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Glenn Robinson used to sell vegetables at the stand in the Union Square and hand them over to customers in tens of thousands of plastic bags.

"We were giving out plastic bags left and right and it just seemed like a problem to me and I was part of the problem, I was actually handing them out," says Robinson.

So five months ago, Robinson started making cloth bags to give to people at the stand. The idea took off and he started the organization "Bags For The People," which holds sewing workshops for the public and in schools.

Robinson also has his own stand in Union Square where he sews and hands out bags to shoppers.

"Giving people the bag, it's almost like giving people a gift and they get really excited," says Robinson. "They are like, 'Oh my god, thank you.'"

The sewing machines, the solar panels that run the machines, and the fabric are all donated. The rest comes out of Robinson's pocket.

"This is the first time I have ever seen that and I think it's great," said one onlooker. "And I think it makes people start thinking about solar energy and it's great. That's why I stopped."

"If I am able to facilitate something for the people that can provide natural conservation and community building, then it's like, why not?" says Robinson.

Local farmers feel the same way.

"I think what he's doing is exactly taking that social responsibility and actually taking that next step and doing something about," says J.J. Nicholson of Red Jacket Orchards.

"It's creatively using materials that are already being produced and he is giving it away for free," says Quyyun Johnson of Keith's Farm. "And he is making fashionable bags that people want to use and he is doing it in the public and inviting others in."

Robinson hopes to teach and reach as many people as possible.

"We want to get a step van, hook it up with solar panels, have it run off vegetable grease, travel around with this mobile sewing unit and just go to schools across the nation," he says.

So, for making a difference one bag at a time, Glenn Robinson is the latest New Yorker of the Week.

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