My friend Stephanie Heinecken is another inspirational woman who went after her dreams.  For Stephanie it started when she realized using plastic bags was creating huge environmental problems like the Great Garbage Patch (see video).

Instead of simply making a change for herself and her family, Stephanie thought bigger. She turned her idea into a successful business that is taking off.  She is now the proud owner of Saxsystuff and spends her days taking care of her family and selling a solution to our plastic woes.  Her solution is simple, she makes reusable cloth grocery bags.  These aren’t your typical cloth grocery bags made out of cheesy material with your local grocery stores name imprinted on it. Saxsybags are fashionable, high quality cotton bags, that make you want to go shopping.

At first glance, her bags look flimsy.  But from experience, I know they are strong, durable, and capable of carrying more groceries than you want to lug in the house.  I know because I have a slew of Saxsybags that I use everyday.  At grocery stores, clerks are often afraid to fill them up for fear they’ll break.  I have to tell them go ahead and load them up, they can take it!  Typically, clerks don’t believe me and fill these like they do the cheap plastic bags they are used to using.  One day, a clerk actually listened  to me and filled my bag to the brim.  It was so heavy, I could barely carry it in the house. That was an eye opener for me.

I’ve been using Stephanie’s bags for over a year now and they are still going strong.  My kids take them to school, use them to carry their books, gym supplies, extra boots, and whatever they can find to throw in them.  I use mine daily to carry my lunch to work and of course keep a few in my OlovesM eco-bag to carry my groceries in.  These aren’t your typical grocery bags.  They’re cute, fun to use, and great to carry everything in.  Who knows maybe you’ll love them too, check out Stephanie online at Saxsystuff.com.

There’s more to Merle than just being eco-responsible, she’s also incredibly concerned over the status of displaced workers in our country. While most businesses would ship their remnants out of country to create their wares, Merle won’t. No way, instead she provides work at home opportunities for many others in Colorado and elsewhere. She is the perfect example of someone who really cares and is making a difference. I believe that if we truly care about our planet and each other, we’d stop buying so much stuff at Walmart and start honoring businesses like hers. If your in the market for a fashionable bag that you can be proud to wear, head on over to OlovesM and buy yourself one.