Yesterday, I purchased this awesome Luntian bag from the Echo Store, where I also had lunch with Ms Mae and Ms Marge, two of my fellow Philippine churchworkers. I like the “Walang Plastikan” Rizal bag: it’s large enough to hold a lot of my things, including Machiavelli MacMcIntosh (MackyMac!), my Macbook Pro, and is sturdy sturdy sturdy! I love the rough fabric, I love the red Rizal design, it’s a winner of a bag. For PHP150, a pretty fashionable eco-friendly purchase.
While I was there, I saw a button from No Bag Salamat. No Bag Salamat is a Philippine environmental initiative designed to encourage us to reduce the number of plastic bags we use in our daily activities. I, for one, can get irritated when fast food stores give me so much plastic for my purchase. You’ll get one plastic bag for your sandwich, if you order a sandwich, one plastic bag for your French fries, and one plastic bag for your drink, which is served in a plastic cup. You get your rice meals in a large styrofoam container, which is just as toxic to the environment. It’s just one big semi-biodegradable mess.
So I’m bringing this bag with me everywhere. Everytime I need to make a purchase, I can offer up this bag and say “No bag, salamat.” I started this evening already, placing my groceries from SaveMore Supermarkets in this bag. Tomorrow, I’ll test it as a computer bag for Macky, and if it works out, maybe I’ll pick up another Luntian bag to serve as a full-time computer bag.
Try it out! Get any canvas bag and use it in place of the plastic bags foisted upon you. When you reduce your plastic consumption, over the course of time, you can significantly reduce your carbon footprint. “No bag, salamat!”
