“Upcycling!” a fancy kind of Recycling!

by savvysassymoms on January 8, 2010

I read a lot of magazines.  The pile of magazines that builds up on my night stand is much like the leaning tower of Pisa! Sure I recycle them, but what Ecoist does with magazines is pretty unique and fascinating .  They turn pre-consumer waste; magazines, newspapers, candy wrappers, soda packaging and even outdated New York City maps into Beautiful, One-of-a-Kind Handbags!

They collect these materials from factories that discard them due to misprints and overages, instead of having them end up in landfills!  In the last 4 years, they have saved more than 15 million candy wrappers from going to landfills, pretty impressive!  Taking these materials and repurposing them into a product of higher quality is what they call  “Upcycling” , and some of their Upcycling Partners  include The Coca-Cola Company, Disney, Mars, Frito Lay, Luna Bar, and AVEDA.

Oh and I should probably mention that for every bag bought Ecoist plants a tree! They work with Trees for the Future and have planted  97,321 trees around the world including India, Uganda, Haiti, Mexico, and the United States.  I am in awe of how much one company is doing for our planet.  If  I understand this correctly, by purchasing an Ecoist Bag I can Support “Upcycling”, Help Eliminate Waste and Preserve the Enviornment by Planting a Tree. I guess there is only one thing left to do, decide which bag to buy!

10% OFF with Discount Code: SassyMom
http://ecoist.com

My 3 Favorites
The Skinny Envelope Oversized Clutch – Coke Classic

Baquette Size Clutch – M & M’s Candy

The Daily Tote – Olive Seeds

 

Ecoist is GIVING AWAY the Olive Seeds Bag above!
So please enter my Ecoist Giveaway below!

How to WIN
1.  Tell me how you are Living an Eco-Friendly Life
2.  Re-tweet my Ecoist Giveaway

This Could be YOU!

Contest ends January 19th 2010, midnight pacific standard time THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED!!

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uberVU - social comments
January 11, 2010 at 6:20 pm
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January 11, 2010 at 8:51 pm

{ 69 comments… read them below or add one }

Heather of Maternal Spark January 8, 2010 at 1:43 am

I love upcycled stuff! That purse is adorable and your blog is all kinds of cute…I’m glad to have ‘met’ you at MBC :)

Whitney Trujillo January 8, 2010 at 11:09 pm

Wow. The Olive Seeds tote is beautiful!

Amy January 11, 2010 at 8:39 pm

I recycle as much as possible, use reusable bags, can my own food, and limit time I spend driving

Amy January 11, 2010 at 8:41 pm

I tweeted, http://twitter.com/laprochaine/status/7649763089
Sorry I do not put my password for Twitter on any site :D

Linda January 11, 2010 at 9:05 pm

I of course recycle, glass,paper, plastics etc. I also bring my own totes to the grocery instead of using their bags. love these stylish recycled wrapper bags…they r fab :)

Heather January 11, 2010 at 9:12 pm

These are great! I love the olive seeds tote. How am I eco-friendly? recycle, use resuable bags at the grocery store, use 30% post consumer waste on my paper products for my business, re-fashion old clothes, we walk to school instead of driving…hmmm I know there are more ways too.

Debbie January 11, 2010 at 9:21 pm

Making a conscious effort to recycle more, and actually upcycling clothing articles into new creations. And I also tweeted this great giveaway :)

NewfieHun January 11, 2010 at 10:22 pm

That bag is beautiful. I’m trying to find “the right purse” now that I don’t have to carry a diaper bag anymore!
My kids take litterless lunches every day, we recycle everything we can and use our own shopping bags, to name a few things.

Mellissa C January 11, 2010 at 10:27 pm

We recycle all of are household items and I also try to buy in bulk. I tweeted message (Missybeez80)

Candice January 11, 2010 at 10:49 pm

Eco- friendly bags are a great start to living green! On a daily basis I carry a Matt and Nat bag. Although, that may change :) It may be a luxury bag but it is also eco-friendly. Day after day my lunch is carried in a reusable lunch bag. I don’t leave home without it and, to top it off, it is the colour green! Another bag that helps me live green are my reusable grocery bags (envirosax) The thing I love the most is that they fit in my purse – so I never run the risk of forgetting them! Ecoist – Your bags are beautiful. Savvy Sassy Moms, thank you for sharing!

Nicole Hatch January 11, 2010 at 10:57 pm

Hubby says he provides alot of natural gas! lol
On a serious note we save our dish water to ater the plants and garden! Also we don’t use paper towels for cleaning etc. I have bought special clothes to re-use, clean and wipe up messes!

Thanks
nicole
Coleeol42784@aol.com

Jackie January 11, 2010 at 11:03 pm

I love this bag!!! I have eliminated almost all chemicals from our home (and in turn our waterways, landfills etc.), we also recycle and post items on frecycle to give good items new homes :)

Elaine R January 12, 2010 at 12:37 am

I love checking out the local thrift shops and finding lovely vintage items-you can really find some wonderful items to upcycle.

My Favorite Everything January 12, 2010 at 12:58 am

SUPER CUTE bags!! I’m not very green – its on my 2010 list though! I do use reusable bags at the grocery store, and we recycle (as a way to start teaching our 2 year old about reuse, replace, recycle AND adding to her piggy bank savings), and we have changed some of the lights in our house to CFLS.

Thanks for the great giveaway! LOVE The bags!!

Swirl Girl January 12, 2010 at 1:08 am

Very Cool! Although they manage to get the Frito Lay smell out of the wrappers before they UpCycle them! I wouldn’t mind walking around smelling like Juicy Fruit gum, but I can imagine myself licking my handbag when I’m a little hungry! LOL

Around here – we recycle, re-use grocery bags -and we are trying (not there yet) to cut down on plastic baggies!

I like the Olive Seed one the most -

Jennifer Klein January 12, 2010 at 2:03 am

I try my best to live an ecofriendly life as much as I can! I buy local fruits and vegetables, buy green and recycled products every chance I get, drink water from a brita filter, hardly even use the heater or a/c in the house and of course… recycle every bottle, can, plastic item, etc that I can! Next step on my list is driving a clean diesel car…

Cindy Hickman @lifeonprint January 12, 2010 at 2:05 am

I walk to work every day! We recycle all plastic bottles & Cans! I take my own reusable bags to the store.

Elizabeth January 12, 2010 at 8:20 am

We use cloth diapers, re-useable grocery bags, and re-useable snack bags or plastic containers for lunches and snacks. We recycle whenever we can. We are working very hard to minimize our footprints :)

That Olive Seeds Bag is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous!! Thanks for the chance to win it!

~Liz

Birdie S. January 12, 2010 at 11:23 am

I recycle for CASH of course & I bicycle EVERYWHERE no car 4 me ……..

Kelly Koster January 12, 2010 at 12:55 pm

This is an amazing company! I love these bags, and love them even more because of all they are doing to give back. We use the re-usable bags at the store and my hubby bikes to work (except in the dead of winter, we live in MI).

AlenaT January 12, 2010 at 1:39 pm

We recycle, reuse produts, and just upgraded to energy effecient appliances.

Laura January 12, 2010 at 3:05 pm

We use reuseable bags, recycle cans, plastic paper etc. and I am a member of freecyle.

Laura January 12, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Jenn Petito January 12, 2010 at 5:29 pm

I LOVE that bag!! We recycle and use re-usable grocery bags and lunch bags!!

Thanks for the chance to win and telling us about this great company!!

Erica January 12, 2010 at 7:29 pm

I left a tweet on twitter

Erica January 12, 2010 at 7:30 pm

I recycle all glass, plastic, and aluminum

Carrie January 13, 2010 at 9:56 am

Cute bag!! We recycle everything we can, use re-usable bags for grocery shopping, use plastic containers for lunches instead of plastic bags, shop at local Farmer’s Markets during the warmer months, keep lights off, keep heat turned down low, shop for used clothes whenever we can and drive fuel friendly cars.

Heather! January 13, 2010 at 12:52 pm

I’m involved with Girl Scouts (both as an employee and as a volunteer in the past), and we have made wallets and little purses out of recycled Kool-Aid packets! Unfortunately, I’m not the craftiest gal around, and mine is…um…interesting. :) I would love to show off somebody else’s handiwork, though! Thanks for the chance!

Heather! January 13, 2010 at 12:52 pm

I tweeted!! :)
hybroanglid
h4schaffer at gmail dot com

Andrea Kruse January 13, 2010 at 1:22 pm

My family has our own army of reusable shopping bags, we use cloth diapers, we use and reuse glass jars, and we swap baby clothes with friends instead of buying new… we pass on the old stuff to families who need it too.

Andrea Kruse January 13, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Laura January 13, 2010 at 3:10 pm

We recycle, use re-usable grocery bags, switched out our light bulbs to CFL’s. Thanks for the chance – what a great bag and company!

Laura January 13, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Krimsin January 13, 2010 at 7:20 pm

OMG some girl was showing my son’s principal one of those at school today. I LOVE that green color!

Tee January 13, 2010 at 7:22 pm

We recycle. We use our own bags at the grocery store. We buy used clothing and swap with relatives and friends. Thanks for the giveaway! Love your site.

Tanya January 14, 2010 at 1:40 am

I recycle more than I throw things away, I have stainless steel water bottles, I bring lunch bags and tupperware to work instead of plastic bags. I reuse utensils and bring ceramic bowls to work when I need a bowl, etc.

Dee January 14, 2010 at 12:11 pm

That Olive Seed bag has my name all over it. Here’s why:

I rawk as a green mom because I wade through the freezing snow with my kitchen scrap bucket and crack open my frozen compost bin to empty it. My family of 4 produces 1 not quite full 13 gallon bag of garbage a week and we are working on cutting that in half. My kids help compost and recycle. Before I got a high efficiency washer I would use leftover water from my hot water bottle as well as leftover water from our cups to help fill the washer. I compost an acre of leaves every year in my own yard. Then I use the dirt for gardening projects. I collect batteries from friends, family, and a local daycare that my kids used to go to and recycle them responsibly. I tell other moms at the store with their reusable bags thank you! I could continue, but there are many moms on here that do these very same things and they ROCK too. I can say that I am constantly working on myself as an eco-conscious mom that isn’t preachy to other moms, just hoping to spread the eco-love.

Debbie Jackson January 15, 2010 at 12:19 am

subscribe

Debbie Jackson January 15, 2010 at 12:19 am

recycle organic materials into garden jacksond@nhr3.net

SavingDiva January 15, 2010 at 1:23 am

I work to keep my utility bills low year round. This saves cash and resources. I try to keep my condo at 62 in the winter and 80 in the summer.

Samantha Cleys January 15, 2010 at 9:32 am

I recycle everything!

Romy January 15, 2010 at 1:52 pm

How I am I living the Eco Chic life/Why should I win this fab bag?
*My favorite color is Green
*I have Green Eyes
*I worship Savvy Sassy Moms :-)
*I retweeted this contest
*I recycle all bottles, paper, plastic
*I drink wine and recycle the bottles
*I am all about Eco Chic–especially fashion accessories like this purse, or another I have that is made out of soda can pop tops that people always stop and ask me about
*I have a June Fifteen Reusable Shopping Bag and LOVE it!
*I have CFL Low wattage bulbs throughout my house
*I regularly shop at farmers markets–I try to eat locally sourced produce
*This Ecoist Olive Seed Bag Rocks and I MUST have it :-)

Heather January 15, 2010 at 2:02 pm

I like to resuse items to make jewelry. Of course I also recycle. I did tweet the giveaway @hleveque. Sorry, but I didn’t want to post my password on another site.

Aik January 16, 2010 at 1:15 am

I recycle old newspapers, glass and aluminum cans.

Anne G January 16, 2010 at 9:39 am

I live an eco friendly life by trying not to buy a lot of things I don’t really need. I also recycle and re-purpose things as much as possible.

Anne G January 16, 2010 at 9:40 am
Nicole January 16, 2010 at 1:26 pm

I tweeted! @hautesinglemama.

I try to put my money where my mouth is in living eco friendly and support companies that are, among other things!

Aimee W. January 17, 2010 at 1:12 am

I have transitioned at least 75% of bath, body, and cosmetic products to eco-friendly versions — and I am working on the last 25%. Thanks!

Aimee W. January 17, 2010 at 1:12 am

I am following you on Twitter AND I Tweeted about this giveaway: http://twitter.com/Nelsby/status/7853552857
Thanks!

Jessica C January 17, 2010 at 1:16 am

We have a paper free kitchen that helps with our eco friendly lifestyle! We also recycle a lot of our old clothes into clothes for our daughter!

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