Recently I had the pleasure of
corresponding with a true cottage green business visionary, Louana
George. To call Louana a visionary may seem an overstatement, since her
eco-business is still a sideline, her products still produced by her
own hand, and her sales small but growing. What makes Louana and her
company noteworthy is that she is following her passion to make the
world around her a better place, to fulfill a need that consumers may
not even realize that they have, and to build her cottage business into
a profitable enterprise at the same time.
Louana's reusable
produce bags are a great idea, a quality product, and an inspiration
for any of us with an idea and a long road ahead of us to bring our
idea to fruition.
Here, Louana shares her
story of how her company, L-Bag, was born.
The
Story of The L-Bag
It seemed simple at first to start a cottage industry based on my
environmental passions. The idea came to me in a flash. "Of
course," I thought, "we have reusable grocery bags in abundance and
people are increasingly getting in the habit of carrying their own bags
to the grocery stores to eliminate their use of plastic bags. But," I
wondered, "what about the amount of plastic bags we're still using for
carrying our produce from store to home? What can substitute
for these plastic bags?" So, I sat down to my sewing machine
and made a prototype substitute, a nylon mesh reusable produce bag with
a drawstring opening.
My first concern for this product was to make sure it was sturdy and
met the needs of consumers. I gave away about 50 of my first
bags to friends and family members and asked them try them out.
After two months had passed, I sent an email feedback form.
The response was positive and the suggestions for making the
product easier to use helpful. I continued to give promotional samples
out to make sure this product was seen and used.
My next step was to find supplies at a wholesale rate. Hooray
for the internet!! I then had to determine not only how much
my supplies were costing me, but how long each bag was taking me to
make. This would determine, I knew, how much each bag was
costing me and also determine the retail price of the item. Included in
the pricing of the product, I had to include the cost for shipping
supplies as well as the cost of postage.
How to market these bags and how many I could reasonably make to meet
future demand became my next focus. Ideas for marketing
included selling them at farmer's markets, approaching natural food
markets, selling them on home-made products internet sites, eBay
selling, and/or starting an independent website. After
exploring these options I chose to set up a website as the cost was
reasonable and it seemed to be the best venue for reaching the broadest
audience.
I want my reusable produce bags to eventually replace plastic produce
bags. This is a tall order. Can I reasonably expect
[that] I can sit at my sewing machine and produce a large volume of
bags? No I cannot. Looking forward keeps me
continually exploring how to grow this business without sinking my
personal bank account, by making contacts through the internet, through
promotional placement of this product, and by seeking manufacturing
contacts for producing my bags at a higher rate than I can provide
sitting at my sewing machine.
Recently, through my promotion of the bag, I received an exclusive
contract to provide my produce bags to the Venice Farmer's Market in
Venice, California. Great start!
Louana George
Owner L-Bag
www.l-bag.com
Louana George
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Louana has been interested in things environmental since the early
1970s when she made canvas shopping bags for her friends and family
members as Christmas gifts. Her mother, Florence, at first
didn't want to use her canvas bag for shopping as she thought it was
"too pretty." As an early recycler, Louana would collect
newspapers, glass, and cans, load them into her VW mini van and take
them to the local recycling center (that was before curbside
recycling). Louana's dedication to environmental stewardship
has continued to include composting of all her organic waste,
installation of dual flush toilets, installation of tankless water
heaters, and even putting solar panels on the roof of one of her homes.
Louana is a health care provider and while on a medical
mission to the Darfur region of Sudan she was shocked to see bits and
pieces of plastic bags clinging to every branch of every bush and tree
in the region. "Is this the legacy the Western World is
bringing to poor countries of the world, plastic bags that pollute the
land?" When she returned she doubled her effort to eliminate
her use of plastic bags, eliminating the use of trash can liners and
produce bags. Eliminating plastic produce bags was a bit of a
challenge since putting her produce in the grocery cart and shopping
bag "bare" led to damage to the produce and difficulty in check-out.
It became increasingly clear to Louana that she had the
ability to produce an alternative to the plastic produce bag and
sitting down to her sewing machine made a lightweight bag made of nylon
netting with a drawstring opening. These bags have turned out
to be a boon to the checkers in the markets who can easily see through
them and can also scan stickers through them as well. Louana
found out by accident that these bags are also well suited purchasing
grains, beans, and nuts for those who buy these items in bulk.
