Secrets From Your Sister

As you may have noticed when visiting our store recently, we are now a bag-free chain of stores.

We offer neither paper or plastic.

Plastic bags start as crude oil, natural gas, or other petrochemical derivatives, which are transformed into chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules known as polymers or polymer resin. Each year, Americans throw away some 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags. Despite recycling efforts, 2005 EPA research shows that only about 5.2% of plastic bags are recycled.

Paper bags, which we have most commonly used in our stores, are biodegradable and recyclable. But, and it’s a big but, it takes a lot of trees to produce paper.  And a lot of fossil fuels:

“Trees are found, marked and felled. Machinery is then used to remove the logs from the forest floor – whether by logging or, in more remote areas, helicopters.

Machinery requires fossil fuels and roads (which destroy habitat) thereby creating stress on the forests’ inhabitants (even logging a small area has a large impact on the entire ecological chain in surrounding areas).

Trees must dry at least three years before they can be used to make paper. Once aged, machinery is used to strip the bark, which is then chipped into 1 inch squares and cooked under tremendous heat and pressure.  This wood stew is then ‘digested’ with a limestone and sulfurous acid for eight hours. The steam and moisture is vented to the outside atmosphere, and the original wood becomes pulp. It takes approximately three tons of wood chips to make one ton of pulp.

The pulp is then washed and bleached, both stages requiring thousands of gallons of clean water. Coloring is added to more water, and is then combined in a ratio of 1 part pulp to 400 parts water to make paper. The pulp/water mixture is dumped onto a web of bronze wires, the water showers through, leaving the pulp to dry.  This final product is then rolled into paper.”

Both paper and plastic bags consume large amounts of natural resources and the majority will eventually end up in the landfill.

In our opinions, neither paper or plastic are suitable choices if we are trying to reduce waste. In an effort to support this movement, we have decided to discontinue the use of bags in our store. We now sell adorable reusable SFYS totes (that roll up into a neat little pouch when not in use) for $5. We donate $1 of that to Kiva.org. So many of our customers come in to purchase a bra or a few items and rarely need a bag – the bra will be wrapped in tissue so you can pop it into your purse or other shopping bags. We felt it was the right thing to do at the right time and hopefully you’ll agree.

If you are coming in for a shopping spree, remember to bring along your own bags or a reusable bag! The earth, and secrets from your sister… thank you.

We’ve been looking for the perfect cotton panty for a while now. This has included trying out what some of the other retailers claim is the ‘perfect panty’.  We’ve been doing this a lot recently because we knew that we were getting the new cotton seamless panty by Commando in stock soon, and we wanted to have an idea of what the competition was like.

Let us put it this way: There is no competition. Commando cotton knickers are the best most perfect panty ever. (In our humble opinion).

But we aren’t the only ones with an opinion! People Magazine’s Summer Style guide recommends them as well!

The colours are great and we find them fantastic under everything. These will be the best undies you wear all summer!

They were also well reviewed by the New York Times!

Give them a try! We’d love to hear if you think they are perfect too.

What do you use to wash your unmentionables? Do you throw them in the bathtub? Do you use a mixing bowl? Do you use the bathroom sink? (We don’t recommend this…sometimes things will get …um…swept down the drain, if you aren’t watching closely. Like your favourite thong. So we’ve heard. Ahem.) Well, if you aren’t quite happy with your system and think you could use an upgrade, check out Carrie and Phil, new from Soak!

In Soak’s own words,

“Meet Carrie and Phil, the newest members of the Soak collection.

Carrie is a fun loving multi-tasker. She’s as happy carrying your craft projects up and down stairs, carrying towels to the beach and toys to the park, as she is keeping your yarn stash neat and other stuff organized at home.

Carrie has quickly become the favorite bag of choice for travelling knitters, companies hosting retreats and swimwear shops preparing for spring. Her bright personality and durable structure make her an immediate success on both a functional and emotional level. She has displaced baskets, soft bags and the occasional tote in many wardrobes, living rooms, playrooms and closets.

Phil is bright and indispensable. He offers safe haven for soaking your lacy lingerie and sexy swimwear. Phil loves protecting hand-washables from the rest of the laundry and relieving the sink of its duties by providing a safe haven for soaking. He also offers safe haven for dyeing yarns and fibers, and soaking your finished knits and crafty projects.”

Carrie measures 12 inches tall by 16 inches in diameter while Phil is 6.5 inches tall and 16 inches in diameter at the opening.  Both Carrie and Phil are not only fun and vibrant, but sturdy and durable.  A perfect combination!  Additionally, both are non-toxic, have beveled edges for easy pouring, and are flexible. They are made in Spain, and were sourced exclusively by Soak.

Personally, we are not super organized and on top of everything all the time, so Carrie is our preferred size. It holds a big load of lingerie to soak at once which makes things really easy!  Best of all, these colours are beautiful!

Now in stock!