With ever-increasing attention to environmentally friendly products, Julie Christin hopes her Earth Friendly tote bags will be a step in the right direction.

The beige and green tote bags, which feature an ocean and tree image with the words “Earth Friendly” embroidered on the front, are made from organic cotton grown in Texas and woven in Connecticut.

Christin says using cotton that is U.S. made means making less of a carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is a measure of greenhouse gases, measured in units of carbon dioxide, produced by growing and weaving the cotton and making the bags.

Using U.S. made organic cotton distinguishes Christin’s bags from other companies.

“Other bags are made from organic materials, but they are made in China and then shipped to the U.S., leaving behind a large carbon footprint in transport,” Christin said.

A full-time IT manager for a private Chicago company, Christin started her bag company, Julie-Marie, out of her home three years ago. She makes each bag by hand, offering different designs and fabrics but always welcoming suggestions and ideas from her customers.

Jody Ziegler was one of Christin’s first customers.

“What makes Julie special is she is one of the most customer-friendly designers out there,” Ziegler said. “What you get is truly custom made because you can talk directly to her with your ideas and she will immediately give you more options and ideas.”

Through this interaction, Christin decided to research environment-friendly materials once her customers began to request bags made out of organic cotton.

Bea Kunz, who owns Sage Hill Farms in Connecticut along with her husband, Mike, owns a few of the these bags.

“My first bag was a summer bag made of all-organic cotton, and it’s just gorgeous,” Kunz said.

Kunz’s own work reflects an environmentally friendly policy. Sage Hill Farms is a sustainable farm using organic composting and cover cropping, without using toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.

“(Julie and I) support each other in using organics,” Kunz said. “I personally believe that there are a lot of people sick who the doctors don’t know how to treat, and they really just have a chemical build-up in their bodies.”

“(Living an organic lifestyle is) really a necessity for the future of our Earth. Being organic is a big player in our health,” she said.

Ziegler sees using organic bags as an upcoming trend. “I’ve seen those bags everywhere, in magazines that I’ve been reading like Lucky and at all of the stores I shop at,” Ziegler said.

Christin is offering the bags on her Web site, julie-marie.com, for $15 until Friday, Aug. 10, when the price will increase to $17.