Totes cool!

Theresa Grimes shows some of her custom “Totes By T” tote bags, including one with photos of Ocala, as she poses at the Santos Trailhead south of Ocala on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Belleview resident Theresa Grimes loves the sweeping natural beauty of Marion County, but she also noticed something a bit more unpleasant while biking area trails. 

“I’d look over to the side and there would be plastic bags,” she said of the perpetual litter she encountered on her routes. 

In response to the problem of non-biodegradable plastic bags, Grimes came up with a biodegradable, cotton alternative for local shoppers that she sells at her booth, Totes by T, at the city’s Saturday market.

“I make totes that reflect our community and its many interests, such as bicycle riding on our trails, the horse industry and some of our history and points of interest,” she said, adding that she can personalize and customize bags on customer request.

Grimes, 67, worked on Wall Street in the financial sector before taking things down a few notches and relocating to Marion County in 1978.

“I have seen the area grow from a small town into a busy city,” she said. “I learned how to drive a tractor. I took care of horses. I owned horses myself and I’ve always been what I call a tree hugger. I love nature. I love being around animals. And just seeing with the growth in Marion County, you know, with the growth came the trash.”

Some of Theresa Grimes custom “Totes By T” tote bags. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Grimes sets up at the Ocala Downtown Market twice a month to sell her cotton totes. Her next stints at the market will be on Jan. 7 and 21, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In 2009 and 2010, Grimes was instrumental in the From Seats to Saddles fundraiser for the Stirrups ‘n Strides Therapeutic Riding Center to help raise awareness of equine therapy. 

“This time, through a different type of art and craft, I want to raise awareness of the damage that plastic bags do to our community, especially the animals that live in our community,” Grimes said. 

According to a study in “Science Advances,” 8 million metric tons of non-biodegradable plastic winds up in the oceans. 

This picture shows how the “Totes By T” bags can be used to carry groceries. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

“That’s enough trash to cover every foot of coastline around the world with five full trash bags of plastic, compounding every year,” reported EarthDay.org.

Grimes follows the developments of Beyond the Bag, an initiative launched by the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag (closedlooppartners.com/beyond-the-bag). 

Beyond the Bag is currently working with CVS Health, Target and Walmart in a pilot program spearheaded in northern California. In the program, participants download an app for access to a kiosk that provides multiple-use bags to use in favor of plastic bags.

“A lot of the box stores are getting away from plastic bags,” Grimes said. ”There’s a law that was just passed in Colorado that says stores like Target and Walmart have to charge per plastic bag,” (Look up House Bill 21-1162 for more information.).

Though it might seem that our actions as consumers make little impact, recent data suggests that individuals can make a dent and people forgoing plastic bags en masse could influence widespread habit changes, which in turn could influence corporate policies.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), a cotton bag needs to be used 50 to 150 times to have less impact on the climate compared with one single-use plastic bag. 

“This is why I do what I do,” Grimes said of her efforts with Totes by T. 

For Ocala Downtown Market hours and information, visit ocaladowntownmarket.com.