Which Grocery Shopping Bag Should You Choose If You Want To Go Green?

Most of us are trying our best to make sure we do not needlessly damage the environment. One of the ways we can try to achieve this is by reusing our grocery bags and, wherever possible, using those that have a short life cycle or at the very least won't cause any real pollution or other dangers if disposed of at a landfill site. The reality is that entire species of bird and marine life are starting to edge close to endangered status due to the fact that they get tangled in plastic bags and die. This is as good a reason as any to stop using these bags! But which bags really are the best? Let's take a look at the life cycle of some of the most commonly used grocery bags.

The Plastic Bag

The plastic bag is seen as the big Bogey Man of carrying utensils. This is due to the fact that we believe them to take thousands of years to decompose and that they cause the death of various animals. While this is undeniably true, it also seems as if they are actually much greener to create and dispose of than other types of bags. It seems now, however, that the issue is not that we use these bags, but rather that we do not reuse them, even if we can.

"It is estimated that only one percent of plastic bags are recycled worldwide[10]After primary use however, polyethylene bags can be recycled in numerous ways. Even without reprocessing, plastic grocery bags can be re-used as garbage bags or shopping bags. Otherwise, the polyethylene can be reprocessed and create new plastic bags, or other goods such as clothing and containers."

The Paper Bag

More and more people believe that the better bag, therefore, has to be the paper bag. However, the reality is that paper causes mass deforestation, and that a huge range of energy is needed in terms actually harvesting these trees. Indeed, paper bags are not all that green, and they also don't last very long. A paper bag can usually not be reused because they tear and rip very easily. Indeed, it now seems that the environmental impact of a paper bag is actually far worse than that of a plastic bag.

"A paper bag has a more adverse impact than a plastic bag for most of the environmental issues considered. Areas where paper bags score particularly badly include water consumption, atmospheric acidification (which can have effects on human health, sensitive ecosystems, forest decline and acidification of lakes) and eutrophication of water bodies (which can lead to growth of algae and depletion of oxygen)."

The Cloth or Fabric Bag

This leaves us with the fabric or cloth bag. The cloth bag is really seen as eco-friendly. It is often made out of materials such as bamboo or hemp, which is seen as green and clean. Not just that, manufacturers often use Fair Trade contracts in order to make these bags. However, interestingly enough, the so called eco bags are actually incredibly damaging to the environment.

"The study reports that a canvas bag is expected to last for 52 trips. With that as a reference, a cotton/cloth canvas bag user does over twice the damage to the environment that a plastic bag using grocery shopper who throws away every plastic bag they get immediately after each shopping trip."

This means, surprisingly enough, that the most eco-friendly bag is actually the hated plastic bag. The same bag that we have been told to avoid for years. However, we should also reuse it and dispose of it properly in order to be truly green.

Check out our website!  greenbagpromos.com

Reusable Shopping Bags, Why They Are So Important

We all have to make real efforts to go green. Our planet is dying, and not of old age, but of systematic murder by our own kind. Although there is little we can do to break consumerism, to stop the governments from drilling for shale gas, to stop oil spills from happening and more, there are a number of things we are able to do. One of these things is to use reusable shopping bags. Think for one minute about why we don't bring bags with us when we go shopping. Do we really need to get new bags every time and throw them in the rubbish? Or could we just as easily remember to bring bags, or have some on us permanently, and actually make a real difference to our planet as a whole? Let's take a look at a few of the reasons why you should use reusable shopping bags.

Plastic Doesn't Decompose

The green agenda must be pressed a little bit more. Did you know that when you throw a plastic bag into the rubbish, it will never truly decompose?

"This means that as long as the earth is around, so will that plastic bag you used to hold your purchases last week."

Every time you quickly pick up a carrier bag from the shops, you are contributing to further permanent waste. You will forget about that bag as soon as you throw it out, but the bag doesn't actually go away. Ever. Add to this the shocking statistics about how many plastic bags we actually use - and throw away - each year in our country alone. That currently stands at 100 billion per year. This is a frightening thing, particularly when you start to think about how many bags that means on a global level.

Plastic Kills

Besides the fact that plastic takes about 10,000 years to decompose, and besides the fact that only 1% of plastic bags in our country do not end up on a landfill site, there are other things to consider as well. You may not be the most ethical person and believe that it will only take a few more years for scientists to come up with a way to rid us of all our garbage. However, you cannot get away from the fact that plastic bags kill bird and marine life. In fact, some of these have been brought to the brink of extinction.

"It's estimated that 1 million birds and thousands of turtles and other sea animals die each year after ingesting discarded plastic bags."

Scientists can perhaps come up with a way to destroy plastic bags permanently, or to change our landfill sites into beautiful parks and homes. They will never, however, be able to return the sea turtles to our planet. They will never be able to reverse the suffering we have caused to the albatross.

Stop Following Trends

Do you know why we throw our plastic bags away? Because we have been conditioned to do so by the petrochemical industry.

"The largest opposition to the ban of plastic bags comes from the petroleum and plastics industries."

Indeed, creating plastic bags (remember 100 billion per year) is a massive industry. If we all suddenly started reusing our bags, the petrochemical industry would really feel it in their pockets. However, why not stop being a conformist and actually thinking about what you're doing? Is it really that hard to change your consumerist behavior? And if so, have you ever wondered why you think it is so hard? Using reusable bags is such a simple step to make a real difference, so why not make the change today?

Check out our website!  greenbagpromos.com