ECOBAGS Review and Giveaway (CLOSED)

Going to the grocery store is something we do only when I need a full cart of groceries (if I can help it). We try to stock up so we don't have to go more than once a week with two toddlers. Riding in a grocery cart for long periods of time isn't their idea of fun. Know what I mean?

That being said, we usually fill up a lot of grocery bags when we go, so recently I have began utilizing my reusable bags. One company that offers a wide range of reusable bags is ECOBAGS. Their website says, "ECOBAGS® - the original reusable bag, eco-friendly products and environmental updates - since 1989."

Recently, I was sent the I Love Dirt Tote to try out. I also have a Classic String Bag that I received awhile back. You can read that post here.

Since I come from a family of farmers, I especially like that this bag promotes the idea of supporting local farms . My late grandmother planted and tended to huge gardens and an entire pasture most of her life. Many days you'd see her filling a bucket or wagon with squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, watermelon, you name it. If she wasn't doing that, she was on her hands and knees picking pecans that fell from her many pecan trees or tending to her cows. And if she wasn't doing one of those activities, she was canning fruits and veggies or cooking delicious food to deliver to her sick friends using her crops. For several years, she even had an earthworm farm. From her, I learned a love of all things fresh and grown with love in the dirt. She passed away in 2000, but I am still able to enjoy the fruits of a farmer's labor. My husband's grandparents, in their 70s and 80s, still maintain a large garden. The photo below shows the veggies we currently have from them... delicious eggplant, potatoes, cucumbers and tomatoes. So, I definitely support ECOBAGS effort to support local farms. Not only do local farms provide healthy vegetables and help support farmers, but, in some cases, they give an older generation an opportunity to profit from something they love to do.

When I received my I Love Dirt Tote, I was surprised that is much larger than it seems online. I am happy about that because that means less bags I have to lug around. It seems really well made and truly holds a lot of groceries (or other items).

ECOBAGS describes it like this, "...it’s time to get down and dirty…in the garden! Whether you grow your own or support those with greener thumbs than your own, this bag is the way to show your love for all things local and naturally delicious. Pair with matching “I Love Dirt” produce bags at the farmstand, farmers’ market and beyond."

I am now eyeing the I Love Dirt Natural Cotton Reusable Produce Bag as well. I also like bags that are multi-use. Not only can I use my tote to bring groceries home in, but I can also use it to bring home veggies from the grandparents' farm and even use it to tote the kids snacks, sippies, diapers and other items for a quick trip to the park. I am also a fan of "Social Responsibility" and am glad ECOBAGS is as well.

About the company:

"Eco-Bags Products, Inc. opened for business in 1989 with a simple goal; to produce quality bags at great prices so that "Reusable becomes a way of life." We started with the ECOBAGS® Brand Classic String Bag, a simple lightweight, expandable daily tote used in Europe for generations, long before paper and plastic bags.

We introduced our bags at the 1990 Earth Day celebration on Sixth Avenue in New York City. The bags were a hit. We sold out in four hours. Now, we carry a complete line of ECOBAGS® Brand bags in natural and certified organic cotton, recycled cotton and hemp/cotton blends.

All of our canvas totes are available unprinted or custom printed for organizations and companies (minimums apply). ECOWEAVE® Brand Organic home goods and T-shirts are now available, too. Under the ECOWEAVE® Brand we produce organic cotton towels, loofah scrubbers and other home products.

Our T-Shirts are organic, hemp-cotton and recycled content, available to the trade unprinted or custom printed.

ECOBAGS® Brand products can be found in many natural foods, gourmet, eco, grocery and drug stores. They are used as promotional tools and incentives for retailers, manufacturers and many nationally recognized non-profit organizations. Keep an eye on magazines and newspapers because ECOBAGS®Brand bags are even starting to hit the world of fashion and accessories."

Buy: You can purchase ECOBAGS products at http://www.ecobags.com/. The I Love Dirt Tote bag sells for $14.99 if you buy one or $12.99 each if you buy two or more. They have a large selection of tote bags, produce bags, lunch bags, water bottles and more.

Win: ECOBAGS has generously offering two Potamus Prefers readers an I Love Dirt Tote bag.

For the first required entry, go to their website and tell me one other item you would like to try.

If you'd like extra entries (after the required entry is completed), please leave a comment on this post for each entry:

1. Blog about this contest with a link back to this post and Ecobags for five extra entries.
2. Subscribe to our feed by email for one extra entry.

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

3. Follow Potamus Prefers on Blogger for one extra entry.
4. Follow Potamus Prefers on Twitter and Tweet this post. You can do this once per day for one extra entry per tweet.
5. Tell me one thing you are doing to go green.
6. Add the Potamus Prefers button to your blog.

This giveaway is open to addresses in the U.S. only and will end July 13, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. Central Time. Winner will be posted on this blog (in this post) and will be e-mailed (please be sure to leave an e-mail address if you aren't a blogger or if it isn't part of your profile). You will have 72 hours to reply.

"Where does stuff go when we throw it away? We can see, from the garbage soup in the Pacific, that there is no "away." That’s why we’re committed to zero waste, which is a big goal. We’ll take it a few steps at a time. Sometimes it's just about getting started." - Sharon Rowe CEO & Founder