In the Bag

Thin yet sturdy, one-use plastic shopping bags are a commonplace of modern life. In fact, it's hard to imagine life in America without them, and harder to believe they really only came into use as recently as the 1970s, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Before that, paper bags reigned for a century, ever since Francis Wolle patented a machine to produce them. Before paper, consumers were forced to bring their own bags to market. These days, a growing environmental movement is hoping to turn back the clock, with style.

The foremost problem with plastic bags is that they're made from oil-based petrochemicals — not a renewable resource, unless you've got a dead dinosaur and a few million years to wait. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually (at an estimated cost to retailers of $4 billion). Some 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags. What's more, plastics manufacturing utilizes many toxic chemicals. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 35 of the 47 U.S. chemical plants ranked highest in carcinogenic emissions produce plastics.

But concerns about the environmental impact of plastic bags are based as much on disposal as on production. Plastic bags don't biodegrade; they break up into smaller parts that can end up in livestock and water supplies. Bigger pieces can choke animals or poison them with pollutants. According to the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, more than a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year from eating or becoming entangled in plastic.

Plastic bags also clutter the landscape, catching on phone wires and trees. But believe it or not, wandering bags can be more than an eyesore, and a hazard not just to the health of animals. In 2005, bag-clogged drains caused a flood that killed 1,000 people in India.

Unlike oil, trees are a renewable resource (though that doesn't mean they're always renewed), but the environmental impact of choosing paper instead of plastic is not so clear cut. The majority of kraft paper is made by heating wood chips under pressure at high temperatures in a chemical solution. Those chemicals contribute to air and water pollution. According to a 1988 Federal Office of the Environment report, paper sacks generate 70 percent more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags. In addition, it takes more than four times more energy to manufacture a paper bag than a plastic bag (and more fuel to ship, since they're heavier). It also takes 91 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper.

On the other hand, Americans are a lot more likely to recycle the paper. Ten to 15 percent of paper bags are recycled in the U.S., reports The Wall Street Journal, while just 1 to 3 percent of plastic bags are recycled. Yet while some used bags get recycled, new paper bags are usually made from mostly virgin pulp. Also, like plastic, paper bags don't degrade quickly in landfill, since they're not exposed to water, light and oxygen. And paper that isn't recycled takes up more space in landfills than plastic.

Reusable bags are the way out of the paper/plastic dilemma. Each reusable bag has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime. And that lifetime can be a long. “Our company has only been going for four years, and we're still using the bags from the very first manufacturing run,” says Belinda David-Tooze, CEO of Envirosax LLC, San Diego.

Envirosax are made of polyester, which is more environmentally friendly than plastics. “Polyester is far less damaging to the environment than polypropylene or polythene because more dangerous chemicals are used in the production of those polymers,” David-Tooze explains.

Retailers can promote reuse by offering consumers incentives to carry their own bags. Such incentives can be more fun (and less price-driven) than giving a few cents off each order. For instance, New York's Trader Joe's Wine Shop enters tote-toting shoppers in a monthly raffle. Meanwhile, a few stores are combining such incentives with stronger steps. Whole Foods recently eliminated plastic bags, and gives rebates to customers who bring reusables. Ikea now charges for plastic bags, and is on the way to eliminating them altogether.

And it's not just brands with an eco-friendly image getting in on the act; increasingly, mainstream supermarkets are offering sturdy, branded totes at a low cost. About $1 seems to be the sweet spot for non-woven polypropylene. The bags sell for 99 cents at Texas grocer H-E-B (where canvas sells for $3.97) and $1 at some Wal-Marts. Kroger Co. sells even canvas for 99 cents.

Gift retailers should consider doing the same. Some independents may even decide to foot the bill for bags on orders over a certain amount, because an attractive, sturdy store bag is worth its weight in advertising, as consumers are likely to tote that logo all over town.

“The reusable category is becoming very important; at the consumer level they've become very popular,” explains Peter Shore, director of marketing for Gift Box Corp. of Carlstadt, NJ. “You're going to see lightweight canvas, as well as jute, which is a natural fiber grown in India, and non-woven polypropylene. The bags themselves are not necessarily recyclable, but by virtue of the fact that they're used over and over again, you're not adding to the landfill.”

Just as important as store packaging is the wide range of bags sold as merchandise. Gift show aisles practically overflow with stylish totes, from the explicitly eco-conscientious to classic, practical bags. For extra Green points, offer totes that are made of recycled, natural or organic materials; and for extra convenience, stock bags that fold down for constant carrying — always ready for impulse shopping.

Like any gift, totes must have consumer appeal. Rachel Allen, retail manager of the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Grand Rapids, MI, tells Gifts & Dec that today's customers demand good looks as well as Green credentials. “At an art museum, there's a certain expectation of design. Envirosax has great design, that's why it's so popular. People want others to see them with it at the grocery store.”

And customers really use them: Allen sees Envirosax brought into her store to pack new purchases. “Some of my customers who buy a lot bring in their pack of five.”

Of course, stores can't afford to give up on giveaway bags altogether. For retailers looking to green their store packaging, Shore explains some of the finer points of maximizing eco-friendly choices. In paper, the greenest option would be 100 percent recycled, either post-consumer or post-industrial. “Post-consumer and post-industrial, in my opinion, are equally valuable,” says Shore. However, he warns that “recycled fiber is shorter than a virgin fiber, which means that, ounce-for-ounce, a recycled bag needs to be a little bit heavier weight paper to have the same integrity.” And that can add to the shipping cost in fossil fuels.

Shore declines to take sides in the paper-or-plastic debate. “It's really a toss-up. We support both industries, and both are doing a lot to help the environment,” he says.

But simply choosing recycled isn't the end of the decisions. If it's a colored paper bag, Shore says, choose a water-based ink (it doesn't have to be made of soy, though it can be). “All of the elements have to be natural,” Shore recommends, including the glue, which can be made from cornstarch. “A laminated bag is not really a good candidate, because they're laminated with varnish or a UV coating, which typically is not going to be environmentally friendly. Bags with macramé or cotton handles are also not going to be as eco-friendly.” However, he points out that sturdier bags are likely to be reused more times, which is an eco-friendly outcome.

In plastic, greener options include bags with an additive that degrades in landfill from moisture and airborne bacteria; a photodegradable plastic, which only breaks down if it is on top of the landfill and exposed to light; and a biodegradable bag made with cornstarch. “It's definitely a step in the right direction,” says Shore, “Certainly better than using virgin paper or virgin plastic film.”

Beyond the bag, retailers can look for 100 percent recycled cardboard boxes, also with natural glues, and tissue paper made with as much as 60 percent post-industrial waste. (The exact percentage varies by color, according to Shore, since some dyes take better to the shorter recycled fibers than others). And while ribbon may not be biodegradable yet, organic cotton and hemp ribbons are starting to come to the market.

Whether paper or plastic, Shore notes that retailers looking for greener options can expect to pay an additional 5 to 10 percent for eco-friendly packaging. But positive publicity can make the investment worth it to the bottom line, as well as to the planet.