Earth Swag is just one of many companies that are changing our notion of doing business. For some companies, the profits are not just in the form of money but also in the form of social change. Earth Swag was started by a mom who was tired of packing daily lunches in plastic baggies that would in turn, be thrown away only to end up in landfills. At first it was just one woman trying to reduce her carbon footprint by sewing reusable snack bags and sandwich wraps for her two kids. People saw her cute handmade bags and wanted one of their own. From there, the idea for Earth Swag was born.
And these ideas are being born everywhere. Socially conscious people are trying to make an honest living while living an honest life. The idea of “Going Green” is not just a trend but it is a movement. It is a movement that will forever change the way we live. And this movement was started by a handful of people who cared enough about our Earth to do something. Sara O’Connor didn’t just complain about plastic waste. She didn’t preach or scold those who mindlessly wasted plastic products. Instead, she did something about it. She offered us an alternative.
It was an alternative that made too much sense to ignore. I myself was not even aware of the amount of waste we were producing from plastic bags. I thought the plastic bag was ingenious and as a teacher, the product was a part of my daily life. Zip lock bags were great for storing snacks and treats for my students; plastic grocery bags were great for transporting things from home to school. I actually felt good because I was “reusing” plastic bags. But eventually, the bags would wear out and I’d throw them away. It never occurred to me what happened to them after that.
But here are the facts.
• 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used every year, worldwide.
• About 1 million plastic bags are used every minute.
• A single plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years to degrade.
• The U.S. goes through 100 billion single-use plastic bags. This costs retailers about $4 billion a year.
• Plastic bags are the second-most common type of ocean refuse, after cigarette butts.
• Plastic bags remain toxic even after they break down.
• Every square mile of ocean has about 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it.
(information provided by http://www.reuseit.com)
Those are facts that I simply did not know. It wasn’t that I didn’t care. I just didn’t know. Now that I do know, I can’t help but to see the truth all around me. You can not imagine the waste that I see in one day in my school’s cafeteria. All because people just don’t realize how it all adds up.
When we are faced with facts that astound us, we are given a choice. We can ignore the facts and go on living the way we always have or we can commit to make a change. Earth Swag is offering a product that can make a significant change with very little effort and cost. For a reasonable price, you can buy reusable lunch bags, tote bags and water bottles that can be used a thousand more times than one plastic bag or plastic bottle. Economically and environmentally it just makes more sense. Additionally, these products can be used in so many more ways than originally intended. I have used my Earth Swag for much more than snacks. These bags are great for travel and for carrying all kinds of different items and the designs are fashionable and trendy. I always get compliments on my “Swag.” And Earth Swag is now expanding to offer new exciting products including t-shirts, hats and lunch kits. Earth Swag is not just selling us another product…it is selling us an idea and an alternative to the way things are. It is introducing a better way that will lead to a better world for ourselves and our children.
For more information on Earth Swag, visit earthswag.com or find them on facebook.
“Be a part of the change you want to see in the world.” ~Ghandi
