Friday, October 2, 2009

Eco-Bags

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Twenty years ago, Sharon Rowe was the only person in the checkout line at her local grocery store with a cloth bag. Checkout workers looked at her with confused stares when she refused plastic and instead placed her items inside her own cloth bag. What those checkout people didn’t know was that Sharon was onto a trend that would take another twenty years to become mainstream. They also wouldn’t realize that Sharon would be what her friends referred to as a “social agent,” that she would start the “grassroots movement” with the same people who pioneered natural products. They didn’t know that Sharon would put an end to plastic and that thousands of their future customers across the country and around the world would instead be carrying their groceries in Eco-Bags.

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Originally pursuing a career in acting, Sharon’s senses became heightened when she had her first child. She became “tired of all the plastic mess,” and started to notice the increased amount of garbage all around her. She wanted a job where she could create her own schedule and work to help clean up the world for her children. Fast forward to today and Sharon is now CEO of Eco-Bags. A line of eco-friendly cloth bags that allow people to skip out on the plastic. They have been featured on the arms of Serena and Jenny on Gossip Girl and made their debut on Showtime on an episode of Weeds. She has also been featured on Oprah and in countless publications. ”

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In the 90s, Sharon started Eco-Bags with the classic string tote. A bag she sold in all different colors and styles. Since then, she has created a line of canvas bags with adorable sayings and designs. Eco-bags has also teamed up with companies such as Kashi, Origins and Whole Foods to create custom pieces for specific green campaigns. Her best selling bags still include the string bags, while her cloth produce bags, which serve more of a functional purpose rather than a fashionable one, are also doing well with her customers. “They are not quite as sexy, but they will get you from A to B.” And while you can pack away as much as 25 pounds of stuff in any of her pieces, Sharon advises to stick with a more comfortable load of 15.

Three years ago, she partnered with other reusable companies to make the Eco-Bag website a one-stop shop for “eco-friendly lifestyle tools.” These products include reusable water bottles, lunch boxes and more.

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Eco-bags is currently featuring a line of eco-friendly canvas totes designed by prominent artists. The bags not only serve their usual green purpose, but proceeds from their sales will go to the artist’s charity of choice. They are also working on more reusable lunch boxes for back to school and have some noteworthy partnerships coming up in the near future.

Twenty years ago, Sharon was one of an entire grocery store with a cloth bag. Now, she has finally noticed a 50/50 split between those who BYOB (bring their own bags) and those who do not. On a recent trip to Lincoln center, she peered down at the crowed. Some carried her own Eco-Bag designs, some carried paper bags and some carried cloth, but not a single person had plastic.

She notes that is the most important thing. Whatever you do, whatever bag you carry, just say no to plastic.

Also, be sure to enter our Summer Heat Sweepstakes for your chance to win an Eco-Bag!


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izvor: www.whatswear.com

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