| Supermarkets and other retailers are jumping on | | | | bags are often available made of organic cotton |
| board the environmental consciousness train, | | | | canvas. |
| promoting more and more of their products as | | | | Closing the circle: promoting products made from |
| environmentally friendly; meanwhile, mainstream | | | | recycled materials. |
| food manufacturers are opting in to the organic | | | | All the recycling campaigns in the world aren't |
| food trend. | | | | worth anything if consumers don't buy products |
| From Welch's grape juice to organic lettuce in the | | | | made from the collected recyclables. Luckily, more |
| produce bins, food retailers are getting the | | | | and more products are available using materials |
| message that natural is in. Natural snacks are | | | | manufactured from paper, plastic, and other |
| being advertised on national TV as being available | | | | collected waste materials. From toilet tissue and |
| in supermarkets, and entire sections of these | | | | paper towels made from recycled paper to |
| giant markets are being devoted to food and | | | | numerous products created from waste plastic, |
| cleaning products formerly found only in natural | | | | an increasing number of consumer goods are |
| foods stores. | | | | available that complete the cycle. One interesting |
| Retailers increase the bottom line by promoting | | | | development is the creation of artificial fabrics |
| recyclable tote bags. | | | | made from discarded soda bottles. |
| One practice welcomed by environmentally | | | | EcospunÂ(R) fiber ends up being used in |
| conscious consumers is the selling of reusable tote | | | | everything from tote bags and backpacks to |
| bags of natural canvas, designed to replace the | | | | sturdy, weather-resistant outerwear. |
| "paper or plastic" alternatives available at most | | | | Forty years ago, collection of waste materials for |
| grocery checkout counters. For a reasonable | | | | recycling was a novelty, a practice pushed by |
| price, customers can purchase the requisite | | | | environmental purists, and a lot of pundits wrote it |
| number of canvas totes to package their | | | | off at that time as a fad. Now it's standard |
| groceries and then reuse the bags on future trips | | | | practice in nearly every community in the country. |
| to the store, doing their bit to save the | | | | Now organic foods, chemical-free cleansers, and |
| environment and saving the retailers a few | | | | the purchase of durable goods made from |
| pennies on every transaction in the process. | | | | recycled materials are entering the mainstream in |
| Savvy retailers often order the canvas totes with | | | | a big way, coming out of the esoteric closet of |
| their store logo and street address on the bags, a | | | | natural food stores New Age shops and into |
| way to market their business and engender | | | | major supermarket chains and clothing retailers. It |
| customer loyalty while positioning themselves as | | | | remains to be seen whether this trend is a fad, or |
| environmentally friendly. Additional products, such | | | | an enduring practice as more and more people |
| as mini tote lunch bags and backpacks, provide | | | | become aware of the benefits of recycling. |
| another income stream. For real purists, these | | | | |