Potential for selling/distributing cloth shopping/produce bags at farmers mkt

[Paul Carufel]

All - THis seems as close as I can get to posting in the right place for now.
I am willing to staff a table near the farmer's market and to run a "bag
exchange" program where customers coming from the market could exchange
their single use bags for one of the cloth ones? What do you think?
I am looking into the permit. I will create a little two-fold pamphlet explaining the goal of the project and who is providing the bags. Don't know if I'll be ready for this weekend - but next hopefully. I am looking into a grant to buy
more bags and pay for some printing.
Please forward to anyone who can offer insight/guidance.

Thanks,
Paul Carufel

[Janis Zinn]

Paul,
I love this idea.
The Waste Reduction and Recyle Working Group part of the ES Task Force
did a bit of research on making reusable bags more easily available.
We thought it might be funded by advertising on the bags. If you can
not get grant money, then perhaps you could approach some of the
farmer's market vendors to participate as a means of advertising on
the bags to fund them. It seems they would save some money because
they would need to purchase less single use bags for distribution.
There are a few bag vendor contacts listed in the ESTF report, but I
am sure there are others as well.
Janis Zinn
Chair, ESTF Waste Reduction and Recycle Working Group

[Paul Carufel]

Janis - Thanks very much for the response and sharing information.
I am still waiting to hear back from the Farmer's Market Management. I am approaching funding on several levels. Aileen has offered enough to get started. I may just use a 3R pamphlet unless there is already a Mountain View Environmental Sustainability one available now? Plan to start on the 23rd.
Any other feed back is greatly appreciated. Who/how can I contact with permit questions/pamphlet needs?


Respectfully,
Paul Carufel

[Marn-Yee Lee]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for doing this wonderful project!

I have posted your request for feedback at the Presidio School of Management (sustainability MBA) board, and will consolidate the responses and forward.   I am out of town till early December, but would love to help some time, if needed.   It is so sad our Farmer's Market switched to plastic bag earlier this year.  Personally I think it would be great if:

a) the project can target the farmer market's management and/or vendors too, since if they don't put out the bag, people won't use them wantonly.  People will bring their own bags from home.  Even if they bring plastic bag, the bags are at least reused.  Maybe Phase 2 of your project.

b) the bags the project provide is sustainably sourced / made from sustainable material.  I'm not sure what material  the bags Aileen provides is made of, and I know it has a lot of advertising which kinda bothers me, but hey, it is free.  Good as a start.  I am hoping some friends would know of places to source these cheaply and sustainably, or have ideas on how to fundraise.  Will keep you posted.

-Marn Yee

--
Best regards,
Marn-Yee

[Esperanza Sanz]

Hi Paul,


I love your idea!

I would like to be part of it. Even though I cannot make it on November 23th, count on me if needed in the future.

As Marn-Yee said, I think there is a real need of addressing the vendors as well, because the number of bags keeps increasing, and every week I go to the farmers' market I see more and more people, but also, more bags.

We don't need to process them later by recycling them, cutting them down to almost close to zero is the real solution.

I will stay tuned.

Thanks,


Espe

--
"The question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?" David Attenborough.

 
Piense en el medio ambiente: ¿necesita imprimir este mensaje?
Think Environment: do you need to print this message?
Pensez à l'Environnement: avez-vous besoin d`imprimer ce message?

[Paul Carufel]

Espe and Marn-Yee,
Thanks much for your feedback.
I will shop there on Sunday and look for management staff to talk to - as well as vendors.

Respectfully,
Paul Carufel

-----Original Message-----
From: Esperanza Sanz
Sent: Nov 14, 2008 4:21 PM
To: mv-sust-task-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Potential for selling/distributing cloth shopping/produce bags at farmers mkt

[Mike Kahn]

Hi Paul,

If you need a photo or two for the pamphlet you are creating I am
willing to provide a few in exchange for credit. Just let me know and
I can send you the image at the size you need. Here's a photo from
the MV Farmers Market that might be good (I have a signed model
release for the woman in the foreground):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenstockmedia/2733949036/in/
set-72157606548337537/
Here are others from the Market:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenstockmedia/sets/72157606548337537/

As a reminder to all, I created a Sustainable Mountain View photo
group on Flickr where you can post your images of MV sustainability,
the good and bad. I'd love to see others participate!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/sustainablemountainview/

Thanks for working on the bag project, Paul. I think it is a good idea!

Best,
Mike

Mike Kahn
Green Stock Media - 650-269-1264 - mi...@greenstockmedia.com
http://www.greenstockmedia.com - Promoting sustainability one image
at a time.

[Julie Lovins]

The Council will not make these appointments formal until a later meeting.
But given the interest of ESTF members in this process, I wanted to let
you know that the two (of seven) candidates chosen were

Eric Anderson (I believe unanimously; he was the incumbent, and is very
interested in our work)

Robert Chang (4-3, the 3 on the losing side being the members of the
Council Environmental Sustainability Committee)

Julie
(League of Women Voters Observer at Mountain View City Council meetings)