Does this Hemp Shopping Bag Make Me Look Like a Hippie?

Simply answered, no. There are many things to address here, but still keeping it simple, it is not the hemp that makes someone a hippie and what is so wrong with being a hippie, anyway? Your hemp shopping bag actually makes you look smart.

Hemp is an all around smart choice, mainly due to how earth friendly it is. It is an environmentally positive crop, improving soil quality as it grows. It requires no herbicides and is naturally resistant to insects, fungus and other pests. Hemp grows rapidly during its vegetative period, becoming tall and thick. It suppresses weeds, and shades and mulches the ground, which its deep taproots break up and aerate. These attributes promote healthy microbial soil life and leave the earth in a condition where it is easily worked and able to retain moisture during the next growing season.

With that said, an additional fact is that hemp is reusable and durable. The material is good throughout the growth and use stages of it's life. Hemp Shopping Bags are a superior choice to any common plastic (and paper, for that matter) shopping bags because they are an easy way to decrease the amount of waste we create each year. A hemp shopping bag adds the bonus of it being created from a sustainable plant, that has a positive impact on the soil as it grows. Check out the rest of our reusable shopping bags and our other hemp products.

written by Jessie

Celebrate National Co-op Month!

If you did not know already, Wedge Worldwide is a department of a consumer owned co-op in Minneapolis. The Wedge Co-op to be exact. And October is the month to celebrate our business and the values it supports. It is National Co-op Month.

Here is a bit more information about co-ops. Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. We base our business model on the values outlined in the Co-op Principles, which are as follows:

• Voluntary and Open Membership
• Democratic Member Control
• Member Economic Participation
• Autonomy and Independence
• Education, Training and Information
• Cooperation Among Co-operatives
• Concern for Community

Learn more about the Co-op Principles on the Wedge Co-op's website.

Now that the very base of co-ops is laid out, what is National Co-op Month? The National Co-op Month's official website states, “Each October, cooperatives all across America celebrate the role, accomplishments and contributions of our nation’s cooperatives.

The annual celebrations play a key role in promoting cooperatives to our members, the public and policy makers. Through a combination of media outreach, member education, and interaction with policy makers, co-op month events help raise the visibility of your cooperative, and improve public understanding of cooperatives.”

The theme for National Co-op Month 2008 is as follows: “Stronger Together – Go.coop!” promoting the idea that everyone is stronger when we work together. Cooperatively owned businesses inherently invoke that concept through the democratic structure of their business models. “Stronger Together” was selected to establish the idea that, “when together, among each other or with consumers, cooperatives become an attractive and viable force in today’s global marketplace.”

So celebrate any cooperatively owned businesses that you know and love this month. Show your appreciation for all of the work that they do to improve how businesses are run, products are produced, et cetera.