Between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide per year. To make matters worse, anywhere between 60 and 100 million barrels of oil are required to make those plastic bags every year. And then there’s the trees… The United States was responsible for clear cutting 14 million of them to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used back in 1999. So it’s pretty obvious reusable bags are not only the sustainable choice, but the only choice. The question is: With the myriad of sustainable totes available, which are the most effective?
Envirosax states: “We made a decision very early on to never go down the polypropylene path even though this would have been very profitable for us. We see the stronger more durable polyester envirosax bags as the new generation of reusable shopping bags. The whole point of a reusable bag is REUSE, so why make it out of a material that decays in the UV rays of the Sun has inferior tensile strength properties and rips easily as do the cheap polypropylene bags.”
Below we’ve highlighted a few totes that we thought take the idea of sustainability a little further than the rest. Please share your thoughts or lead us to other examples of sustainable totes that we may have overlooked.
Teamwork Bags: Bags from salvaged sails and tire tubes
60Bag: Carrier-bag that decomposes approximately 60 days after being discarded.
Banner Bags by Touch: Bags are comprised of leftover banner materials from the Sao Paulo, Brazil ban on all billboard advertisements.
This interesting promotional piece developed by Brazilian design firm Tatil Design uses the process of laser etching logos and messaging into dried leaves. We would love to see a video on how this is actually possible. Their designs first appeared at the Cannes Advertising Festival in 2008 and won a Bronze Award for the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards in Eco Design.
The aim was to renew the image of Oxfam and create an emotional link between the association and its young target. To create a more visual language, the letters are converted into illustrations, which increases the signification of words and create a own graphical personality, direct and reinvidicative. Titles are reduced to one single word to communicate quicker and more directly.
T-shirt companies have sprouted up like wildfire as of late. Some are here to stay, like Threadless, while others fail before they even start. TrickGo is one of these brands that sparked worth mentioning. The companies creator, (a freshman at The University of the Arts no less) spent countless nights bringing it all together in the confines of his dorm room. Through guerilla marketing, it has grown into a solid brand and artist collective – presenting some pretty sick work.
I quickly realized that everyone and their brother seemed to print t-shirts. Everyone I would tell about TrickGo would respond with, “Oh yeah my friend does that,” or “I used to do that!” I didn’t want TrickGo to be just another t-shirt start up so I did what any sensible college student would. I dumped my life savings into printing on better shirts, custom packaging, individually numbered hang tags, and vinyl stickers to promote the brand.
They also have a rather dope blog that is worth a gander or two.
Add a little ink to this wall calendar and the days will reveal themselves throughout the month. An added bonus is that each month showcases a different color.
So far, it’s part of an art exhibition at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, but we’re thinking that if this brilliant design concept is accurate enough, it might be a popular fixture in hipster cribs worldwide.
A few months back we posted about Estonia-based company HandMadeFont and their wacky approach to developing custom type. They’ve just released another series that is worth a look. Head over to their website for a peak.
Here’s a fantastic installation called “I’ve Lived: Post-it Notes for Neighbors” that welcomes passers-byes to fill in their monthly rent. Having lived in 3 of the 5 bouroughs of NYC we were anxious to see what the final results were. You may be a bit surprised with some of the numbers.
I’ve Lived: Post-it Notes for Neighbors was part of the Windows Brooklyn exhibit that paired artists with storefront windows in Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens June 14-22, 2008. Candy’s storefront: vintage furniture shop Yesterday’s News at 428 Court Street and 2nd Place
