Waking people up

We have always been leaders in the reusables movement and fighting the mindless over-consumption of “use & toss” items. Realizing early on the absurdity of the prevailing disposables mentality, we’ve inspired a grassroots movement toward more sensible, conscious consumption of disposables.

It all started with the plastic bag issue back in 2002, and we’ve made a significant impact along the way - inspiring hundreds of news stories and empowering individuals with practical products and activist tools. Endorsements in An Inconvenient Truth and others provide testament to the mainstream change we’re inspiring.

Are plastic bags, bottles & other disposables the worst things affecting our environment? Probably not. However they are very important because of their ubiquitous nature. Nearly all of us use them -- all the time. Pervasive and out of control, they are powerful symbols of consumption gone wild. The mindless over-consumption of use & toss items is just plain dumb, and we’re helping make it a thing of the past.

Changing the status quo

We act as a grassroots organization enabling consumers to reduce, reuse and save™ - and feel good in the process. We accomplish this by:

1. Leadership and innovation: By neatly packaging the problems and offering strategic, pragmatic solutions to over consumption, we’ve been a major catalyst – helping inspire a reusables movement. While maintaining dedication to the triple bottom line, we’re constantly learning, growing and improving. Always asking tough questions and looking for smart answers.

2. Educating and raising awareness: Through our info sites (ReusableBags.com, ReusableBottles.com, EcoLunch.com & more), we provide news from around the world, deliver top facts about consumption and bust common myths & misperceptions.

3. Empowering people to take action and spread the word with sensible ideas and tools.

4. Enabling people to consume less with our family of "best of the best" reusables in many categories, so you can eliminate disposables from every part of your life - from bags and bottles to lunch, household items and beyond. Practical, innovative and high-quality, our offerings give consumers smart alternatives to use & toss items and the false promise of cheap reusables flooding the marketplace. As skeptical consumers ourselves, we only select items that meet our strict criteria for quality, style, performance, durability, value, safety & ecological impact.

We believe that by offering these four key elements that close the loop we can move mainstream society away from this bad habit. There is a better way.

Walking the Walk

Below are a few of the ways we're making an impact as we help break society's addiction to use & toss items:

* Thrusting the plastic bag issue into mainstream consciousness, while promoting the wisdom of high-quality reusables as an important part of the solution. Testimonials from major media outlets, influential organizations and customers speak to our commitment and impact.

* Delivering innovative reusable products through our award-winning, proprietary Reuseit line (formerly ACME bags). Everyday basics that are stylish, durable and logo-free – all made from sustainable, high-performance materials in accordance with Fair Labor/Fair Trade practices.

* As of 2009, we've enabled our 190,000+ customers to reduce their consumption of use-and-toss items by more than 700 million units.

* We are members of 1% for the Planet. Joining the likes of Patagonia, we donate 1% of sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment.

* We're more than just a store - we're on a mission providing outstanding service to consumers & society