Since returning from my travels I’ve made a conscious effort to do many things differently — to just live a bit simpler and not waste as much time, resources, and money; to shrink my overall carbon footprint. I don’t drive a car and take my bike or public transport everywhere. I’m making an effort to eat much less meat, helping my health and the earth and environment at the same time. I recycle, as I always have, but try more than ever to not consume many things in the first place so as to not add to the already enormous waste problem we have. Craigslist has been a dream for me and I have been selling a lot of things or giving them away so others can use them, like my old books and CDs, my old Satellite receiver, my roller blades, and soon even my old film SLR camera. Yes, it has nostalgic meaning, but not as much as the photos it’s taken…so off it goes to someone else. And I always bring a bag with me when I go shopping whether it’s a backpack because I’m on my bike anyway or a shopping tote so I don’t need to take their never-decomposing plastic bags. Enter Envirosax.
Bring a Reusable Bag
According to their site:
Chic, inexpensive and compact, Envirosax® carry the message of re-use to a world ready for a brighter ecological future.
- Tested for strength & safety
- Super strong, holds 44lbs
- Fully washable – won’t fade
- Super convenient & water-resistant
- Fashionable & fun – a great gift idea!
- Solution to one-use plastic bags
The Good.
These bags are durable and can hold a lot. They have great, fun designs – much cooler than a white plastic bag with the “CVS” logo imprinted on the side. And they roll up into a very small cylinder that you can drop into a purse or backpack. But…
The Bad.
They roll up, but they don’t always stay rolled up. There’s a strap with a snap, but it just doesn’t keep it tightly rolled as the slippery bag tends to come undone even when snapped. I’m sure many just drop it in their big purse and don’t notice, but I hate purses and either don’t carry one or when I do, it’s pretty tiny. I also wish there was some kind of hook or small carabineer on the envirosax so I could hook it to my purse or backpack in case it doesn’t fit inside.
Bottom Line.
I will definitely be using these Enirosax. It seems every store now is selling those recycled, reusable shopping bags and that’s great, but I envied countries I visited that didn’t even offer plastic bags anymore. A bill to ban plastic bags in the state of California was just rejected, but many cities there already enact a similar policy. It’s a luxury and convenience that has gone too far and the scary “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” between San Francisco and Hawaii, should be enough to stop our love affair with the plastic bag.
“The patch has been growing, along with ocean debris worldwide, tenfold every decade since the 1950s,” said Chris Parry, public education program manager with the California Coastal Commission in San Francisco.
“At this point, cleaning it up isn’t an option,” Parry said to the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s just going to get bigger as our reliance on plastics continues. … The long-term solution is to stop producing as much plastic products at home and change our consumption habits.”
You can help to limit the ever-growing supposed Texas-sized patch of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean by limiting your use of plastics whenever possible. Plastic doesn’t easily degrade and can kill sea life and birds. Sea turtles mistake clear plastic bags for jellyfish. Birds swoop down and swallow indigestible shards of plastic. The petroleum-based plastics take decades to break down, and as long as they float on the ocean’s surface, they can appear as feeding grounds.
Use a reusable bag when shopping.
What sets Envirox apart besides their fun designs, is their durability and compact size when rolled up (and when they stay rolled up!). Whether you use these or not, it’s a great idea to cut down on all these awful plastic bags and remember this order of things: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Single sax go for about $9 each or you can get a set of 5 for $30.
Buy some Envirosax here.
Disclosure:
This was an objective product review. I did not receive any compensation to do the review. There are affiliate links in this post, which means if you purchase, I make a small percentage, but the cost remains the same for you.
You made me feel very good about quitting shopping altogether many years ago. I believe I am off-setting my 20 year old daughter who has taken the opposite pledge! I’ve noticed recycling of plastics becoming a more popular process in the burb I live in. I hope that’s a trend. Garbage in the ocean is a sin. My veggie intake has grown consdiderably as I’ve aged. I like them. The other night I was at a trendy Thai joint in Chicago. I shared some Brussel Sprout concoction that we paid 18 bucks for. As a kid, you couldn’t give me 50 bucks to eat one. I was stunned to see that these Brussel Sprouts were actually fresh. I thought they were picked from the ground already frozen. Crazy I tell you. Good post sis.
These look fantastic!
Woo! Reusable bags . . . usually a backpack does it, but every so often a car is necessary to go to the store, and a tradition I inherited from my dad is to always keep a few bags in the trunk (along with my tent and other random travel necessities: you never know when you might need to pitch up for the night!). The one issue I have, however, with made-to-reuse bags (because many plastic bags can be reused, as they often are strong enough) is that they are made internationally. Envriosax, for example, are made in China (according to their website) for cost and related concerns. It's impractical, but sustainability is truly the making of product (and produce) on a uniquely indefinite scale. Buy one or two, I guess, and be happy that no more plastic is being processed, but always be aware of the worldly surroundings . . .