Company offers affordable reusable products

August 19, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- ReUseIt.com, which is based in Chicago, wants consumers to replace their disposables with re-usable items that are better for the environment and, according to the site, more cost-effective.

You may never have thought about taking your own garment bag to your dry cleaners to avoid taking home their plastic ones. Or what about drinking straws? You can use these steel ones again and again.

When Vincent Cobb started the company now known as ReUseIt.com in 2000, he only had a few dozen items to offer. Now, his inventory includes roughly 1800 pieces.

"The more you look at it the more you realize that we've become this disposable society. It's like this convenience, all these things are disposable and cheap, plastic forks things like that. Our point is there's a cost to it," Cobb said.

Cobb offers replacements for dryer sheets, sandpaper, even staples. For almost anything you'd throw away, he has an eco-friendly, re-usable alternative.

"People are finally beginning to realize that it costs a lot less and it's better for the environment," Cobb said.

Cobb says before he agrees to market a new product, he makes sure the maker uses fair labor practices and high quality materials. He says his goal is to maintain those standards and still keep prices affordable.

"The price points range from anywhere down to $5, $4 or so all the way up to about $20 or $25. So they're all fairly affordable when you get down to it. A lot of them pay for themselves over time," Cobb said.

Find all of Cobb's products at reuseit.com

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