As mentioned earlier, I will be re-posting my articles of the “Watsons Live Beautifully” campaign here on my blog so those who don’t log in to Facebook would get to read it as well 🙂
When I was first asked by Watsons to create a tote bag, I was both excited and intimidated.
To create, is to put something into existence or to cause about a change. I believe that the concept of a tote bag for Watsons is not just a creation of yet another product but a platform of self-evaluation and a way to a greener way of living.
The Eco-bag trend has been around for ages but only in recent years do I see more Singaporeans actively bringing canvas or recyclable totes to the stores. I guess the change has been slower compared to our European counterparts because plastic bags are still easily and freely available at most stores.
Using an estimate household purchase of 70 items a week, it would save 520 plastic bags a year if we just converted to re-usable tote bags so I’m really happy that Watsons is gearing to be in the fore-front the sustainability movement.
Personally, while I have already gotten into the trend of using re-usable bags for shopping, I still have more than my share of green guilts as well. In fact, it’s scandalous how I go about coveting every new item that catches my eyes and contributing to the excessive consumption that is slowly eating our planet alive . It’s not that I haven’t thought about being green but somehow those thoughts get thrown out the moment I see a pair of shoes I like or when I get seduced by the latest gadget. So my journey to the creation of this tote bag will also be my motivation to preserver in my resolution to make small elegant changes in my life to play a part in preserving the planet’s beauty.
I’m not going to delude myself and tell you that I’ll turn into a green peace poster child and wear ugly rags or use rough one-ply toilet paper. But I will be deligent in making small changes such as bringing my own container when I do take-aways, having a re-usable tote bag available readily when I go shopping, using my own mug at work instead of a paper cup and basically opting to buy classic sturdy designs that I know will last me a long time instead of jumping in the trend of “buying and discarding”. In fact I have been working on de-cluttering my life as part of my new year resolutions and recently gave away a huge amount of my clothings to family and friends before donating the rest to charity.
99% of the people making one small change in their life to help earth is going to make a bigger impact then a small group that overhauls their life completely. Please join me in my journey and I will share my rites of  passage from creative inspirations to the final design of my tote bag; from making simple habit changes to reaching a stage where green is second nature.