Three months ago, while shopping at his local grocery store, Josh Brady asked a clerk how many plastic bags the market went through each day. Her answer: 3,000. So, with the help of his kids Morgan and Mason, the 34-year-old computer programmer created a grassroots project (and blog) to distribute 3,000 green cloth bags to local shoppers. Since then, Brady has received donations from across the country and expects his first shipment to arrive on Sept. 30. From his home in Apollo Beach, here's Brady on:
His new role as environmental activist:
"That's the ironic thing — we're not exactly experienced activists. We used to use plastic bags to the hilt. I always assumed that the people who did get involved in this were very environmentally conscious all the time. That's not really my personality."
Why people are supporting his project:
"The bag actually has a utility to it that goes beyond just doing something for the environment. I feel these bags are genuinely better than the plastic bags: bigger and sturdier. … If there's a drawback, it's forgetting them at home."
Attempting to partner with area grocery stores:
"One of the grocery stores actually sells them at a retail price, and we've tried to partner with them. … but as it turns out the grocery store is only going to do that if we buy from them at a retail price.
How blogging is creating new activists:
"If I weren't into blogging, it isn't likely that we would have started GreenBagBlog.com. How else could we reach out to so many people and publicize for free if it weren't for blogging? It's a highly effective way to communicate to many people on a tightly focused subject."
This article appears in Aug 15-21, 2007.