 with the highest social responsibility standards – focusing on Fair Labor Laws and ethical production. I’m a huge fan of Eco-Bags for many reasons: from their B-Corp status, to their organic reusable cotton bags, to their string bags that take me back to my childhood, and let’s not forget their bulk and produce bags! This company has thought about every aspect of single-use plastic bags used in a grocery store – even offering solutions to the use of the thin plastic bags on my fruits, veggies and bulk grains. They make it simple: you can mix and match for your own bag needs or select one of their Eco-Shopping options that range from shopping for one to shopping for four. Bringing your own bags to the market is a seemingly insignificant thing; however, considering the billions of people on our planet, and the amount of single-use bags that are thrown “away” daily, this is a huge contributor to our ever growing plastic problem.
As a response to this mounting issue, many states have imposed bans and fees around single-use plastic bags. Why not get into the habit of doing it for yourself and the planet, instead of waiting for your state to ban it for you? I’ll be honest, it took us awhile to get into the habit of packing re-usable bags for a grocery store run. Even if I knew I was leaving the house to go to the market, somehow I would inevitably forget my reusable bags!
***B.Y.O.Bag hack: After you unload your market goods from your bags, hang them on the door handle that you use most frequently to enter and exit your house. Take them down with you the next time you leave the house, so you’re never without a solid stash of them in the car with you.***
We need bees for many reasons – without them them pollinating plants and our entire food system would fall apart; their venom, jelly and honey have been touted for centuries for their numerous health benefits (from helping to alleviate allergies to skin care and anti-bacterial properties)…and now their wax is paving the way for sustainable food storage. Bee’s Wrap, a reusable and sustainable alternative to plastic wrap, is leading the charge on this front. Beyond plastics finding their way into our oceans and landfills, most humans now carry it in their bloodstream. Yep, that’s right. So when you save your food by wrapping it in plastic, not only is it detrimental to our oceans but it’s also being absorbed by your body and wreaking havoc on your insides.
We stopped using plastic wrap in our kitchen and have completely replaced it with the innovative Bee’s Wax wrap, not only alleviating our use of plastics but also helping to curb our food waste. I did a very non-scientific experiment with Bee’s Wrap, and the peppers that would normally shrivel up in a couple of day’s time lasted longer and stayed fresher in their Bee’s Wax wrap than in the traditional plastic wrap. Solving two of the world’s environmental crises in one fell swoop – food waste and plastic waste!
Made from organic cotton, sustainably sourced bees wax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin, these wraps are inherently anti-bacterial (thanks jojoba + beeswax) and designed to be washed with cool water and soap and used over and over again (up to a year!). Bee’s Wrap is serious about their initiative to curb plastic use, even down to their fully recyclable and plastic-free packaging. Once you’re ready to replace your wraps, toss them in your compost bin as they’re fully biodegradable.
Bee’s Wrap was established in 2012 in Bristol, Vermont by Sarah Kaeck whose anti-plastic purpose brought a lost tradition back into the modern world. Today, as a Green America Certified Business, it continues to be run by a growing group of women whose printing and textile practice is in accordance with the Global Organic Textile Standard.
Fun Fact: The typical American family produces more than 4,000 pieces of trash annually, just through the simple act of eating lunch on the go (according to a 2009 ECOlunchbox Lunch Box waste study), costing families hundreds of unnecessary dollars on plastic waste from single-serving portions and fillin