Think Globally, Act Locally

As a lifelong Quaker and a person who is passionate about the environment, I am pleased that I have resources I trust regarding recycling, tips for green living and other topics about caring for the Earth. Two of the resources are local. I get valuable information from the publication, Indiana Living Green and the organization, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. I am also a member of Green America, www.greenamerica.org.

Many things inspire me, including my daughter Kim Mai and her commitment to Earthcare. A resident of California, she has been recycling for many years, composting, and using cloth shopping bags for grocery visits. We share information about Earth-friendly products we have found and use.

About 20 years ago, I learned about making fabric bags for gifts, rather than using

holiday paper. I don’t sew well, but Kim Mai is an excellent seamstress and has been making beautiful bags for holiday gift giving and also for birthdays. We buy holiday fabric that is on sale at the end of the season and use it for the bags. For birthday gifts bags, we can repurpose shirts, dresses, and other garments, or buy fabric remnants.

This has been a family tradition for the past two decades. Not only does this help the environment, but “bagging” gifts rather than using paper saves so much time! I’ve also been inspired to give wedding gifts of Earth-friendly products to the newlyweds, using a First Friends grocery bag instead of gift wrap.

I do believe all these steps make a difference, not only in our lives and our childrens’ lives, but also in that we are teaching our four grandchildren valuable lessons in Earthcare.