All posts by Bulletin Bag

Reusable Grocery Bags: More Kids Making a Difference

Plastic Bag Bans, ,

weston-plastic-bags-girls-300x249On February 7, two fourth graders in Weston, Connecticut, will be submitting a petition to their town selectmen. They are trying to ban plastic grocery bags, and have collected 150 signatures on a petition in support of that.

Colleen Moore, 10, had the idea for the petition as part of an assignment in her Project Challenge class at school. “I wanted to do something that was good for the environment and this seemed like a good idea,” she said. Fellow student Julia Morledge, 9, has partnered with Colleen to help move the idea forward.

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Reusable Grocery Bags Take Center Stage on December 20

Green Issues, Promotion Ideas, ,

day_without_a_bag.jpgEach year, on the third Thursday in December, Southern California shoppers are urged to forgo plastic shopping bags in favor of reusable grocery bags in an effort to encourage reusable bag use throughout the year. This year, the sixth-annual A Day Without A Bag is on December 20.

Over 9 million residents in California live in communities that have either banned plastic bags or are actively working on bag ban ordinances. When these ordinances pass, nearly 1 in 3 Californians will have embraced reusable bag use!

Sponsored in part by the City and County of Los Angeles, and organized by Heal the Bay, the goals of the annual event are to encourage shoppers to adopt more sustainable practices during the holidays and coming year and to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags throughout California. Each year Heal the Bay partners distribute free reusable grocery bags to patrons throughout the region. A diverse mix of retailers also supports the event through in-store promotions or giveaways at stores countywide.

For more information, visit Heal the Bay‘s website.

Plastic Bag Bans This Week: The Good, The Bad, and The Misleading

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans, ,

bagsatlandfillIn a follow up to the blog we wrote about 13-year-old Abby Goldberg, an Illinois plastic shopping bag recycling program was rejected last week. Lawmakers there declined to override Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of the plan. Earlier this year, Abby successfully lobbied Quinn to veto the legislation that lawmakers had approved in the spring.

The proposal would have required manufacturers of plastic bags and films to recycle more material, but opponents decried the legislation because it wouldn’t let local communities come up with their own recycling programs or even ban the bags outright. The rejection is great news for Abby, who wanted plastic bags banned in her town (the ban has yet to be approved).

For every step forward in increasing reusable grocery bag use, though, there seems to be a step backward…

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America Recycles Day 2012 Is Almost Here

Bulletin Bag Products, Promotion Ideas,

america_recycles_day.jpgWhat great event is right between Halloween and Thanksgiving? America Recycles Day! November 15 has marked America Recycles Day since 1997. It’s the only nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling in the United States. People across the country get together, work together, and recycle together!

This year, in honor of America Recycles Day, we invite you to take $25 off any custom reusable bag order of $350 or more on Bulletin Bag [.com]. Orders must be placed by 5:00 pm EST on 11/16/2012 (standard minimum order requirements apply.  Must mention coupon code ARD111512.)

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Barrington Votes Out with Plastic Bags, In With Reusable Bags

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans,

bulletinbagthunderEarlier this month, Barrington became the first town in Rhode Island to ban plastic checkout bags.

The Town Council approved the two-year ban at all retail stores, farmers’ markets, flea markets and restaurants starting January 1, 2013. Under the ban, stores will still be able to use plastic produce, bakery and deli counter bags and retailers will be able to charge a five cent fee for recyclable paper bags. Of course, shoppers who bring their own reusable bags (custom or otherwise!) don’t have to pay anything.

“We applaud the town council’s decision to move forward with this initiative to protect the Bay and local waterways from plastic bag pollution,” said Channing Jones, Program Associate with Environment Rhode Island, a citizen-based advocacy group. “Nothing we use for five minutes should pollute the Bay for future generations.”

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Fighting for Reusable Shopping Bags: If a Teen Can Do It…

Green Issues, Plastic Bag Bans, , ,

fighting_for_reusable_shopping_bagsHave you heard of Activist Abby? If not, take note. Abby Goldberg is an amazing activist (and she’s just 13 years old). She learned about how plastic bags have caused damage to our environment. Instead of leaving school and never thinking about it again, she started a two-year-long school project (to be completed by 8th grade graduation) to make a video convincing her hometown to ban plastic shopping bags.

Seven months into her efforts to encourage reusable shopping bags in her town, she discovered that the oil and chemical industries were ahead of the game. They joined forces with lobbyists and politicians to draft a bill to make it illegal for towns across Illinois to create plastic bag bans.  The bill was thinly veiled as a green environmental bill with requirements for low-volume plastic bag recycling and positioned it as a model bill for all states. It passed in a late-night session without fanfare or press, which made her realize all of her work could be for nothing.

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Sustainability on Campus: University of Maine is Making a Difference

Green Issues, , ,

usgbc_logoThe Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition was recently released, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council. The guide profiles—yep, you guessed it—322 schools that demonstrate a notable commitment to sustainability. It lists vital stats on eco-friendliness and covers everything from solar panel use and green majors to fair-trade fashion and green options for getting around campus.

In 2011, Green Rating scores were tallied for 768 colleges and universities. Of those, only 18 schools attained top scores of 99. Bulletin Bag [.com], based in Maine, is proud to say that the University of Maine is among this elite group of 18.

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Custom Shopping Bags Third Most Popular Promotional Product in 2011

Bulletin Bag Products, Promotion Ideas

paper_plastic_neither_bagLooking for custom shopping bags for your organization? You’re not alone. The Promotional Products Association International has reported that, in the United States, custom reusable bags moved from the fourth to the third largest promotional product segment. Bag sales totaled $1.27 billion in 2011!

We’re not surprised. As more and more towns, cities, and municipalities seek ways to reduce plastic bag consumption, organizations have been running to snap up custom grocery bags to get in the hands of clients and prospects. We’ve been saying for quite a while how great reusable bags are for so many reasons (environmental ones aside).  Custom shopping bags as tradeshow giveaways give loads of exposure at the event, combined with the exposure when the bags are reused over and over–providing impressions every time they’re used. Don’t remember us saying that? Read our blog from back in 2010: https://www.bulletinbag.com/blog/conference-bag-giveaways.html

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Reusable Bags Do Not Cause Illness

Green Issues,

paper_plastic_neither_bagIf you’re like us, you’re getting tired of “studies” that make reusable grocery bags out to be nasty breeding grounds for every gross germ in the universe and the reason why plastic is better. The thing that really makes you sick? Not using common sense!

You may have read that last week, some Oregon researchers investigated a recent outbreak of norovirus amongst members of a girls’ soccer team. We won’t gross you out with the details, but suffice it to say that a girl got sick, and seven other players and chaperones fell ill even though nobody had come in direct contact with the original patient after she first displayed symptoms. The common link? **Insert scary music** A reusable grocery bag of snacks that had been stored in the bathroom.Yep, all of the sick people ate cookies that were stored in that reusable bag. How did the nasty bug get to the cookies? You can read the dirty details here.

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Graduating in a Recycled Plastic Bottle

Green Issues, ,

This year’s Rhode Island College graduates will receive their diplomas in recycled plastic bottles! Not literally, of course, but their traditional black caps and gowns are made from an eco-friendly material called GreenWeaver. The fabric is spun from molten plastic pellets, which are produced completely from recycled plastic bottles (about 23 per gown).

greenweaver

After the ceremony, the gowns will be recycled (again!) into carpet. We think this is an amazing way to keep reusing materials, and yet another reason why recycling is so important. Swapping your disposable bottles for reusable water bottles is best, but if you can’t bear to do that, at least make sure they’re properly recycled!