Washington DC’s Plastic Bag Tax Takes Effect This Week
Photo via Scholastic
The city government of Washington DC, beginning this month, will impose a tax of 5 cents per plastic bags for supermarket customers. City officials plan to use the increased revenue to combat pollution in a local river. According to manufacturers of plastic bags, who obviously aren’t pleased with the new tax, the decision will cost the families of Washi…Read the full story on TreeHugger
SF Green Festival 09 – A Tale of Two Lunch Boxes
Bringing your lunch with you is greener than buying lunch while out, in no small part because you’re skipping wasteful packaging. But packed lunches, can still have wasteful packaging if you’re wrapping your sandwich up in Cellophane. A couple businesses at the San Francisco Green Festival are on top of making lunches greener, but they have a very different approach, leaving people to question which one gets the thumbs up, and which gets the thumbs down.
…Read the full story on TreeHugger
African Artisans’ Recycled Products Go Global
Images via Old Tin Can Ltd..
Make-up artist Melissa Hartzel moved to South Africa with her husband to have a “family adventure.” She came back to Watford, England, with an epiphany–and a business plan….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Buy One FEED Backpack to Send Another Packing With Medical Supplies
Lauren Bush watching health worker with FEED Health backpack in action. Photos by RCruger
Designer Kenneth Cole threw a party with Planet Green and Vanity Fair in LA last night to launch the latest FEED bag by UN World Food Program spokesperson Lauren Bush. A stream of Hollywood’s hot actors showed up for the cause, even parking their own hybrids in the neighborhood when cops yanked the valet off the street. …Read the full story on TreeHugger
Solar-Powered Bags: A Bright Idea for Africa?
Showing the FLAP bag to a group of Ghanian mechanics. Photo via AfriGadget.
Can an urban hipster’s trendy tote also serve the needs of poor Africans? AfriGadget’s Erik Hersman is traveling through Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, meeting with motorcycle mechanics, tailors, and roadside food vendors to try and find out….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Yesterday’s Old T-Shirt, Today’s Cool Reusable Bag
Participants in the Istanbul bag-making workshop. Photos courtesy of Buğday.
Paper bags aren’t too commonly used in Turkey, but shopkeepers just love giving out plastic ones — for a tiny item that you could easily tuck into your purse or a pocket, for a single soda you’ll probably just drink on the way home anyway, for a few nectarines that are already in another plastic bag. I’ve gotten used to saying “Poşet lazim değil, çantama koyabilirim” (“a bag is not necessary, I can put it in my purse”) — and to the funny looks people usually give me in return. So the old “<a href=”http://www.treehugger…