ReUsies: Little Baggies That Make a Big Difference

Ashley Metcalf

The Seattle based company, ReUsies, has been in operation since 2008, offering customers a nice alternative to the traditional sandwich/snack bags. ReUsies owners Karen Whorton and Becky Harper realized their families went through a multitude of plastic bags every day, and were interested in finding a substitute. After they tested their reusable baggies at their children's school, they knew they had a brilliant idea on their hands, and sales catapulted once they launched their business.

"Reusable water bottles, boxes and Tupperware are too cumbersome for my kids," explains Karen, as she details the beginning of her business venture. She was fascinated with not only conserving the many daily lunch bags used by her family, but also leaving a smaller footprint for future generations. They offers re-usable, 100% cotton bags lined with leak-resistant nylon and secured with Velcro closures in numerous is sizes and designs; appealing to a wide, diverse customer base.

"We are proud that over 12 million plastic baggies have not been used, thanks to our product. This is such a personal accomplishment," Karen details. Remarkably, ReUsies is making a slow and steady impact and, with the help of Groupon, growth intensified even more last year. This online resource was huge exposure to clientele who otherwise would not find their product, and they hope to utilize Groupon’s services later again next year.

ReUsies is still expanding, and Karen enjoys working along her partner for many reasons, the main being their complementary strengths. "We prefer to handle different parts of the business and pride ourselves on our responsiveness to our customers, since we deal directly with them." Their long term goal is to continue expanding and one day have the opportunity to hire additional employees or an intern.

ReUsies is undoubtedly doing their part to spread awareness about environmental issues, and you can follow their developments at reusies.com/blog and their twitter page at #ReUsies. To see their lists of products, or to read more about the company, please visit their website at www.reusies.com.