There are now a lot of reusable bags out there. A shift is occurring as folks slowly get into the habit of bringing their own bags when they go shopping. It’s an easy habit to develop. Just leave some bags in your car, your purse, your backpack, or easily visible beside the door so you can grab one on the way out.
On the other hand, there are many many many more plastic bags out there than reusable bags, and trillions more being produced annually. Back in 2002, the Worldwatch Institute estimated that 4-5 trillion plastic bags were produced globally. That number will only have increased by now. In China alone, 2008 data indicated the country went through about 2 billion plastic bags A DAY. So that’s around 730 billion a year for China alone!
The problems associated with all these plastic bags are many:
- There are environmental costs from their production as they are made from petroleum and natural gas.
- They are cheap or freely given out in stores, so people take them for granted and practially expect them as a right.
- Most are not recycled – they end up in landfills.
- They don’t break down for hundreds of years, and the breakdown process discharges chemicals into the environment.
- They pollute oceans, waterways and landscapes, are eaten by wildlife to often fatal consequences.
- They clog up municipal sewer systems, costing governments millions in clean-up costs, and have even been linked to deaths from flooding caused by plastic blocked sewers.
That brings us to our freshly redesigned Certified Organic Cotton Plastic Free Portable Reusable Shopping Bag.
The neat handy twist is that it has a built-in wooden toggle and cotton rope lock that allows you to roll the whole bag into a portable little bundle. Super handy for storing it in a glove compartment or purse. Kids can even use it as a makeshift football for playing catch in the grocery store aisles. Just an innocent suggestion.
They are made of 100% certified organic cotton and the dyes are water-based natural pigments.
These bags are Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified, meaning they have attained the highest standard for textiles made from organic fibres. The standard defines high-level environmental criteria along the entire organic product supply chain and requires compliance with social criteria as well.
The bags are made by a trusted, ethical and world class partner supplier of ours located in India. We visited them and their spotlessly clean, beautifully organized factory last year.
The employees receive wages above the norm and have excellent working conditions. While we were visting, the owners showed us a new spacious dining and rest area that was being built for the workers. There is very little worker turnover and many are long-term staff who have grown with them through the years.
Here are a few of the other products they are making for us as well…
- Our popular Certified Organic Cotton Plastic Free Mesh Produce Bags in two sizes.
- And a new cute little Certified Organic Cotton Hanky, or Handkerchief.
So as you can see, there are ways to avoid the disposable plastic bag, and to blow your nose in style.