Arrived in Rome yesterday morning, and itàs absolutely beautiful. The people, the sights, even my shoddy 35€ hostel… it is all amazing. There are almost as many knockoff Prada handbags as there are cigarette butts littering the streets, but not a single plastic bag. Not one, and I exaggerate not. Shoppes give out paper bags, restaurants use cardboard containers for doggy bags, and the streets remain plastic bag-free.

So aside from the fact that far too many Italians wear jeans with denim jackets and they all seem to have held on to their Bedazzlers from the early 90s, we have probably got a lot to learn from them…

Next stop – London!

What happens when reusable shopping bags become too trendy? Chaos.

Apparently the increasingly popular reusable bags from the streets of London boasting the phrase “I’m not a Plastic Bag” (as seen on the arm of Keira Knightly, amongst other A-listers) became readily available at Sainsbury’s, a grocery store, and the lineup was around the bend. There was a system of tickets. And the bags sold out. And people were VERY upset. I’m still trying to decide if this is an awkward day for fashion, or a great day for the environment. Maybe a little bit of both.

For one reason or another, lots of countries around the world are celebrating Earth Day early this year. That means today. The rest of the world is following the rules and celebrating on April 22nd, which is this Sunday. I’ve mentioned in my newsletter how I’ve never really understood why Earth Day was only once a year – every day should be Earth Day because every day we should be thinking of the actions we take and their effect on the world around us.

That said, I’d like to draw your attention to this little diddy – Singapore proclaimed “Bring Your Own Bag Day” on Wednesday and officials estimate that from that one day, they saved 100,000 plastic bags from entering the waste stream. Now THAT’s what I call Earth Day…!

L.A., Tofino, Rossland, Portland, Isle of Wight County in Virginia, New York State. What do these all have in common? You probably already guessed it – they’re all examining the possibility of banning or taxing plastic bags in their areas.

It’s so common now that it’s become trendy. And quite frankly, we can’t help but feel partially responsible for this. I mean, somebody had to be the first, right? But now we’re looking at all of these cities and states in North America, and of the above mentioned ones, three of them are HUGE jurisdictions, and we can only imagine how many plastic bags would be diverted from the landfill if these bans were enacted. ALL of New York State? Los Angeles? Just between those two alone, we could probably divert a few billion bags a day.

Plastics lobbyists, start your engines.

Do you know what makes this whole Leaf Rapids thing a success? This does.

Grand Rapids, MI is talking about a ban on plastic bags. And they’re looking pessimistic about it at this point. But they’re talking. And I doubt they were talking before. And they’re clearly not the only ones. Hundreds of North American municipalities have had their eyes opened to a new environmental possibility that is feasible both on a large scale and a small scale (San Francisco and Leaf Rapids, respectively).

Keep talking… you’ll get there someday…

Well, this is it. Today’s the day. Canada, like so many other great nations in this world, is officially home to a community that has rid itself of plastic bags. We at InStore Products are sitting here like proud parents, thrilled to have played a role in a truly historic environmental moment for Canada. We’re so proud of Leaf Rapids for taking this step to reduce their environmental footprints and are amazed at the national and international exposure that this town has received. It has truly sparked a national debate and we can see other cities coming around already (most notably San Francisco, but we see Edmonton’s ears perking up as well – stay tuned for that one).

Rather than link you to another news story about this, I’m going to send you in the direction of the communique that we sent out. It provides some great background information on not only this initiative, but also on Leaf Rapids as well as InStore Products.

We couldn’t be more excited…