I once read, “If you aren’t buying products made of recycled materials, you aren’t really completing the cycle and recycling.” That statement really struck home for me. I am huge recycler, I am proud to say that we overfill two bins each week of recyclable materials and not even one full trash can. I have even been known to bring home stacks of paper and plastic from the office to recycle, since we don’t have recycling at the office. But suddenly I realized, what does it matter if I send all these items to be recycled if we aren’t using the recycled material.
Of course, once I started looking for products made of recycled material, true “green” products, I became frustrated at the lack of options available. It seemed that all of the options for things made of recycled materials were (for lack of a better way to describe them) hippieish. Come on manufactures and retailers — the movement isn’t just for hippies any more. Every-day people want to protect the world we live in. Make more things out of recycled materials!
But isn’t cheap. Even though logic says the materials should be cheaper since they are being reused, they aren’t. I looked into getting the magazine I produce printed on 100% recycled paper. The option would have broken my budget and lost me a client. So, I was left to be satisfied with my paper made from 10% post-consumer waste. Hey, 10% is something…
Slowly but surely, manufactures, big corporations and retailers are starting to get it. Pottery Barn Kids is now carrying a line of play plastic tableware made from 100% recycled milk jugs. And I recently saw an outdoor rug at Costco made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. So my personal mission continues, to find cool and useful products for my family that have been made from the materials we have become so good at recycling.
My new favorite item – recently while searching The Breast Cancer Site’s store , I found large grocery totes (EnviroVogue™ Recycled Plastic Tote) made from 100% recycled plastic bottles (the body of the bag anyway). Not only are they made of recycled materials and have pretty designs, for each one purchased The Breast Cancer Site is able to fund 1% of a mammogram for a woman who would not otherwise be able to afford one. Plus, if you buy the Pink Damask design, an extra donation is made to support breast cancer research.
Let’s see;
- Made of recycled materials, check!
- Useful, check!
- Cool, check!
- A portion of the proceeds support a worthy cause, check!
- Lessens the impact on the environment each use, check!
I had to have a bag (in pink damask), and it is just as pretty and useful in person as it was online. The only downside… when I looked up the bag today, it is now on sale for $8 instead of $9.95. Oh well!!! I still love my bag. I can’t wait to use my new bag grocery shopping tomorrow! I only hope someone asks me about it so I can pass along the message of buying things made from recycled materials!
(Let me know if you decide you have to have a bag too, we can be recycled grocery tote buddies!)
