DID YOU KNOW…?

• The world consumes almost 1 million plastic bags per minute.
• The U.S. alone consumes 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually – and is throwing them away at an estimated 8 billion pounds every year.
• Only 5% of all plastics are recycled !!!
• 40% of plastics end up in landfills, and 55% are unaccounted for !!! (That means that the majority of plastics ends up in unknown locations…unknown locations like the OCEAN!)
• Plastic bags layer huge parts of the ocean floor, choking all ocean life… and are mistaken as food by hundreds of thousands of birds, fish and marine reptiles and mammals who ingest plastic bags and microscopic plastic bits and die, only to be eaten themselves by yet another animal…passing the toxins up the food chain.
• Some marine animals contain so much plastic toxins that their bodies can legally be classified as toxic dumps!

This problem is clearly not confined within regions or species…

Sooner or later poisoned water and soil affects the entire food chain. Toxic molecules from plastics are now found in human breast milk, and in the blood of babies, children and adults.

Of course there are many causes of ocean pollution, but undeniably, one of them is the “harmless” plastic shopping bag. In fact, the problem is huge!!!!!!!!!! And this problem runs deep — all the way to the depths of the ocean … and all the way up the food chain!

Just  like the Ocean, this problem is not confined within borders! The ocean covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and supplies up to 85% of the world’s oxygen and nitrogen.

There is no quick fix…

Sometimes it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the seemingly endless assortments of environmental and social injustices in this world. In fact the problem of plastic bags is quite depressing and runs deeper than landfills, contaminated oceans and beaches or even recycling. It is rooted so deeply that we have to take an honest look at our culture, our habits, our laws and our lifestyle.

Like everything else, it comes down to taking a good look at how we think, because positive change starts inside… in our hearts and mind and with our own actions. We have to ask ourselves: “How do I need to be, in order to see the world I want to see? What can I do to bring about the changes that our world needs?”

You see, the challenge with plastic waste found littered and dumped all over the world is that this problem will not just go away by itself. Plastic does not biodegrade – it breaks down into smaller but persistent particles.

That’s why we call our flag ship BLB bag which is made out of strips of used plastic bags the “FOREVER BAG!”

In the long run, the key is to stop the problem at the source — right at the production level and by eliminating irresponsible over-use of these toxic plastic materials. But for now… we have created Bag Lady Bags … it’s our way to try to do our part in making a difference.

Encouragingly, there are people and organizations who are working hard on this issue. My two favorite ones are very super small grassroots organizations:

ORCA (Peru)

TURNING THE TIDES (Alaska)

I hope you will get in touch with them and lend your support! Together we can make a difference!

xoxo, Q’orianka