• I'm only one person, what can I do?
• Saving only a few miles per day on my car won't make much of a difference
• I don't have time to wash and reuse water bottles
• My schedule doesn't allow me time to eat fresh foods

If those are some of the responses that you have, then consider the following: Yes, you are only one person, but this is a collective effort. Imagine if a few BILLION people started making these efforts on a daily basis. If you save 2 miles per day on your car every day, that is over 700 miles every year. Even if your car gets 30 miles to the gallon, that is almost 25 gallons of gas pollution that you did not put into the environment – and that is only YOUR efforts over one year. Again, what if billions of people did that?

You DO have time to wash and reuse bottles and other eating and drinking utensils. It is just inconvenient, so you don't want to do it. Everyone can find a way to fit fresh foods into their dietary lifestyle. Again, it may not be convenient to do so, but there is a way. You just have to ask yourself if your health and the health of the very planet that you live on is worthy of your efforts…

Now that you have reached the end of this information about saving yourself and saving the environment at the same time, are you going to let it go in one ear and out the other, or are you going to take both personal and global responsibility and start making some changes?
As you consider that, let me leave you with one more quote:
"We are either part of the problem, or part of the solution." 


****


Here's the article's Link:  http://www.todayisthatday.com/blog-action-day-3-simple-ways-to-get-healthy-while-saving-the-environment/#Maryanne%20Comaroto

Walk of Shame

I've been dreading  a post like this for a while because it will show how much plastic stuff I really have been throwing away. Also, since this is the first time i've ever done this, I probably didn't keep as track as well as I should've. However, at least this is a start.  So from 3/16 to now, in almost 2 weeks, I've thrown away:


- 2 styrofoam takeout containers
- 2 popsicle wrappers
- 3-4 straws (though I've started not getting straws if I can help it)
- 2 shopping bags for cat/dog waste (bio ones hadn't come in yet)
- countless plastic food bags while cleaning out my Honey's pantry
- 3-4 plastic tea bag cases
- 2 plastic spoons
- plastic fork (I'm not counting the ones from Mad Greens b/c they're recycled...more on that later).
- plastic wrap on box of tea
- togo plastic cup (ouch! Still haven't remembered to tote mine around!)
- 8-12 bits of plastic from 2 boxes of easter egg dye. (I couldn't believe how much waste came from coloring 12 eggs!)
- broken mechanical pencil

Ok, this list does not include the countless Kleenexes and paper towels I've thrown away in the last two weeks. I try to recycle all paper products, but those things are not recyclable. And since I don't have the ability to compost yet, then I will just have to wait on those. At least they'll biodegrade faster...I guess.  But that, overall, doesn't look SO bad considering that I could've done much, much worse. However, that's not good enough for me and I want to do better. Some of these things above could be avoided, like the plastic utensilware (keep my own fork and spoon in my desk b/c I know that we run out of reusable stuff every day.) and togo cups (BRING. MY. OWN. TOGO. CUP!). And some of the stuff cannot be avoided quite yet - like some of the food packaging.  Hopefully thing's'll calm down and I'll be able to do more research.
So for the next two week summary, I hope to have an even more detailed list.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me list a few things that I have done:

- I did bring my own cup to the smoothie place, though it was not my reusable one, it was a cornstarch one I had saved from Lark Burger. It also was smaller than their smallest smoothie, so I kinda got the short end of the stick that time.
- I continue to use my own bags at the grocery and other stores.
- I've even started being more insistent on clerks that I don't need a bag (even when they've put stuff in it).
- I've been trying to avoid straws and plasticware.

But most of all:
- I've become more aware of things I do that lead to waste.  Two weeks ago, I didn't think of what was happening when I was given a straw at a restaurant. I'd become so lazy that I'd use two-three disposable dishes/utensils in just one day w/o it even occurring to me what was happening.  But now I'm thinking about it every day (and probably annoying my Honey and my Mom. :-P). And that is the biggest impact of all, I think.

I'm going to New Orleans (or as they say N'awlins) this weekend, but I hope to get another post off before I leave.  I have been asked several times about why I'm doing this  blog.  And apparently the "why" in my first post isn't good enough. Apparently I appear to be somewhat of a capitalistic consumer. Well, that appearance will be discussed in the next post. So stay tuned!

We need to tell this little guy that what he's eating is not food!

Change the World Wednesday - Reduce Packaging!

I got the title from a post I found on the Little Green Blog and since this is the reason why I started my blog I thought I'd post the tips from that site here and comment on how I'm doing with them.

Tip 1). Ditch the plastic carrier bag
Hopefully you’re all doing this already; but if not, why not treat yourself to a reusable bag this week? Find one you can keep in your bag, briefcase, car or pocket and set yourself the goal of remembering to use it. You might like an Onya bag which folds up inside itself and comes with a caribiner clip to attach to your belt loop, handbag or key ring. Or you might like to get a recycled bag, like these made from recycled rice sacks.

Me: Yup, I'm working on this. See my post "How I learned to stop worrying and love my reusable bag."

Tip2). Take your own container
If you use a local butcher, fish market or deli counter, take your own lidded containers with you. When y0u make a purchase as them to put your goods into your own container. This can reduce your packaging by a massive amount.

Me: I haven't done this yet, but I don't use a butcher/deli/fish market very often. I do buy stuff from the bulk bins and have been starting to save the plastic bags I get from there to reuse for the stuff later.

Tip 3).  Buy in bulk
If, for example, you buy one 5 litre container of fabric conditioner, the packaging weighs much less than five 1 litre containers. You’ll have to trust me on this - I’ve bought the goods and weighed them. I don’t remember the results now, but they were pretty impressive!

Me: I never thought of this before but I do try to buy things in larger containers b/c it's also a better value. So I guess I'll try harder now. And again, I've started using the bulk bins at the grocery store, so I think that helps too!

Tip 4).  Refills
Refills are not as popular now as they used to be, but they do exist. In ASDA some stores refill their own label fabric conditioner. Bio D and Ecover have refill stations around the country at health food stores and organic farm shops.

Me: I had no idea that this existed and I don't know if there are any around here, but it may be worth researching sometime. Has anyone heard of anything like this around the Boulder/Denver area? If so, please share!!

Tip 5). Shop naked
Buy loose goods wherever possible; sign up for a box scheme or use a farmers market. Use a company like LUSH who sell soap and shampoo bars without packaging.

Me. When I first read title of this tip I was like "WHOO-HOO! OH YEAH! Only in Boulder!" However, the author was obviously not implying that *I* shop naked (don't really know how that would help the environment anyway) but that I should buy good w/o packaging. I guess I can say that I do this w/ vegetables since I don't usually get bags to hold them in (unless they're really wet like lettuce or fragile like tomatoes). And I found recently that Ellie's Eco Home Store in boulder sells a 3-pack of mesh veggie bags for about $7.99. Which I definitely intend to buy soon. Also, we do have a Lush in Boulder on Pearl St. and I do love me some soap. Although, if you really get down to it, I could just make my own soap.  And I do also love me some summer farmer's market. CAN'T WAIT TILL SUMMER YEAH!
 

Tip 6).  Returns
When I was a child, many glass bottles has a 10p deposit on it. Alas this is no longer the case, but you can return your empties to Neals Yard and you’ll get something towards your next purchase. Elin at Nothing Nasty will accept your glass bottles for refilling and give you a huge 20% discount off your next purchase.

Me: This tip makes me think that the author of this post is living in England. Unless America switched its currency and I didn't even notice....Again, I don't know much about doing this around here in America, but it would be worth researching. I do have a friend who makes bath stuff and lotions and she will give you a discount if you return her bottles/jars - check her out at Om Shanti Handicrafts!

Here's the link in case the post title link is too complex for some: http://littlegreenblog.com/blog/green-news/reduce-packaging-waste-this-week/#more-2165.

While writing this post I thought of a couple other ways to reduce packaging but haven't had a chance to do any extensive research on them yet. If anyone knows anything about these, again, don't be shy! Post away!

7). Reusable mugs and cups would also be good way to reduce your waste. Also drinking/eating "for here" rather than "to go" at a restaurant. Some places will give you a ceramic mug or ceramic/reusable plastic dishes and silverware. (I want this cup, btw. It's totally cute!! I'm sure you're definitely seeing a trend in me putting cats into every single post?)


8). One thing that I was wondering about is the packaging for children’s toys. My Honey's daughter got a lot of birthday presents this and each one was plastic wrapped in plastic. I would love to find a way to reduce this plastic waste. I’d also be open to the idea of recycling it, because at least that’s better than it going in the garbage. I was thinking Ebay might be a good place for kid’s toys, especially if you’re buying gently used toys. Then your child could still get the benefit of the latest toy and you can feel good about the lack or reduction of plastic you’re receiving. I also heard that it’s possible to make package-less purchases on Amazon (I think the dog bags I bought, while not corn starch, are just packaged in 1 cardboard box). Does anyone know anything about this?

Anyway, I'd love to hear what YOU are doing to reduce your waste (eating less or holding it all day doesn't count!) so please post!

Compostable Bags - How much is too much?

On a side note, I'm going to try to title every post with some over-used catchphrase because I think people like that....or something.

(I was hoping to save my compostable bag post for a time when I learned more about them, but I had an experience yesterday that needs attention)

One of my ECO-goals is to go back to buying biodegradable bags instead of plastic shopping bags for scooping my cat litter. (And also using these for the trash can as well). Aside from being more eco-friendly, they also never have holes in them like 90% of grocery bags seem to. I was originally using BioBags that you can buy at Safeway, Sunflower Farmer's Market, McGuckins and other supermarkets or home-improvement stores.  These are slightly expensive at around $5.00-$7.00 for 30, though that is expected.  These come in a cardboard box, which can be recycled.

Recently, I have noticed how many bags my boyfriend (we'll call him M.a.t.h - Man around the House) uses for picking up his dog's waste so I decided to check the Whole Pets store in my area (a store that specializes in all natural/sustainable/eco and pet-friendly food and accessories) to see if they had biodegradable bags in the little rolls.  I thought these would also be good for the cat litter, so we could kill two animals' poop with 1 kind of bag (as they say).   Well, whole pets does sell several different brands of these bags and I opted with Bags on Board.  They were more expensive than I would like at $14.99 for 120 bags (8 rolls) so I also bought a package of Pooch Pickup, 30ct for $3.99 that weren't in the rolls so were slightly cheaper.   

When I opened up the box of Pooch Pickup here is what I found. YES! The BIODEGRADABLE bags were packaged in a presumably NON-BIODEGRADABLE plastic zip-bag. Why? It's not like these bags are food that will go stale if they're not sealed properly. What's the point in making biodegradable bags then store them in regular plastic?  Why couldn't they have made the bag holding the bags biodegradable? Or, why not just skip that whole step and store them in cardboard? At least that's recyclable.  Then as I started to think about it, the Bag on Board that I bought were also encased in plastic. I guess, maybe, if they are trying to let the consumer SEE what the product is, and since biodegradable products are not as strong as plastic products, then I can sort of understand the reason for the Bag on Board plastic. I guess the reasoning is "Well you're throwing away one plastic bag, but you're saving 120 plastic bags." Even so, I am thinking about writing the Pooch Pickup company and letting them know that they are going against their advertisement by using plastic at all.

Interesting factoid: In doing research for this article I learned something very interesting about biodegradable bags. The Bag on Board and Pooch Pickup brands are actually two different kinds of biodegradble. I found an article on The Compost Bin that breaks it down (pun intended) in great detail, but I will sum up here. There are 2 kinds of "biodegradable" bags. One - Pooch Pickup/BioBags- is made of corn starch (no petrol products) and breaks down in around 180 days and is ok to throw in the compost. The other - Bag on Board - is an additive-based plastic bag which has a chemical that causes it to break down in 6 mos-2 years (vs. ~100 yrs or whatever) but release CO2 into the environment while doing so. The former seem to be the "good" kind whose only drawbacks are that they are not as strong or rugged as plastic and they may reduce the amount for consumption of the foods they're made from (corn/potatoes). The latter seem to be known as the "bad" kind because they're still made of plastic.

HOWEVER.....thanks to Amazon.com, you can get 880 PURPLE bags on rolls for $23.93.  And the 120ct that I bought at Whole Pets for $14.99 goes for $7 on Amazon. Whereas, on PoopBags.com (not kidding about the name, check out the link!) you can get 480 BioBag dog bags for $82.99!!! Yikes. And double yikes. Especially when you have to pick up every single mess your dog makes individually.  My M.a.t.h. says he uses about 2/day  which equals 60 bags a month! That's 1/2 of the Bag on Board package (~$7), 2 Pooch Pickup boxes or 3 BioBag rolls, so roughly $8-$14.25/mo or $84-$171/year just on dog bags. Throw in use for cat litter boxes and you've got another 3-5 bags/week. That's A LOT of bags. Who has that kind of money?

Well, after reading the reviews on Amazon, I went ahead and bought the 880 purple bags.  I figure that on my budget it's better to do this (for now) than not do anything.  Also after reading the reviews, I think more people need to be made aware of the difference between "biodegradable" and "compostable" because I would think that the Bag On Board bags WOULD NOT be good for a compost bin. (Though, I'm sure very few people put dog poo in their compost. Yuck.) I still believe that everyone should use these bags at least, and the starch ones if you feel you can afford it, because every little bit helps.

I will, however, stick with BioBags when I start buying trash can bags and also if/when I start composting.  For dog and cat bags, though, the number of bags + the price + the still lessened impact on the environment still make these bags a win for me. And who knows? Maybe someday I'll be able to afford not only the corn starch bags but also an assistant who will pick up the poop for me. A girl can dream. ;-)

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Reusable Bag (With kitties)

My cat Sherman may make a good case for disposable bags, but I have to speak to the contrary. Even though paper bags ARE slightly better, (at least they were in the past) b/c they're more reusable (hamster cages)/recyclable than plastic (though now if you take your bags to the grocery store they will supposedly "recycle" them for you. There will be a whole other rant about this later...).

But what's even better than paper bags? Canvas bags! These bags can be reused time after time after time. The ones you buy from stores are usually fairly large and sturdy and most have a plastic bottom(though, you can really get any type of cloth bag which means that they can be any size you desire). Also, they are cheap - usually $0.99 or less. I got a really cute one on sale at Pier 1 for $0.69! SO they can also be stylish (for those of you who are concerned with such stuff) and look MUCH better than those white, gray and brown crinkly plastic ones. The bag on the bottom right, in particular, was apparently designed for Whole Foods by Sheryl Crow: pop-singer extraordinaire. Or whatever. They also fold up relatively small. Whole Foods sells an amazing one - the bag w/in a bag. I got one of these recently and LOVE IT! It was slightly more expensive at about $3.99 but has miraculously lessened my no-bag-carrying woes! It has really paid for itself and more in lack of stress. Mine is similar to the bottom left bag, but has one crucial improvement: It's made of more tent-like material rather than canvas and its little carry sack is attached right to it so that it just folds into itself when you're done using it. It also has a draw-string on the carry sack and a mini caribener so you can clip it onto your belt loop if you want to look *really* cool. Canvas bags in general are also just plain useful for schlepping stuff to and fro. GO CANVAS!

EDIT: Also, some stores give you a discount like $0.10 total or per bag on your purchase if you use canvas. At Whole Foods I think you can also donated that bag credit to their charity du jour. (Thanks Kirin).

Ok, now you're probably thinking "OK, I got the bags - now how the HECK do I remember to use them?" Well, it's going to take some practice but I know you can do it! What I do is keep them all in the trunk of my car at all times and when I take them home w/ groceries, I make sure to put them someplace really obnoxious (like right in the walk way) to help me bring them back out when I make my next trip to my car. Then you'll always have them when you decide to do that spur-of-the-moment shopping trip after work. Also, if you have lots, it'll even the odds of having one in your car EVEN IF you've left some at home.

"Well that's all well and good" you say, "But what if I go in only planning to buy 1 thing but end up with 5 or 10?" If you're a woman or a man who has a man-purse affinity (or if you carry a backpack, satchel, baby backpack, briefcase whatever), you can make the tiny Whole Foods bag a permanent fixture in your bag b/c it's really light and very squishable. I have come to depend on my squishy little bag. Like today, for example, I pulled out ALL the contents of my purse at the checkout count in Whole Foods to find my bag for my items. And as it turned out, I had forgotten it and had to use a paper bag anyway. D'OH! OH well, nobody's perfect!

"But you're assuming that everyone is so together that they always remember their bags." No, I'm not assuming that at all. Actually, I'm assuming that since you're reading this blog, you are dedicated enough to give this a try. There has been many a time when I've grabbed a cart-full of groceries and then realized: "CRAP! My bags are in the car!" So what did I do? I told the lady that I was going to park my cart by her aisle to run out and get my bags. I've done this in the rain, snow, sleet, 10pm, etc. You just have to have enough discipline to do it. There have also been times where I just plain forgot a bag and had to hand carry out the stuff I bought.This is why big purses are GREAT!

I've also been that obnoxious customer who's told the cashier AFTER they've bagged my stuff "OH, I brought my own". As long as you apologize sincerely they shouldn't be jerks to you. And if they are, well, that's their deal I guess. (ok, only 1 or 2 bags. If I forget and get 10 bags worth of groceries I'll take the hurt not the nice cashier). The key to all of this is that you really just have to do it. Spend the extra $1-$4 and recognize the guilt you get when you forget them. And you WILL forget. Lots. Especially at first (I still do). But just keep at it and eventually it'll become (almost) second nature. And if you don't use reusable bags? Then you're a bad person...ok, not really. But if you make yourself feel bad for not doing it, then don't not do it!.... And if you don't feel bad then...why are you still reading?

And as for Shermie, well, these bags don't make as satisfying of a crackling sound, but they are still big and dark and fun to crawl into. We all win.



This Video is from Lucrezia and it's brilliant: