I Promise To Use My Fabric Bag!
I just stumbled onto the site called Green Bag Lady, where you can send an email to get a free hand sewn bag all for the promise to use it. The site was started by Teresa early this year, who is an artist and a teacher living in Nashville, Tn. She started making fabric bags for herself, then started bringing them to her classes, then started giving them to friends, and then she started giving them away for free to people all around the world!
Teresa has made and given away close to 500 bags in the US, Italy, and Costa Rica… how fun! She explains on her website why she is not selling the bags, but giving away them away… ” They are a gift. I want you to feel obligated to use them, that is why I have you promise to use them instead of paper or plastic. If you were to buy them from me, they become a commodity and there is no obligation any longer because you own it”.
All you have to do is email her, promise to use the bag over paper or plastic and she will send you a bag. Each bag has a number and she logs where the bag is.There are also lots of photos on her site with people with their bags! And if you have extra fabric, you can send it to her.
I think this type of grassroots effort is really what is going to change the world. Using your own bags instead of paper or plastic is one of the easiest things to do for the environment and sometimes you just need a push in the right direction, like with a free bag! When you get your bag, you use it and you are excited about it and you tell your friends, then they tell their friends… its just a fun and exciting thing to be a part of. I hope more and more people look to this as a model for how we can all be a part of change.
And I love that it is just a kind gesture. A free gift from a stranger to help protect our world. Its just a nice thing to read about in this crazy world of ours. Thanks Teresa! I can’t wait to get my bag and start using it!