Ever since visiting the Two oceans Aquarium, something has been bothering me. When I say bothering me I mean REALLY BOTHERING ME. As I mentioned in my visit to the Aquarium post, I make each and every experience a learning opportunity. I went to the aquarium with the intention of having a good time and letting the kids experience “life under the sea” by witnessing all of these majestic creatures in their most purest forms… and they did. Me on the other hand? I left with the nagging feeling of realising that I may am contributing to the very real possibility of generations to come not being able to witness what I have that day. The beauty of marine life.

Marine life that WE are killing.

You may be on my blog today for the regular beauty/fashion posts but today is not one of those days. Today I honestly just wanted to share what has been in this big head of mine for these past few days. Being enrobed in my shocking awakening of plastic bags, I decided to visit the Two Oceans Aquarium website to learn more about what I have read and then discovered a TEDx that really shook me. Did you know that South Africans use 8 billion shopping bags a year? Did you know that the average consumer only use a plastic bag for 20 minutes? 20 minutes usage for a lifetime on this earth?! Did you know that turtles mistake it for jellyfish? All true. If we don’t change our use of plastic bags, by the year 2050 there will be more plastics in the ocean than fish. I know that this is far off my usually postings but if I can change at least one person’s way of thinking, then my work here is done. Of course I can’t stand as the poster child for green living but I do believe that if we all tried to be a little bit more conscious of our use and disposal of plastics then the world be a better a place. Literally.

Now of course there are brands out there that make the adjustment from using single-use-shopping bags to reusable long-life shopping bags easy. Sometime last year I spoke about an amazing company called E’yako Green and the response I got on SM was refreshing. You guys!!!, local celebs and brands liked my posts. This brand is one of a kind and I wish more people knew about them and the amazing work that they do. If you are keen, you can visit their website over here and see what the company is all about. If you look at my bag, it has this unusual print on it but what you don’t know is that in this bag’s former life – it was a South African branded billboard that advertised your favourite icon. How you ask? E’yako Green uses PVC billboards and banners and recycles it into an array of different items such as cosmetic bags, lunch bags, shopping bags, etc. etc.

The bags are super sturdy which makes them perfect for shopping. If something spills on it then you can just wipe it off with a wet cloth. Ever since using my E’yako Green shopping bag I have been saving lots of moola. All of those 50c coins equates to lots of rands, rands that could be spent elsewhere in your budget.As you can tell, my E’yako Green collection is growing and I recieve all of my items from my mom and sister as they get it as gifts from their work for Women’s Day. E’yako supplies companies with corporate gifts by partnering up with other local small producers and up-cycling and recycling their waste into products. This is such a sustainable brand in terms of cleaning up the planet and having the end use of a product in mind.

If I could urge you to take at least one thing away from today’s blog post then it would be to PLEASE #RETHINKTHEBAG

“There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.”
– Annie Leonard, Proponent of Sustainability