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