It is an honor to supply Good Shepherd of Baguio with customized reusable bags. Thanks for promoting anti-plastic and, most of all, for being a part of our lives and giving every visitor to Baguio wonderful memories of delicious strawberry jam, ube, peanut brittle, etc. More power to you!

It’s been a while since I updated this blog but the sales of Luntian Bags have remained brisk. Thanks to articles such as the recent one in Mommy Academy, a wonderful informative magazine for moms, awareness of what we can do to protect the environment remains high.

Great news for all shoppers out there! Luntian Bags are now available in the following stores:

The Li’l Nail Shop in Santana Grove, Sucat Road, beside Shopwise Sucat. This is my favorite de-stress place. Nothing beats rewarding myself with a soothing foot spa and a manicure and pedicure in a quiet intimate place. Call 401-3892 for an appointment.

Echostore at the G/F of Serendra, near Gaudi. I can spend hours in this store! All their products support community livelihood programs, nurture Mother Earth and are proudly Pinoy. The store sells home décor, fashion accessories, health and wellness, body, beauty, and nutritional products, food and beverages, books, music, and much more. Their mission: to help push forward the emerging trend of the conscious and caring consumer. Echostore shares space with Kape Isla, Home of Philippine coffee.

The Caf, the newest hippest store to open, located at the Teenzone, L3 Glorietta 3.

I’ve been getting a lot of orders for Christmas but, unfortunately, I’ve been too busy with my job- the real one, the one that pays the bills – to come up with new designs and packaging. But I find the available designs to be timeless anyway so I hope you all still like them. Important note though- there are a lot of changes re pricing because of higher cost of cacha, labor, fuel, etc (sigh….) and after much pencil-pushing, I’ve concluded that I can’t afford free Christmas packaging and delivery anymore. The most important thing though is that Luntian Bags continue to achieve its goal of providing livelihood to the residents of San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas- info on the livelihood program here.

Here’s a summary of how, what, where to order effective immediately:

1. Regular bags cost P110 and large are P120. See specs here.

2. There are 6 designs available which you can see here.

3. Christmas packaging is available at P10 each. The regular bags come in olive green pouches and rust for large.

Christmas packaging for regular bags

Christmas packaging for large bags

4. You will be charged the actual cost of the courier company. Pls email your order quantity and I will advise you of actual courier cost. Sample courier cost is P80 for 1-5 bags within Metro Manila.

5. Pls email me at ibulaong@gmail.com to order. Pls specify your desired design(s), size(s), your complete name, delivery address and mobile phone number. I will email you back asap to advise you of courier cost.

6. Once we’ve agreed on total cost, I will ask you to deposit full payment to my bank account. Your order will be delivered the Monday after. Deliveries take 2-3 days for Metro Manila, a bit longer for outside Metro Manila.

7. I accept corporate orders or orders in bulk. Pls email me at ibulaong@gmail.com so we can discuss directly.

Thanks in advance to those who ordered early. Pls just email me for anything. Thanks, all!

Thanks, Pam, for featuring Luntian Bags in the latest Southern Living issue!

Luntian Bags is proud to be part of WWF’s mission to stop and eventually reverse the accelerating degradation of the environment in the Philippines. One of WWF’s project is a Marine Biodiversity Conservation Project in Mabini-Tingloy where San Teodoro is located. YOU can also help WWF build a future where Filipinos live in harmony in nature.

Make a monthly pledge to WWF at any of their booths (Jul 28-31 Shoppesville Greenhills; Aug 1-14 Glorietta, Pasay Mall facing Mendrez)) and get a special edition Luntian Bag.

I’ve had several friends and customers use Luntian Bags for their wedding giveaways. Aside from being unique and memorable gifts, the bags reflect their concern for the environment. And they’re definitely functional and not the usual dust collector. So if you’re getting married or know someone who’s about to, please consider Luntian Bags. I can personalize the card and packaging as necessary. Here’s a picture of how a friend put the bags in her guests’ rooms in her Boracay wedding.

Luntian Bags as souvenirs in bright and multi-colored packaging arrayed around a customer’s wedding cake.

Last April 19-20, Barangay San Teodoro, where my Luntian Bags livelihood program is based, made a stand for nature. To celebrate Earth Day, the school children painted the 200-square meter walls of the San Teodoro elementary school with murals depicting the precious and embattled marine life that sustains the highly-touted biodiversity of the magnificent Balayan Bay.

This area is part of the Verde Island Passage, considered the center of the center of biodiversity in the world. The aim was to raise awareness of the beauty of the underwater life and the urgency of conservation.

It was a truly bayanihan effort as the kids, guided by volunteer artists from Manila, and supported by the San Teodoro moms, dads, lolos, lolas, barangay officials, and corporate sponsors came out in full force.

This project is part of a barangay self-help environmental initiative started in late 2006 and named Project Utay Utay (Batangas parlance for “little by little, slow by slow”). And as Sandy Hammett, the driving force behind this effort said:

“The local elementary school is a testimony to a little-appreciated fact among powers that be and the more monied citizenry. Despite resources, the lack of upgraded facilities, materials, even proper toilet facilities or fans in the classroom – it bears witness to a fierce yearning for education in this country. As the children of San Teodoro make their way during high tides to the school, literally battling waves and hugging the rocks of the coastline, no one can ever say that education is not appreciated. Quality may not exist in these schools, but the yearning for education does…… Yes, Mother Earth did indeed cry on that Sunday afternoon!”

That’s a line suggested by Tina Monfort of BAHA ( Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance) who is currently campaigning for a NO PLASTIC environment. I love the line and I will make a Luntian Bag with that line soon.

Earth Day brought about a lot of media exposure for Luntian Bags which I am grateful for. Let Earth Day start off a good habit- use reusable bags instead of plastic- and let everyday be Earth Day.

Thanks to USGirls of Studio 23 for the TV feature last 20 April, interview by Iya Villana.

Thanks to Living It Up of QTV for the 29 March feature together with other environment-friendly bags such as Envirosax.

Get a chance to win a Luntian Bag in OK Magazine’s April issue.

The Power of One. YOU.

I just received this link today and I was so inspired. Click on The Power of One title. This video reflects how I feel about using reusable bags.

Some people have scoffed at or rejected the idea of using reusable bags instead of plastic bags because the positive effects on the preservation of the environment will be miniscule. Yes, that’s absolutely correct. But the collective effort of many people doing this tiny one thing will translate to something of great magnitude.

Baby steps. One plastic bag at a time. You don’t even have to buy Luntian Bags. Use any old bag you have at home. Together, we can all make a difference.

The Power of One.