OK.. even though I have been living in Texas for over 33 years, Texas does not have the best reputation when it comes to environmental awareness and environmental regulation.

However, I am pleased to report that two cities in the Lone Star State are close to passing plastic bag bans.

1) The beautiful vacation beach spot known as South Padre Island in south Texas. Its City Council has unanimously approved a proposal that will gradually ban plastic bags in the town. The ordinance provides a voluntary compliance ban on the bags beginning Feb. 1 to Dec. 31, with mandatory compliance kicking in Jan. 1, 2012. Retailers will still be allowed to distribute compostable bags that are certified by current ASTM biodegradability standards and recyclable paper bags.

This would now make two cities that ban plastic bags, with Brownsville as the only Texas city, to date.

To ease the transition, South Padre City Council will be looking into purchasing a large amount of reusable bags that would be sold at little cost to interested businesses.  A better suggestion: Businesses, get your own imprinted reusable shopping bags with your logo on them and have them out to customers, prospects, nursing homes, high school ballgames, PTA events, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and church functions.

As I have mentioned previously, imprinted bags have the lowest cost per impression of any form of advertising. Promote your brand, not everybody else’s brand.  Sure, there is strength in numbers, but you can order as few as 100 tote bags with your own logo — so you have a walking billboard promoting your brand.

2) Next up, is my home city of  Austin, Texas.  One of the most progressive cities in the state,  in my opinion, as the state’s capital and home to several universities (University of Texas, Concordia University, Huston-Tillotson, Austin Community College), Austin should have been the first city in the state to have a plastic bag ban.   The Austin City Council is now considering a proposal to establish a city-wide program to recycle plastic bag, according to local news station KVUE. Austin had tried previously to ban the bags, but couldn’t muster enough support. As the city looks towards its goal of producing zero waste by 2040, it’s now considering charging each household $2 a month to pay for the program that could cost as much as $5.3 million a year.

OK, three cities in Texas either have, or are on there way to plastic bag bans.  How about Dallas, Houston, San Antonio? How about the smaller cities showing their green courage?

Marketers, be the first in your city to take a stand and promote free reusable shopping bags with your logo on them –along with a message about supporting a plastic bag ban.

It can be a win-win situation.

Let’s make Every Day Earth Day.

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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and recycled promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green.  The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.