Pretty Packaging Vs. The Earth

When I buy something from someone on etsy or hyena cart or handmade from a shop or boutique--online or in town--, I really enjoy all the little details. Pretty hang tags, attractive packaging, little extras, etc. All that stuff is fun and really makes you feel special.

I would love to wrap my bags in fancy tissue and tie them with expensive ribbons and have a tag or four on the product, but I keep bumping up against an issue that is important to me: saving the environment by reducing waste and my carbon footprint. I'd also feel like I'd need to charge a bit more, since I've priced my bags at the absolute cheapest I could. Being both a frugal person and a person desiring to save the environment by reducing waste, that doesn't seem appealing either. I mean, I know that my work is worth more than I am charging--a lot more. The care and quality of my products are definitely worth more, my time is worth more. But, being both a frugal person and a person desiring to save the environment by reducing waste (hee), I felt that charging more would inordinately elevate my bags beyond their very humble use. The frugal side of me gasps at market tote prices...I wouldn't personally pay $30 for a grocery bag, so I don't feel like I can expect my customers to. The tree-hugger side of me wants to make attractive and affordable grocery bags so that the average consumer will be inspired to try bringing their own bag rather than perpetuating the waste issue with plastic bags. In other words, I felt that if I charged $25 for my market totes, or $30, or $50, I'd be taking advantage of the green-committed people and snubbing people of more humble means or at least condemning them to the ugly plastic reusable store bags. ;)

But I digress.

The point is, I'm trying to come up with a solution. I would like to find some sort of sustainable/recycled/recyclable way to make my customers feel special, and to give my products a bit of their boutique dignity. I feel like I'd be selling out to print out tags on the ol' printer and wrap the bags in tissue paper. Certainly, it can all be recycled. But I'd like to come up with a better way to do it.

One thing I keep coming back to (for tags at least) is using a stamp. I already make my bag labels by hand with scrap fabric and a stamp. So if I could find a recycled/recyclable solution for the actual tag part, that would be easy, frugal, and environmentally friendly. Frugal eventually, that is, as the upfront cost of a custom rubber stamp is somewhat expensive. I've been pondering using a stamp for care/website address on the inner bottom of the bag. I've also been looking for a way to recycle my thread snips and fabric bits, and have thought of making my own paper, but that's definitely a future project, not a now one.

And then there is the "free sample" or little extra gift. I know that I super duper love those, personally. Even if it's just a magnet advertising the shop. Again, the question for me is...how do I find an easy, inexpensive, environmentally-friendly solution? Hrm.

I've also run across sellers who state upfront that in their effort to reduce waste or be environmentally friendly, they don't print receipts or use excessive packaging, and that is very attractive to me as well. I like people who like what I like and care what I care about, so it makes me inclined to give them my business as well. Perhaps at least for now, *I* should just mention that, myself.

Just ramblings, really...but if you have any suggestions, I'm certainly open!

Bea Green Blogorama!

I was hoping to roll out a new product today and thusly a giveaway, but I've had *two* family issues this week (the more serious one this morning) so this post will just be about bea-ing green. :) Incidentally, just to be clear, not every Bea Green Blogorama will involve a giveaway. This meme is about green topics, not stuff :D But I like giveaways, so chances are you'll see them more often than not :D You may even see them randomly...hee hee :D

My tip and challenge for being green today is to consider how much waste you make, and take a baby step toward reducing your waste.

One thing my family has done for a long time now is to use cloth napkins. The mildly-to-barely "dirty" ones can be reused, and the really soiled ones go in with our towels, but I find they don't add a lot of bulk to our regular wash. We don't use paper napkins at all, and only very rarely do we use paper towels. I generally don't keep them in the house, so I've had to be creative with things like draining meat and bacon grease :)

For those kinds of jobs, I use the thin dishcloth towels that are often referred to as "Flour Sacks" or cheesecloth. Then, I wait til the grease is cooled and scrape what I can into the garbage. What I can't scrape off, I wash the towel in very hot water with a generous amount of soap. The soap ensures that the grease is encapsulated and not going to clog your drains (plus it should be a small amount). Also, if you use cheesecloth, you can also save it in the fridge or freezer and use it to grease pans for things like stir fry. Ok, not the healthiest oil for sure, but I'm just sayin'. ;)

So tell me, how do you reduce waste? What's a baby step you can take? How are you bea-ing green? :D

Delayed!

I had some family things to attend to today and through tomorrow morning, so there will be a short delay on the customs I am finishing up as well as the carnival. Check back Friday for the carnival! :D

Monday, July 14th Stocking

6 new bags up, all with shoulder straps (except one) as promised! A new solid color, two Asian prints, two old favorites, and one Victorian inspiration. A few of the bags don't have full pictures yet because I ran out of light. I'll remedy that tomorrow of course. :D I realized I'd run out of light and fortunately had the presence of mind to at least photograph the fabric...

Also, later this week we will be having another Bea Green carnival, so be prepared to write about bea-ing green!

A preview of tonights' stocking:

Monday, July 7th Stocking

...is live. :) It was up earlier today, actually. Five bags, 4 tote straps and 1 shoulder-length one, four different prints in all. :)

Retro Rooster


Next week I plan on stocking Monday as usual, but all the bags will have shoulder straps. There will be several bags that were previously available in tote length straps, so if you loved that one bag but wished it had shoulder straps, check back then! I might just have one for you!

Preview

Giveaway Winners!

Giveaway # 1:
Here are your random numbers:

59

Timestamp: 2008-07-07 01:53:16 UTC

Congrats to Lisa Sharp!

Giveaway # 2:

Here are your random numbers:

7

Timestamp: 2008-07-07 01:49:55 UTC

Congrats to The Wandering Woman!

As soon as I get your addresses, I will send out your prizes!

Thank you again for all the entries--I truly wish I could have given each and everyone of you a prize. You all get an "A" in my book--keep bea-ing green!

Excellent Ideas!

I'm loving all the ways you are "bea-ing" green! Whether a veteran at it or taking one small baby step at a time, I'm inspired by all the good tips and ideas but most especially the effort. Way to go! Keep it up! I will be hosting more blog memes about "bea-ing" green in the near future, but not all of them will involve giveaways. Either way, it's great to gather all that smart information and all those great ideas into one place :)

There will be a few more bags up for sale tomorrow, and then on Monday (usual stocking day). So if you didn't see anything you LOVED, check back! And after that, we will be back to a more relaxed stocking schedule.

I also hope to debut more products this month, so that's another good reason to keep up with the happenings via this blog or directly at the store. :)

And of course, check back on Sunday, when I will be announcing the winners of the giveaways! :D I wish I could give a bag to all of you, and I'm so excited that you are excited about the giveaway too. :)

Grand Opening!

I'm pleased to announce that we are out of beta and releasing on time! ;) Check back later today and over the next few days for even MORE bags to be listed, although I just finished listing a whole batch. :) Welcome to Bumble Bea Green!



To celebrate, I have two giveaways going on...scroll down to participate!

Giveaway # 2

This giveaway is for two Produce Totes with a white ribbon drawstring closure! See my other giveaway below for more fabulous prizes!



Made of gauzy cotton voile and drawn with a polyester grosgrain ribbon, this Produce Tote set features both sizes (Carrot Bunch and Banana Bunch)



To win this fabulous set, all you need to do is visit my store and leave a comment telling me what your favorite tote or product is to this entry. Yup, that's it. Just make sure I know who you are and how to contact you! One entry per person/household, please. A winner will be chosen using a random number generator on Sunday, July 6th in the evening (PST)!



This giveaway is now CLOSED!

Introducing Market Essentials product line by Bumble Bea Green

The Market Essentials
Paper? Plastic? Neither! Sturdier, more attractive, affordable, reusable items for your grocery needs are here! Be the belle of the market, the hero of the manatees every time you use a Bumble Bea Green Market product.

To ferry your fresh produce (or for whatever else you use those plastic produce bags for), check out Produce Totes by Bumble Bea Green. Your fruits and veggies never had it so good! Gauzy cotton voile keeps your lemons looking fab and in one place!


To ferry a lot of fresh produce in your produce totes--and for the rest of your groceries--check out Market Totes by Bumble Bea Green. Whether you like your tote to be plain or funky, whimsical or lush, show off your own flavor and know you will look great--and so will your groceries--carrying this tote around!



To ferry many of your food carriers around, check out the Bea Keeper! This product is coming soon, and will feature a convenient way to store and manage all your grocery totes.

Not Just For Groceries
Of course, these bags are as beautiful as they are versatile. Use the produce totes to store your ribbon collection, or to store your jacks-and-marbles set. Use the market totes for anything you'd use a tote bag for--carrying your books; as a handy travel bag; for your sunscreen and beach towels on a hot summer day--the possibilities abound!



Every Product Has A Story...
When I began to realize just how wasteful and what a detrimental environmental impact the making, distributing, and discarding of plastic grocery bags is, I knew that I needed to make a switch. So I started looking around at fabric grocery bags. I bought some of those cheap recycled ones from various stores, I bought an extremely expensive unlined tote while on vacation, and ogled the expensive totes at REI and other places...but I didn't really find anything I fell in love with. I didn't like how floppy the totes were, and how ugly and cheap the store bags were. So I made some for myself.

And then I made some as gifts. And then people started asking me to make some for them. And then more people did and offered to pay me for my time and effort, and eventually I decided to offer these totes to any and all who had the same desires I did--for a sturdy and shapely grocery tote that wasn't too big or too small and didn't look like it fell out of the bargain bin's dumpster. Bonus points for being fabulous looking as well.

Although I'd been kicking around the idea of turning my hobby--creatively sewing--into a more widespread adventure, that was the impetus I needed, the proverbial kick-in-the-pants. I am passionate about what I do--whether sewing or hugging trees--and I wanted to offer something to the world that would make it a better place--and I truly mean that. Grocery bags seemed like a reachable ideal. I'm just one person, and I can't do everything--but I can do something.

Did you know that according to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually, and that an estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags? That's a lot of oil, and a LOT of bags. There are so very many reasons to reduce or eliminate the use of paper and plastic grocery bags, and I hope to make affordable, cute bags an option for people who desire that as well. That's why I say I'm "going green" one bag at a time, and why my subtitle talks about caring for the future. Because every time you use a reusable grocery bag--even if it's one you made out of a pillowcase--you have saved a tiny spot in a landfill somewhere, and created less demand for the plastic and oil behind the disposable ones. That's something to be proud of.

My Market Essentials line strives to meet that ideal in a beautiful and affordable way. Going green doesn't have to mean going ugly, or going without. It can truly mean going beautiful--especially with a Bumble Bea Green market tote on your arm.

Giveaway and Bea Green Carnival!

To celebrate the grand opening of my store and to kick off what I hope will be a bi-monthly occurrence, I am offering a giveaway along with this blogorama!



What?
On the 1st and 16th I will be hosting this "green meme"-the Bea Green Blogorama! I'd love to get our heads together and learn about living a more green and natural way from each other. Most of my friends already post about "green" topics frequently, so I figured, why not put them all together once in awhile so we can all enjoy them?

How?
To participate, all you need to do is dig up a past post or write a new one about bea-ing green...how you are, what you are doing that is 'green', ways to be green, what it means to you--the sky's the limit, as long as it's family-friendly and environmentally conscious. Hang your laundry instead of using the dryer? Tell us about it! Saving money and the air on gas somehow? Please share! Planting a garden--and growing it organically? The topic is broad and yet the focus is narrow.

So...about that giveaway...
What we have up for grabs is a *fabulous* market tote and a produce tote! And guess what...you can enter twice for twice the chance to win!



This beautiful mellow-toned market tote features "Kleo" by Alexander Henry fabric on the front and back and a coordinating "Bangle Dot" Alexander Henry print for the bottom and sides. Lined in chocolate twill and sporting tote-length straps, this retro-chic tote will be the talk of the town! Additionally, I am including a pink-ribboned produce tote. Color-coordinating your veggies was never so fun! ;)



This is one of my favorite totes so far, and the print is big enough that the back is actually a little different! It is fun and funky enough to use in multiple ways, sturdy and solid enough to haul your groceries from the farmer's market or the canned goods outlet. The best of both worlds!



Yay! So how can I win it?
As I said, there are two ways to enter. The first way is to leave a comment to this post about being green. That's it. Just tell me about your inner tree-hugger or pass on a tip to reduce waste or whatever--as long as it's "safe for work", family-friendly, and most of all GREEN! As long as you leave a comment telling me about being environmentally conscious and leave me a way to contact you if you win, it counts! You may only enter once this way, and duplicates will be deleted.

The second way is to participate in this carnival/meme! To do so, either find a public (family friendly and eco-appropriate) post or make one about being green and then use the handy-dandy Mr. Linky at the bottom! To use Mr. Linky, leave your name in the name slot and a link to your post about being green. Don't leave a link to your blog or your favorite webcomic, it must be to your specific post! Duplicates will not be counted, and you may only enter for a chance to win once--although if you want to offer multiple posts about being green, that's fine by me! If you make a new post just for this meme, please feel free to use the graphic up above, and certainly spread the word!

Winner will be chosen using a random number generator and announced on Sunday, July 6th in the evening (PST)! Have fun and Bea Green!

Commenting to this entry is now CLOSED!