"the journey of a thousand miles begins with a simple step" -lao tzu

Once plastic is created, it can never, ever be destroyed. Each and every year Americans contribute over 300,000 tons of plastic waste to our ever-expanding landfill without even thinking about it. By attempting to make our (frequent and consistent) shopping sprees more convenient, Americans use and dispose of approximately one BILLION plastic shopping bags each year. That alone, creates 300,000 tons of unrecyclable waste. 300,000 tons?! That’s more than 75,000 elephants worth of unnecessary pollution.

my faithful lilly

So, I figured my first entry would introduce one of the most basic and easiest ways to jumpstart your new Eco-Lovely lifestyle- switch to reusable bags. For my 2010 New Years resolution, I decided to give up plastic bags entirely. Now being a shopaholic (of all things unnecessary), I knew this was going to be a challenge. We've all seen those heinous Stop and Shop/Wal-Mart reusable canvases... But who wants to be caught toting one of those monstrosities into their favorite Banana Republic outlet? Not me.

So I did some serious searching and attempted to put my shopping on hold until I found a cute reusable. Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long. I found an adorable Lilly Pulitzer tote for $15 at Sachem Card and Party (I was working there at the time, so I made sure we were fully stocked for all you savvy savers) in Guilford. Step one was complete: I had purchased the cutest, brightest and girliest reusable that I would be proud to walk around any store with!

Step two was a little trickier- remembering that Lilly needed to accompany me on all my shopping ventures (which are frequent and abundant, let me tell you). It was okay for the first week or so, but then I would forget her in my room after unloading from a Forever shopping spree and I'd find myself standing at CVS shamefully asking for a bag to carry my hair products out. How could I remind myself to always bring Lilly with me? I decided it would be smart to leave her in my car, and then I decided that every time I forgot her, I would have to refuse a bag from the store I was at, regardless of the store, the quality or the quantity of my purchases. Reminders through embarrassment. And guess what? It totally worked. There's nothing to whip your brain into remembering shape than trying to carry $70 of groceries in your bare hands across the BigY parking lot.

(the cute new one i would totally choose today)

I'm proud to say that after living a year of plastic-bagless lifestyle, I'm still sticking to it (even the occasional walk of shopping shame)! I'm happy to see dozens of stores and designers jump on the reusable bag bandwagon, which just makes it easier for stylish shoppers, like yourself, to find your Lilly and start becoming a better citizen of our environment. If not, an easy simple step would be to start using only paper bags at the grocery store. Although they will still clog up your trashcan or sit in a closet for years, they are most definitely the lesser of two evils.

Feel like this is a useless cause or that you couldn’t possibly make a difference? Check out www.litterfreelb.org and read about how multiple towns in California have begun banning plastic bags at large retail stores. Their initiatives include reducing litter, the amount of waste transported to landfills and minimizing the hazards to wildlife. Throughout their research, they’ve determined that “a high-quality reusable tote (like my right hand Lilly) can replace SIX HUNDRED plastic carryout bags over its lifetime.”

You can make a difference. 

All Lilly Pulitzer Totes can be purchased online at www.lillypulitzer.com (but I do encourage you to shop around your local stores!). If you're interested in something a little more personal or want to order a great gift, check out www.envirosax.com!