Greener Holidays

Are you thinking about the holidays yet? Wondering how you can add more sustainable practices and also help others make positive changes? Here are a few ideas...

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The Green Grocery Bag Challenge: A Holiday Sewing Project Benefiting Mother Earth

Fact 1: US consumers generate 4 million tons of wrapping paper and shopping bag waste during the holiday season alone.

Fact 2: The US goes through 100 billion single-use plastic grocery bags every year.

Fact 3: This year, you can make a difference! How?

The challenge is this: Wrap your holiday gifts in reusable cloth grocery bags.

(SewMamaSew.com)

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The cool thing is that you don't have to be able to sew to use them. There are many ways to wrap gifts in reusables. Before you use reusable grocery bags, though, make sure the recipient needs another one. Some of us are overflowing with them! If they are like me and already have their own abundant stash, get creative. Consider a drawstring bag like those in my shop (btw, I'm always up for custom orders of these!) After they have received their gift, they can use this bag in sooooo many ways. My kids love the little ones I keep in my purse because they know I always have some interesting toys hidden in them. The larger ones make great knitting project bags, lunch sacks, shoe bags.....Another one of my favorite ideas is to use reusable sandwich baggies as gift bags! This cute bunch have handmade biscotti inside. These are available in my Etsy shop in assorted colored ripstop nylon (the material is made in USA!) and also in upcycled cotton prints and organic cotton solids.Or consider wrapping a gift in a reusable produce bag. Many people already have cloth grocery bags - help them totally ditch single-use plastics at the grocery store while also reducing your wrapping paper use! I think these would be beautiful tied with a BIG fat ribbon.There's also the amazing Japanese art of furoshiki, wrapping things in fabric. Use a scarf and it's 2 gifts! Here's a website with a great instructional pic of many of the basic techniques... http://xorsyst.com/japan/how-to-tie-furoshiki/

Happy wrapping!