California-based F Gaviña & Sons, Inc, makers of Don Francisco’s Coffee, Café La Llave and a wide variety of other family-crafted coffees, has teamed up with international recycling company TerraCycle to offer coffee lovers a free and easy way to recycle Don Francisco’s Coffee Family Reserve and Café La Llave single serve coffee pods and espresso capsules.   Through the Coffee Pod Recycling Program, the latest eco-friendly initiative from the family-owned company, consumers can now send in their used single serve coffee pods and espresso capsules to be recycled for free. To participate, customers will sign up on the TerraCycle program page at www.terracycle.com/gavina and mail in the used pods and capsules using a pre-paid shipping label. Once collected, the packaging is cleaned, separated by material type, melted and remolded to make new recycled products while the residual coffee is sent to an industrial composting facility. Additionally, with every shipment sent to TerraCycle through the program, consumers can earn points that can be used for charitable gifts or converted to cash and donated to the non-profit, school or charitable organisation of their choice.   “As coffee growers and roasters, my family built our business on a 150-year legacy and passion for coffee that runs deep and spans four generations,” said Lisette Gaviña Lopez, executive marketing director at F Gaviña & Sons, Inc.   “Sustainability is at the core of every business decision we make, and as we innovate to meet the changing needs and preferences of our customers, we also look for new ways to minimize environmental impact. Through our partnership with TerraCycle we can now extend our environmental efforts beyond the shelf with a responsible recycling program for our espresso capsule and coffee pod customers.”   “At TerraCycle, we understand American’s love affair with a great cup of coffee – we share the sentiment,” said Tom Szaky, TerraCycle’s founder and CEO.   “But through the Coffee Pod Recycling Program, coffee connoisseurs can enjoy their favorite pick-me-up, easily reduce waste, all without sacrificing the enjoyment of their favorite brew.”   F Gaviña & Sons’ commitment to sustainability led to the creation of the Direct Impact Initiative, which focuses on four pillars: dedication to farmers, sustainable sourcing, environmental sustainability, and social stewardship. Dedicated to smallholder farmers and the land they work upon, Gaviña and partners work towards improving the quality of life and increasing social and economic development in Coffee Belt farming communities. These efforts include technical assistance for Guatemalan farmers to employ sustainable farming techniques while increasing household income, and building a central coffee processing wet mill in Colombia to help local smallholder farmers adapt to climate change while reducing environmental footprint. The company also sources certified coffees from Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade USA and USDA certified Organic, and roasts all its coffee from its Zero Waste to Landfill plant in Vernon, California.   The Coffee Pod Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organisation. For more information on TerraCycle’s recycling program, visit: www.terracycle.com.   For more information on Don Francisco’s Coffee and Café La Llave brands, visit: www.donfranciscos.com.   For more information about parent company F Gaviña & Sons, Inc and its sustainability efforts, visit: www.gavina.com.

Projeto foi idealizado pelas empresas UPS e TerraCycle, e será testado em Paris e Nova York

Sharing the #NotTodayLandfill message

Colorado Springs, CO —– The American Trail Running Association (ATRA) will feature GU Energy Labs as a member of its Event Standards Program. ATRA’s Event Standards Program debuted in 2012 and now includes vendors and suppliers as partners to further assist trail race directors in meeting ATRA’s 15 criteria necessary for staging a safe and well-organized event.   As part of this partnership, ATR­A will work with GU Energy Labs to share their successful upcycling program and support the #NotTodayLandfill message with trail runners, trail race directors and fans of the sport.   “GU Energy Labs partnered with TerraCycle to create a free Performance Nutrition Brigade that we want to shout from the rooftops,” said Nancy Hobbs, ATRA’s executive director. “As a long-time supporter of GU products, seeing their commitment to the environment has made me an even bigger fan. Through a simple step-by-step TerraCycle™ program, sports nutrition wrappers will no longer end up in the landfill, an initiative we applaud.”   ATRA will share the GU TerraCycle message through monthly e-newsletters and social media, through Trail News articles, and in YouTube videos like a recent installment from Outdoor Retailer (click here to view).   “2020 marks our five-year anniversary with TerraCycle, and to date we have diverted over 1.3 million wrappers, equivalent to over 6,100lbs. This is enough to make 15 recycled playgrounds!” said Celia Santi, GU Energy Labs’ senior brand experience manager. “We are thrilled to partner with ATRA to educate race directors and runners how easy it is to take the GU TerraCycle pledge and ensure that all brands of nutrition wrappers are upcycled.”   Adam W. Chase, ATRA president, added, “GU Energy Labs, a long-time supporter of trail runners, individually, nutritionally and at our races, is walking the walk or, more accurately, running the run, by promoting clean trails and a less-polluted world in general. ATRA and GU are a natural fit and this partnership is an easy one for us to support in earnest.”   The Performance Nutrition Recycling Program is ongoing and open to any interested individual, school, office or community organization. Those interested are encouraged to visit the program page here.   For more information on TerraCycle’s recycling programs visit www.terracycle.com.   GU Energy Labs joins  Ashworth Awards, Marathon Printing, Inc., Leslie Jordan, Active at Altitude, Joe Viger Photography, Nicholas Hill Group, UltraSignup and Athletes for a Fit Planet in our Event Standards Partner Program.  

Lately you may have seen the words zero waste on your body lotion (and if that’s the case, we applaud you). It’s an emerging trend within the beauty industry, and as someone who has spent the better part of a decade reporting on such matters, it’s the trend I am most excited about. To get a better understanding of what this term actually means, I spoke to Tiila Abbitt, the CEO and founder of Aether Beauty, a sustainable makeup company that launched the first zero-waste eye shadow palette in the industry. "Zero waste means making sure nothing ends up in a landfill," explains Abbitt. "That can mean a few things: One is that a product is reusable, another is that it can actually be recycled." (I’m going to interrupt here briefly to drop in that oft-quoted National Geographic stat about how 91 percent of plastic ends up in landfills.) "And on that note, it’s making sure there is no packaging or packaging waste. The main idea is to limit what actually goes directly in your trash." And it's not just the indie brands who are making strides toward sustainability. Procter & Gamble (the parent company behind Dove, Secret and Herbal Essences) joined forces with TerraCycle’s LOOP program last year, which provides shoppers with a simple website where they can request pick-ups and order refills of popular household products like shampoo and laundry detergent. "The idea of adopting a zero-waste routine can be intimidating because people think they have to completely switch up their entire lifestyle, but this isn’t about perfection," says Abbitt. "We don’t need a few people creating a zero-waste lifestyle perfectly. We need millions of people trying their best, thinking more about their own footprint and making better choices with the goods they are purchasing, however imperfectly, to make a difference." In sum, it’s not an all-or-nothing affair. So, how else can we be start being more conscious of our consumption? "Look for products that have less waste, are package-free or are fully recyclable. And avoid single-use items like face wipes and cotton rounds," shares Abbitt. We’re also fans of recycling programs from brands like M.A.C. and Lush, who offer new products in exchange for empties. And beyond carefully choosing your beauty products, start bringing reusable items like shopping bags, coffee mugs and water bottles, utensils and metal straws with you for when you are out and about. OK, now who’s ready to shop some of our favorite sustainable beauty products?

Organic rice, rice products and US-grown quinoa company Lundberg Family Farms is working with international Trenton-based recycling leader TerraCycle to offer consumers a free, easy way to recycle their flexible Lundberg Family Farms packaging and food wrappers. As an added incentive, for every pound of packaging waste sent to TerraCycle through the recycling program, collectors can earn $1 to donate to a non-profit, school, or charitable organization of their choice.   By participating in the Lundberg Family Farms Recycling Program, consumers are invited to send in their empty flexible packaging and food wrappers to be recycled for free. Participation is easy: sign up on the TerraCycle program page www.terracycle.com/lundberg-family-farms and mail in the packaging waste using the prepaid shipping label provided. Once collected, the packaging will be cleaned, melted and remolded to make new recycled plastic products.   “Lundberg Family Farms was founded on my Grandpa Albert’s promise to leave the world better than we found it,” CEO Grant Lundberg said. “We are excited to partner with our friends at TerraCycle to deliver on that promise in a new way, with packaging that can skip the landfill for a second life as durable plastic goods, like park benches.”   For more than eighty years and four generations, Lundberg Family Farms has pioneered eco-positive farming methods to nourish, conserve, and innovate for a healthier world. What began as a small family rice farm in 1937, has grown into a mission-driven, vertically integrated company that’s committed to blazing the trail towards a brighter, more sustainable future.   “At TerraCycle, our mission has always been to eliminate waste, recycle the unrecyclable and use our innovative business solutions to minimize human impact on the planet,” said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. “It’s partnerships like the one we enjoy with Lundberg Family Farms that allow us to fulfill our objective and help preserve the environment for future generations.”   The Lundberg Family Farms Recycling Program is open to any interested individual, school, office, or community organization. For more information on TerraCycle’s recycling program, visit www.terracycle.com.  

Forced to skip a springtime series of public coffee pop-ups it had planned to introduce itself to coffee drinkers in the Washington D.C. area, a new direct-trade-focused company called Rako Coffee Roasters has launched with online sales instead, offering free local shipping.   Since December of last year, Rako Head Roaster Melissa Gerben has been operating a pair of Lorings — one S35 Kestrel and one S15 Falcon — in a 5,000-square-foot facility in Lorton, Virginia, quietly supplying restaurants, offices, embassies and other regional wholesale accounts.   As Rako co-owners and sisters Lisa and Melissa Gerben entered the coffee industry first as importers, working directly with farmers in Ethiopia, the pair now maintain those partnerships as well as new ones with producers in Guatemala, which was the country that inspired their coffee journey in the first place. “We went on a particularly memorable family trip when we were teenagers to visit our grandparents who live in Antigua, Guatemala, and spent time visiting the mountainside coffee farms,” Lisa Gerben told Daily Coffee News. “We learned about the harvesting, processing, quality control and export process. From then on I knew that I wanted to start importing and roasting specialty coffee.”   Lisa Gerben’s extensive background in international trade, focused primarily in bulk food including specialty green coffee, now blends well with the expertise of her sister, whose 14-year stretch in the food-and-beverage industry culminated in a fixation on the unique chemistry and terroir-related attributes of coffee. Though both sisters were avid home roasters, Melissa went on to obtain SCA Roasting Certification from the Academy of Coffee Excellence (ACE). “Everyone that we work with learns everything, whether that is sensory training, roasting, packing and more,” said Gerben. “We also recognize that people have interests and skills unrelated to their job titles and we work to grow that in any way we can. Everyone on our team has been working on exciting projects during this pivot, from developing the brew guides, to photo and visual projects, to marketing and design to roasting, packing and shipping solutions.”   Beautifully designed brew guides feed into Rako’s holistic vision of quality that extends from practices on the farm to the treatment of people at every stage of the chain, and now into the cups brewed carefully at home. “Coffee is only as good as the person brewing it, and that’s why we focus so much on attention to detail in our brewing methods,” said Gerben. “Great coffee is equally about sustainable growing and sourcing practices, working with each coffee to develop roast profiles that bring out its full potential, and then developing brewing techniques that highlight all the unique flavor notes.”   Rako focuses mostly on single-origin offerings. Through Gerben’s background in international trade, Rako launched with direct relationships with farmers in the Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Guji, Limu, Kaffa and Harar regions of Ethiopia. The company also now partners with farmers in the Antigua and Acatenango regions of Guatemala, and has “made great progress” with producers in Indonesia, Kenya, Burundi and Colombia, according to Gerben. For any coffee not directly traded, Rako works with importers equally committed to improving the quality of living in coffee-growing regions.   At the Lorings, Melissa Gerben’s goal is to find for each coffee a profile that’s approachable no matter how it’s brewed but that reveals greater complexity when coaxed with the right recipe.   “For example, I love the peach notes that come out when our Yirgacheffe is brewed in a Chemex, but I make sure that you don’t have to brew it in one particular manner in order to fully appreciate the coffee,” Melissa Gerben told DCN. With every online order, Rako includes a postage-paid envelope for customers to return the empty coffee bag, which the company recycles through the TerraCycle Zero Waste program. The company is also donating 10% of every sale to Chef Erik Bruner-Yang’s Power of 10 crowdfunding initiative, which provides employment to laid off restaurant workers and meals to first-responders and community members affected by COVID-19.   Lisa Gerben said the company remains hopeful that its plans for face-to-face retail engagement and progress in the D.C. area can still go forward within the coming year.   Said Gerben, “The safety of our team and the community is our top priority, and we are crossing our fingers that it will be safe to resume plans for our pop-up series this summer.”

Paula’s Choice is a US-based skincare brand known for their effective, research-based and fragrance-free formulas, but is Paula’s Choice cruelty-free and vegan?  

Is Paula’s Choice Cruelty-Free?

    Paula’s Choice has confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals, they do not allow others to test on their behalf, their suppliers also do not test on animals, and their products are not sold in stores in mainland China or any other country that may require animal testing by law.   Below is what’s currently stated on Paula’s Choice’s website:   Paula’s Choice is included on our List of Cruelty-Free Brands.   You can find Paula’s Choice products at paulaschoice.com, Nordstrom, and on Amazon.   Below is what’s currently stated on Paula’s Choice’s website:    

Which of Paula’s Choice Products is Vegan?

  Some of Paula’s Choice’s products are suitable for vegans and do not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products. However, Paula’s Choice does use animal ingredients in some of their other products.   List of Animal or Animal-derived Ingredients Paula’s Choice Uses:  

• Acetyl glucosamine – from shellfish
• Animal-derived glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate – from beef tallow
• Beeswax
• Hydrolyzed Silk
• Lactoperoxidase – cow’s milk-derived enzyme
• Lanolin or cholesterol – derived from sheep’s wool
• Sea whip extract – from marine invertebrate
• Whey protein

 

Not Vegan – Paula’s Choice

  A list of Paula’s Choice non-vegan products can be found on their website. The following is a list of Paula’s Choice products that do contain at least one of the above animal-derived ingredients listed and are not suitable for vegans.  

• BHA 9 – not vegan
• CALM Redness Relief Moisturizer for Normal to Dry Skin – not vegan
• CALM Redness Relief SPF 30 Mineral Moisturizer for Normal to Oily Skin – not vegan
• CALM Repairing Serum – not vegan
• CALM Soothing Toner for normal to oily skin – not vegan
• DEFENSE Hydrating Gel-To-Cream Cleanser – not vegan
• HYDRALIGHT Moisture-Infusing Lotion – not vegan
• HYDRALIGHT Shine-Free Daily Mineral Complex SPF 30 – not vegan
• Lip & Body Treatment Balm – not vegan
• MOISTURE BOOST Hydrating Treatment Cream – not vegan
• Moisture Renewal Oil Booster – not vegan
• Peptide Booster – not vegan
• RESIST Advanced Replenishing Toner – not vegan
• RESIST Anti-Aging Clear Skin Hydrator – not vegan
• RESIST Anti-Aging Eye Cream – not vegan
• RESIST Pure Radiance Skin Brightening Treatment – not vegan
• RESIST Retinol Skin-Smoothing Body Treatment – not vegan
• RESIST Triple Action Dark Spot Eraser 7% AHA Lotion – not vegan
• RESIST Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum – not vegan
• RESIST Weightless Advanced Repairing Toner – not vegan
• ·      SKIN BALANCING Oil-Absorbing Mask – not vegan

    This non-vegan product list is updated as frequently as possible, please be aware that formulations may have changed since the publication of this post. If you have new information to suggest one of the above products is now vegan, please email me at info@ethicalelephant.com to let me know.  

Is Paula’s Choice Ethical?

  Based in: US   Products made in: All finished goods are produced in the US.   Sustainability & Environmental Initiatives: Paula’s Choice claims they plant trees to offset carbon emissions from all employee air travel, they subsidize public transportation for their employees, their office is in a LEED-certified building, and they compost and have eliminated single-use plastics in their office.   Eco-Friendly Packaging Initiatives: Paula’s Choice has a recycling program with TerraCycle where you can send in your empty bottles to be recycled. All of their shipping materials are also recyclable. In addition, Paula’s Choice states “We’ve eliminated all outer cartons except where needed for regulatory reasons or to protect the product inside. […] We’re working to significantly reduce our use of plastic.”   Giving Back Initiatives: Paula’s Choice supports many charities focused on animal welfare such as the Humane Society, ASPCA and NAVS.   Ingredients and Formulations Claims: Paula’s Choice is known for their fragrance-free formulas but they also avoid: 1,4 Dioxane, Abrasive Particles, Alcohol, Aluminum Powder, Essential Oils, Formaldehyde or Formaldehyde-Releasing Ingredients, Fragrant Plant Extracts, Nanoparticles, Phthalates, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Synthetic Dyes, Synthetic Fragrances, Talc, and Toluene.   In addition, Paula’s Choice claims they “strive to ensure they aren’t using ingredients derived from threatened plant species.”

With it being Earth Month and the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, making conscious beauty decisions is on our minds more now than ever. But things like monitoring our consumption, optimizing our usage, and working toward more sustainable habits is important year round, not just on Earth Day. Now, before you go off thinking we're suggesting you completely abandon your old ways, hear us out: it doesn't take drastic measures to make your beauty routine more eco-friendly. There are plenty of tiny conscious beauty tweaks you can make.   "The beauty industry is only behind the food and beverage industry as one of the world's biggest sources of waste," said Belinda Smith, the founder of St. Rose, a cleanly formulated, sustainably-sourced fragrance brand. "However, instead of feeling guilty or discouraged let's do something about it. Small progress every day is a big win and we all need to do our part if we are going to steer this ship around."   Ahead, we're sharing a few conscious beauty changes you can make in your everyday life to work toward a more eco-friendly, sustainable routine.  

Do Your Research and Support Eco-Friendly Brands

  We're not recommending you give up your 10-step skin-care routine, but you can look to include more eco-friendly and sustainable products. "Support eco-friendly brands with sustainable ingredients," said Allison McNamara, founder of MARA, a sustainably made and ethically-sourced skin-care brand. "You have the power with your dollar to support brands that are doing their part to make a difference."   You can usually determine if a brand is eco-friendly by looking at its mission. "Being more mindful as consumers is the number one thing," said Smith. "Choosing better and buying less. Looking to invest in brands that are practicing what they preach."  

Recycle Empty Beauty Product Containers

  Instead of just throwing your empty beauty products away in the trash, recycling them properly with beauty-specific programs. Unfortunately, many beauty products cannot be recycling in regular blue bins with other cans and bottles. That's why programs like TerraCycle exist - they allow you mail your empty, typically non-recyclable beauty products to them to be properly repurposed.   To take your efforts a step further, you can look to support brands that partner with recycling programs. Garnier, Love Beauty and Planet, and Göt2b, to name a few, are all partners with TerraCycle and reward customers in various ways for recycling their empty products.   "Doing zero waste imperfectly is what we all should be striving toward," said Smith.   To help your products get recycled, McNamara explained you should clean them out before tossing them. "I know when you're in the moment it feels like a chore, but anything (beauty, food, etc) with more than 10 percent left in the component doesn't get recycled," said McNamara. "Do your part and rinse out your containers."  

Swap Your Toothpaste For a Plastic-Free Alternative

  recycled and every single plastic toothbrush you've ever used is still sitting in a landfill somewhere," said Lindsay McCormick, founder of Bite Toothpaste Bits, a brand that makes a more eco-friendly, plastic-free alternative for brushing your teeth. "The Bite Toothpaste Bits are dry toothpaste tablets that come in refillable glass jars and the Brush by Bite is a compostable bamboo toothbrush with a removable head."  

Trade Your Single-Use Cotton Rounds For Reusable Options

  If you use a cotton pad every time you take off your makeup or use a toner, the amount you're throwing away can quickly add up. To reduce your waste, switch to reusable cotton pads. "Not only are single use cotton pads wasteful, many contain plastics too," said McNamara. The switch is better for the environment and your wallet, so it's a win-win. "It saves trips to the store and because they last for years, they'll save you money in the long run," said McCormick. Try The Good Stuff Reusable Cotton Pads.  

Opt For Products Made With Biodegradable Ingredients

  Plastic waste in landfills can take hundreds of years to decompose. So, next time you're shopping for things like a toothbrush or hair brush, try looking for biodegradable options. For example, WetBrush's Go Green Oil Infused Brush is made from all-natural biodegradable plant starch that naturally breaks down in a landfill within five years.  

Think About Packaging

  On the list of potential packaging materials, plastic is one of the worst. Glass, on the other hand is endlessly recyclable and is a better option of the two (however, when thrown out or recycled improperly, it can take twice as long as plastic to decompose). Whenever possible, look for zero-waste packaging. This includes items like shampoo, conditioner, and soap bars by Bottle None that come in plastic-free packaging.  

Buy Refillable Beauty Products

  More brands are allowing shoppers to buy refills to their favorite products without needing to purchase an entirely new jar or bottle. For example, OUAI sells refill pouches for their shampoos which uses less plastic than rigid bottles. Outside of the shower, the new brand Gelo Hand Soaps sells refillable, highly concentrated plant-based soap pods that are housed in a 100 percent biodegradable, water-soluble film that activates when combined with water and J.R. Watkins has a hand soap refill pouch, eliminating the need to purchase a new bottle.  

Cut Back on Single-Use Everything in Beauty

  Taking it a step further than just single-use cotton rounds, consider cutting back on single-use everything. "I stopped using sheet masks and face wipes years ago originally because I realized just how wasteful and unsustainable single use beauty products are," said McNamara.  

A couple months ago, I decided to try and start using less plastic in my daily routines. While a large part of pollution and climate change in our world is due to inadequate regulation and policies by large corporations, I still wanted to try to find products I liked that were less wasteful. Unfortunately, eco-friendly products can be expensive, and it can be hard to tell if the product will actually work for you. So I asked my pals on Instagram what their favorite eco-friendly products were, and I was surprised by all the brand, product, and DIY recommendations that I received! Without further ado, here are eight recommendations for moving towards a more environmentally conscious lifestyle, one step at a time:  

1. Bamboo Toothbrushes

  I got my boyfriend to buy me a pack of bamboo toothbrushes for Valentine’s Day (so romantic, I know) and I love them! You can get packs of them in bulk on Amazon for really cheap. (Also, pro tip: if you go to Amazon’s Customer Service chat box, you can request all future orders on your account to be plastic free when possible.) If you would rather not go through Amazon, there are many other companies that sell bamboo toothbrushes, like the brand Package Free!  

2. Recycled Plastic Toothbrushes and Razors

  One person recommended the brand Preserve to me for toothbrushes and razors, and their products are mostly made from recycled yogurt cups! (You can also get these at Trader Joe’s.) Another brand that can be found in many mainstream stores is Tom’s of Maine, who have toothbrushes with handles made of recycled plastic as well.

3. Recyclable Packaged Toothpaste

  Typical toothpaste tubes are not recyclable. If you want to avoid the hassle of recycling altogether, the brand Bite offers refillable glass containers for their little chewable toothpaste “bites,” and they use recycled paper materials for shipping. Tom’s of Maine has recently released a recyclable tube for some of their products. Unfortunately, the new tube isn’t accepted for recycling in all areas, but they also have a partnership with TerraCycle where you join a waitlist for a bunch of free recycling programs that accept hard-to-recycle plastic waste.  

4.  Bar Soap, Shampoo, Lotion, etc.

  Plastic soap bottles are typically recyclable, but sometimes recycling isn’t as reliable as you would think. I live in a rural area that recently stopped offering recycling for most types of plastic due to a lack of recycling facilities. You can get bar soap at most stores, and then you can avoid using so many plastic bottles! One of my followers also recommended the brand Ethique Eco-Friendly Beauty Bars for hair products and lotion. If you live in the dorms, and don’t have a private bathroom, you can also buy bar soap travel cases to easily store your soap. Ethique also has travel cases made out of compostable materials, but they are a bit pricey. If you want a cheaper version, reusable plastic cases can often be found at Target or Walmart.

5. Reusable Food Storage Bags

  There are multiple types of washable food storage bags available. One of my followers recommended the brand Russbe, which has bags made of durable plastic with very cute patterns (like clouds and animals!). There are also some made of silicone, like the ones made by Stasher.  

6. Beeswax Wrap

  Another person recommended Bee’s Wrap, which is basically washable wax coated fabric that can be used as an alternative to plastic food wrap. These can be a little pricey, but can last for up to a year. Just be careful not to expose them to hot food or water, as it could cause the wax to melt. Similar beeswax wrap products can be found at Walmart, Trader Joe’s, and your local Co-op. You can also DIY your own with cotton cloth, beeswax and jojoba oil (see a tutorial here).  

7. Reusable Grocery Bags

  Reusable bags are pretty common, especially since many places are starting to charge for plastic bags in stores. However, making them can be a fun DIY activity! There are many Youtube tutorials (including this one) on making totes from old t-shirts or extra fabric, and you can even personalize them with embroidery or paint!