My neighbourhood grocery stores will all be charging for plastic bags in April. This trend to reduce non-compostable plastic bag usage is gathering momentum everywhere ever since San Francisco became the first North America city to promote alternatives. In June 2009, a new Toronto bylaw will force all retailers to charge for plastic bags. However many people think a national ban like that in China is unlikely here. Whilst plastic bags are useful for many things beyond carrying your shopping, their excessive use clog our landfills. By charging for their use, the hope is consumers will realise bags are not really free and there is an environmental cost to this convenience.

A number of jewelry artisans have risen to the recycling challenge. Their creative talents reuse the humble plastic bag in some of the most innovative jewelry items I have seen.

1.Arnym's Shop on Etsy makes really funky grocery bag earrings and brooches . Not shown is her grocery bag necklace. This Virginia based artisan points out that it takes 1000 years to break down a plastic bag in a landfill.



2. British designer, Anna Roebuck wants so much to educate people on the 3 R's - recycle, reuse and reduce waste - so much so her entire income comes from her business Bags2riches. Her earring collection (above left) takes advantage of the different patterns and colours found in plastic shopping bags.



3.Garbage of Eden on Etsy lives up to her store's name for she makes the most colorful and fun bangles I have ever seen. They are made from twisting plastic bags around plastic bangles. This New York based artisan even lists the source of the different colors - for example, the blue ones are made from NY Times newspaper bags, the red ones come from Chinatown!



FREE TUTORIALS
Want to have a go? Then check out Gooseflesh's tutorial on how to make plastic bag yarn to get started. For a complete necklace, check out Instructable's Grocery Bag Jewelry tutorial.

Via , Via and Via

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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
Jewelry Making Tips - Jewelry Business Tips