How’s THAT for making a difference?!
It pleases me to no end each time I witness yet ANOTHER company, whether big or small, come up with ways to be more responsible for their effect on the environment. It may be through their own version of the reusable bag (Kenneth Cole, American Eagle Outfitters – check ‘em out, hecka cute!) or hybrid cars (Ford, Toyota, Porsche), contributing to the betterment of our environment makes major pogi points in my book. Or pretty points, as the case may be.
However, it doesn’t mean that being ecologically responsible should be left to companies alone. Each time you reuse a shopping bag, or segregate the waste in your home, you do your share. But it doesn’t stop there. Today we’d like to tell you about a movement that has created quite a buzz in Los Banos, Laguna. Reusable bags aren’t just for Manila, after all.
Enter The BYOB Team… a group of assertive, forward thinking and dedicated individuals who succeeded in educating their community about the ill effects of plastic bags. What started as a project for their graduate program in the University of the Philippines-Los Banos turned into a passionate move to raise awareness and effect change in their part of the world. Pretty impressive.
Not only did they go beyond the requirements of their social marketing and social mobilization class by organizing an event on campus last year, they decided to extend their efforts outside of the campus. “We are so lucky that all 11 of us have a unanimous desire to continue and sustain this campaign even after our professor has given our grades,” as told us by Ms. Fobel Paras, a member of this inspiring collective.
The BYOB Team also succeeded in catching the attention of their local government, as they were supported by Governor Ning Ning Lazaro, Congressman Timmy Chipeco, and their Mayor, Caesar Perez, who came up with a municipal order that would prevent local businesses from giving away free plastic bags. This was given a test run last November 1st to see how it would affect the community. The BYOB Team also worked on collecting 7,000 (yes, SEVEN THOUSAND) signatures to support this municipal order.
For lack of a better word… Wow.
Also noteworthy is the support of Panaderia Pantoja, (who have SUPER YUMMY goodies, I am NOT KIDDING) who contributed to this movement by donating flour sacks for the group to turn into bags. This is the same company that also helped EdgyEcology with our initial packaging! The BYOB Team tells us, that because of Panaderia Pantoja’s wonderful participation, other bakeries in the area have also helped the cause through their own donations.
It is encouraging to know that a town can band together for a cause as worthy as the environment. It inspires us at EdgyEcology to know that even the government will make an effort to include and support causes such as these.
On that note, I’d like to affirm what Jessica said in her last blog post. We can all do SOMETHING. It may not be as big as what the BYOB Team accomplished, but what matters is we step out of our comfort zone and do something good.
Trust me, it helps you go to bed with a smile on your face.
To get in touch with The BYOB Team, you can email them at byob_uplb@yahoo.com Let’s show them some loooove!
