Green Up Your Picnic Gear

We hope that people are avoiding single-use plastic this summer when they head to the beach or the mountains.  It’s easier to spot folks in public carrying their own water bottles, avoiding purchasing food in Styrofoam containers, and skipping the straws altogether.

But what about your gear?  You can up your game to use environmentally friendly items that are also very cool to use!

A thrift store basket can become a picnic hamper to pack your sandwiches and snacks to transport to the beach or mountain picnic to keep the contents from getting crushed.  Make it romantic by bringing battery-operated pillar candles.

Cloth napkins have gone from a Sunday-dinner-must-have to the back of the cupboard, in favor of throw-away paper napkins.  Get those cloth napkins back out now!  They cover more of your lap than a disposable napkin, they’re thicker, and they’re less likely to blow away outdoors than a paper napkin.  Similarly, cartoon character fleece fabric can be cut into squares (no sewing required) to encourage little ones to use “real” napkins too.

While you’re at the thrift store, pick up some  mismatched stainless-steel forks and spoons – another old idea that’s new again.  Use them to eat your yogurt or salad, then fold them up in your cloth napkins for the trip home to be washed.  Bonus:  little ones can dig it the sand with metal utensils; they won’t break or add to the plastic litter left behind at beaches.

You can carry all your gear in style with the Hamilton Perkins Collection Earth Bag Lite from their sustainable line of products.  The lightweight but sturdy bags are made from recycled plastic bottles, and lined with upcycled vinyl billboards!  They are water-repellent, and no two bags are ever the same.

And for the pièce de resistance, you can have this denim “Pockets Full of Sunshine” beach Quilt, from Etsy.  It’s handmade from blue jeans that may otherwise have ended up in the landfill.  The backing fabric is durable, water resistant and stain resistant.  Perfect for an environmentally friendly picnic!

You don’t have to compromise convenience or ease when you take steps to live sustainably.