Be Green! Handmade Grocery Bag Swap (USA Only)

Everyone is concerned about going green! And in honor of that, this is a swap for two carefully handmade grocery totes. What a great way to encourage each other to be mindful of Mother Earth.

As these will be used and washed frequently, please be sure that you are using high quality cotton fabric for your tote.

I'm leaving the sign up date before the busier holidays, and the totes are due right after the New Year. What a great, responsible start to 2009!

GUIDELINES Size: The size of a typical plastic grocery bag or paper bag in the shape of rectangle or square. Construction: single or double layer of fabric. Solid seaming to withstand heavy items.

Fabrics: Let’s do cotton, please. No flannel or other fabric content. Easy care and lightweight to carry is the goal here.

Plan on finishing your grocery tote by washing your fabric, finishing the sewn edges, pressing the tote and making them as attractive for your swap partner as possible.

Plan to spend about $10-15 on the project for your swap partner. Please check their profile for fabric designers or styles that they like! This can also be a great stash buster.

If anyone has any color preferences, please be sure to list them below ... We want you to like what you're using to help the environment.

Since this is a swap with creative energy, time, and money involved, only participants with a 4.8 rating or higher will be allowed. No no-sends in the last 6 months. Newbies welcome with a fully completed profile - everyone needs to start somewhere. This will be United States only.

Please rate your partner accordingly. When you receive your swap, rating them is a great way to let them know you received it.

If you do not plan on sending, this is not the swap for you. Any questions, please ask!

If someone does not participate in the swap, please let me know so I can coordinate an 'angel' swapper to take their place.

Thanks for joining and lets have some fun! Happy Swapping!

Here are some links to online free tutorials for tote grocery bags that you can make or to stroke your creative fires:
http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=514
http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=246
http://blog.creativekismet.com/2007/10/27/pillowcase-tote-tutorial/
http://tipnut.com/35-reusable-grocery-bags-totes-free-patterns/ http://wisdomofthemoon.blogspot.com/2008/01/cheap-easy-fabric-grocery-bags.html
http://sewing.about.com/od/bagstotespurseproject/ss/grocerybag.htm
http://www.marthastewart.com/article/bias-toward-the-pretty?lnc=bf89cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&page=2&rsc=articlecontent_crafts

Why be Concerned? Here are some fast facts from National Geographic:

Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year. According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion) According to the industry publication Modern Plastics, Taiwan consumes 20 billion bags a year—900 per person. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest. Windblown plastic bags are so prevalent in Africa that a cottage industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags. According to the BBC, one group harvests 30,000 per month.