If you are like me, you leave a stack of reusable grocery bags in your car.  If you are like me, it is not until you are standing in the checkout line that you realize that you have done it again. Many stores now give you a credit of a few cents for each bag you bring.  Obviously, it is not the money that is the motivator, it is the desire to eliminate unnecessary waste or reduce (if you are used to the three Rs).

This is why I was so excited when I learned about ConservingNow.com.  Meghan and Gayle experienced the same problem that I did and decided to do something about it. This mother daughter team created ConservingNow.com. ConservingNow.com is dedicated to raising environmental awareness by focusing on one simple task: eliminating plastic shopping bags. ConservingNow.com has three primary goals: 1) changing an individual's behavior from using single-use plastic bags to reusable bags; 2) educating children to become strong environmental stewards for the planet; and 3) becoming a powerful voice for community change by reporting on local, statewide and national efforts to eliminate the use of plastic bags and their impact on the environment.

How does ConservingNow.com achieve these goals:

• Changing Behavior - The free car window static cling are very helpful for busy and distracted moms.   Most of us understand the harmful effects of plastic on our environment but old habits die hard and we can all use a helpful reminder. Gayle says, "Our community members tell us that our reminders really work and they no longer forget their bags when leaving the car."
• Educating a new generation of environmental stewards - Parents can start with a household survey that they can download from the site (www.conservingnow.com).   This is a great way to get the family involved and help them understand just how many plastic bags they are using each week. They also suggest that the parents teach their children about the impact of plastic on the environment (suggesting some good eco books to start the conversation) and then ask their child (or children) to be responsible for remembering the family's  reusable bags. They also provide a calendar for the parents to place a star each time the child reminds them to bring bags.
• A powerful voice for community change:  ConservingNow.com in the classroom and the community. ConservingNow.com offers classroom kits that can be purchased by parents (sold at cost) for their child's classroom  (http://www.conservingnow.com/products-education-kits). These kits include static clings for each family, a reusable bag for every child to customize and decorate, extensive teacher curriculum materials, and a grade appropriate eco book for the classroom along with an oversized cotton tote for the teacher. These kits receive rave reviews from the teachers and parents and are ideal for educating and involving an entire classroom and their families in this important initiative. ConservingNow.com also accept donations on the site that are used to provide kits to classrooms that need assistance. The ConservingNow.com website also tracks community initiatives to eliminate plastic and better the environment. 

Their efforts have paid off big-time, so far they have distributed over 70,000 static clings. which translated into over 35 MILLION plastic bags out of our landfills, gutters and oceans. "It’s our job to find innovative earth-conscious solutions and offer them to individuals, educators, municipalities and corporations,” said Gayle Crowell, co-founder of ConservingNow. “My daughter and I wanted to create a simple ecological program that any person, school, company or city can adopt and implement to determine just how green they want to be. Since old habits die hard, we decided that shoppers just needed a little help – hence the birth of the car window static cling”, Crowell explains. 

“It seems so simple, but the feedback from community members has been overwhelmingly positive. They no longer forget their bags.”  Now only if they could tell me how many bags to bring, since when I do remember I often underestimate my bag needs.  One of their best sellers is the ultra sturdy oversized cotton tote which looks a lot bigger and sturdier than my current bags, maybe I will switch to those instead.

Their website is chock-full of great information, click to learn more about ConservingNow.com.  To request your own FREE car window static cling click here. To shop for ConservingNow.com products click here.  To support ConservingNow.com's efforts, please become a fan on Facebook click here.

Thanks Gayle and Meghan for helping make this planet a better place for us and generations to come!

* ConservingNow.com has graciously provided a kit to my son's classroom, no other goods or services were exchanged. StickerComposite.jpg