At the end of last semester, New School students Darren Klein and Josselin Philippe began brainstorming ideas that would utilize their knowledge of environmental policy and sustainable management to solve real world problems. They came up with TOTES!, a grassroots movement to help a neighborhood in East Williamsburg transition away from the use of plastic bags to reusable totes.

“There seemed to be something that had been addressed but without success, [in 2008] there was a brief stint to impose a fee for plastic bags,” Klein said in an interview with The Free Press.

In order to work within their means, they will focus on a particular area of the city: Grand Street in East Williamsburg. On March 19, they will present their idea to the Grand Street Business Improvement District. The organization already holds legitimacy in the neighborhood and will be able to help with networking.

“The great thing about this is that there’s already some momentum in the neighborhood,” Klein said. “The Grand Street Business Improvement District will be our opportunity to hopefully get them to officially adopt our campaign. With their authority and support we will be able to use their scope of business that we are aiming to target.”

Klein and Philippe hope the project will raise awareness and provide local businesses with sustainable alternatives to plastic bags.

“The Grand Street Business Improvement District has mission statements advocating their goal of creating a cleaner neighborhood,” Klein said. “The marriage with the local philanthropic goals to be ‘clean’, and our strategy would be seamless.”

Philippe hopes to work with local organizations and the municipal government. As members of the Sustainable Cities Club at The New School, they say there has been a great deal of support from faculty.

“We encourage all students who are interested in these types of ventures to reach out to us,” said Klein.