Why you should love your tote bag

     I’m starting to feel as though I treat my linen tote bag like my security blanket.  It serves so many purposes that I can’t help but love it to death.  Although mine has a few stains on it now, I still insist on taking it with me almost everywhere.  I could very well try to justify my love but after sharing the many uses of the bag, I don’t think you will need much more convincing.
     The most basic use for this bag is for school or work.  The linen is incredibly strong so it’ll hold as many books that will fit.  It is also great as a casual bag for the daytime.  I almost always prefer carrying mine instead of a purse because I can easily grab items out of it.  I also find it much more comfortable to hold because it’s so light and does not slip off your shoulder.”¨   
     A fantastic thing about a linen bag is that it folds up easily and is very light.  That way I can carry it with me in my purse or car in case I decide to stop by the market.  It is so convenient that I tend to carry with me all the time!”¨ 
    The best part of carrying a linen bag for your groceries is that it is good for the environment.  I favor mine because it is pretty discreet and doesn’t scream, “I’m good for the environment!” all over it.  I like helping the environment but I don’t necessarily need a bright green bag to alert the world that I’m trying to be green.”¨   
     Using a linen bag for you groceries is so easy to do and really does make a difference.  I know that markets are starting to make a big deal about bringing your own bags to cut down on paper and plastic bags, but I’ve discovered that it really does make a huge impact on the environment.  Here are some facts I found that make me love my bag even more.”¨   
     To start with, experts estimate that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed and discarded annually worldwide, that is more than a million per minute.  Here are shocking reasons why we must cut down on our use of plastic and paper bags:

•    Plastic bags aren’t biodegradable. They actually go through a process called photodegradation—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic particles that contaminate both soil and water, and end up entering the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.
•    Hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins, sea turtles and other marine mammals die ever year after eating discarded plastic bags they mistake for food.
•    According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. Of those, approximately 100 billion are plastic shopping bags.
•    Paper bags require an immense amount of water to be produced- 1 part pulp to 400 parts water.
•    Each year more than 14 million trees are cut down to produce 10 billion paper bags used by Americans that year.

     Yeah, my linen bag is my new best friend.  After reading all those facts I feel even better about carry my bag with me everywhere knowing that I am making a small difference to a cleaner world with less waste.  I don’t even think of myself as “environmental”, and I don’t think you need to in order to do little things to create less waste.  Things like bringing my favorite everyday bag with me to the market required almost no thought on my part, yet small acts such as this can impact our environment in a positive way.

*Tip*  Find the perfect linen for your bag at Fabrics-Store.com!