ORN# 3 Reusable Shopping Bags

Hi friends,

Our latest video, ORN#3 Reusable Shopping Bags, is ready for viewing! Click on the blue title or visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8U6vxJu1tI
We visited the ChicoBag Company in Chico, California to learn more about reusable shopping bags and the reasons they are a more sustainable choice than paper or plastic. Carrick interviewed Andy Keller, the president and founder of ChicoBag, and it was a great interview with a lot of great points. In fact, I decided to make this video a 2-for-1 special; ORN#3 Reusable Shopping Bags is the “official” video of our visit, and I also put together a second video, ORN ChicoBag Extended Interview, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP7nDSrVlQk) which is a longer version of our interview that includes a lot of Q&A not in the ORN#3 video. Andy gave such a great interview with a lot of great points that couldn’t make it into the shorter format for our video series, so if you like the “official” video then go ahead and watch the extended interview.

I think of this video as the sister video to our last, ORN#2 Stainless Steel Water Bottles. Both videos talk about sustainable alternatives to disposable items we use every day. Stainless steel water bottles and reusable shopping bags are two easy ways to reduce our environmental footprint – Andy told us that the average American uses on average about 500 disposable shopping bags every year! He gave lots of amazing statistics that will be sure to surprise you.

ChicoBags are unique among reusable bags because they are designed to be smooshed down into the small attached pouch with a drawstring, which make them easy to carry and keep where you need them, like in the car, purse, etc. Our family has been using canvas bags for years but they are bulky to carry around and they get stained after a while. ChicoBags are more convenient and are easy to clean. Also, they are popular for fundraising because they can be printed with whatever logos and ads necessary and sold to help raise money.

After the interview there is a scene we shot that is probably the most bizarre thing we filmed in the entire two months: a fight scene between the Paper Bag Monster versus the Plastic Bag Monster. Andy & company came up with the Plastic Bag Monster costume a few years ago as a great visual example of the disposable bags used every year – they took 500 plastic bags and tied them all together into this big, rustling, bizarre costume. They rent the costumes out for events and festivals to draw attention to the issue of plastic bags. Some great videos are on YouTube that feature the Plastic Bag Monster, just do a search. We wanted to incorporate the Plastic Bag Monster in our video but do something different from what’s already online. Fortunately for us, Andy had just finished the week before a new Paper Bag Monster costume, and we filmed the WORLD DEBUT. Hats off to Andy for going above and beyond what we asked him to make our video fun! So in the supermarket battle between paper vs. plastic, we settle the score once and for all. Both paper and plastic bags have significant environmental impacts and neither is a sustainable choice.

At the very end of our video, make sure to watch the credits to see a funny blooper reel of Carrick working on the video intro. He and I have a fun time making the videos – there’s a lot of goofing around that you don’t usually see. I showed him the blooper collection and he thought it was great – it’s just him being a goof. I occasionally get comments that I “force my poor kid” to do these videos. Some of the comments we get on YouTube are…interesting, usually aimed at me the parent who is obviously brainwashing my son and mentally abusing him with nonsense about renewable energy, sustainability, climate change, etc. If you feel like posting responses to the cranks please feel free: www.youtube.com/carrickgareth.

I had a big challenge with this and the water bottle video: getting good visuals. I try to add interesting things to look at during an interview, because even with the most compelling speaker it can be hard to watch someone talk for 5 minutes straight. The video we made about the wind turbine at Holy Name High School, ORN#1 Wind Over Worcester, had plenty of footage of the wind turbine, on top of the interview audio. That was easy. Finding good visuals for water bottles and shopping bags was harder. Sometimes we’ve used images from the internet, which are free to use if given credit. Other times we use (hopefully) funny bits to break the interview up, like the Abe Lincoln animation from the last video. We do what we can to make the videos fun for kids and grownups!

That’s a wrap on reusable shopping bags, now onto the next video! There are a few time-sensitive topics we filmed that I will jump to next, like the Solar Decathlon, the Chevy Volt, and cellulosic ethanol. As usual, you’ll be the first to know!

Be well,
Colin
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Our Renewable Nation, A Cross-Country Eco-Video Adventure
www.OurRenewableNation.org