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linktext[0]="What are plastic bags made of?
All plastics-including plastic bags are made from gas and petroleum by-products.
The two most common types of plastic bags are HDPE (High Density Poly Ethylene) and LDPE (Low Density Poly Ethylene).
HDPE - are the kind typically found at grocery stores.
LDPE - are the thicker bags found in boutiques and up-scale stores.
Both are manufactured from ethylene, a by-product of gas and oil refining. These fuels are heated to produce polymers, the long strings of molecules that form the basis for plastics. Ethylene is a non-renewable resource which emits greenhouse gases during its manufacturing processes.
LDPE bags are less likely to end up as litter because they are denser (and thus less likely to blow away inadvertently). They are also less likely to become litter because most end up at home, as opposed to HDPE bags which are used in a wide variety of places where there may or may not be proper disposal facilities.
HDPE recycling programs exist but are limited. Only 0.6% of plastic bags are recycled. There is currently no recycling program for LDPE bags."
linktext[1]="Are paper bags a better choice?
For a long time, paper bags have been considered a more environmental alternative. However, consider their whole life cycle and you find a different story.
Yes, paper bags are made from a renewable source and they are biodegradable. But look at paper bag manufacturing, usage, and even disposal problems, and you will see why they are not a better choice.
Birth:
Compared to plastic, making a paper bag:
• Emits 70% more global warming gasses
• Creates 50 times more water pollution
• Uses 4 times more raw materials
• Consumes 3.5 times more energy
Life:
Once used, paper bags are unlikely to be re-used. They tear easily and are made for one time usage.
Death:
Eighty percent of all paper bags end up in landfills.
There, they do not biodegrade because of a lack of oxygen. They also cost more to landfill because they take up much more space by weight and volume than plastic bags do."
linktext[2]="Why don't paper bags biodegrade in landfills?
Modern landfills lack the oxygen and other conditions that would allow paper bags and other natural materials to biodegrade.
Paper and other materials need oxygen to biodegrade. Sunlight and water also help speed up the break down of materials into organic particles again.
Landfills pile waste upon waste, blocking air, light, and water. Trash becomes compacted by its own weight until it is a solid mass. The only liquid is not water but a toxic seep, contaminated by the inks on plastic bags as well as by other toxins.
The truth is: nothing really biodegrades in a modern landfill. In order to biodegrade, materials have to be properly composted with a careful mixture of air, light, and water."
linktext[3]="How many bags are being used?
No one really knows. Estimates for US usage range from 14 billion bags annually to over 300 billion bags. Worldwide estimates range in the trillions per year.
• A study at UC Berkeley estimated 14 billion plastic bags per year.
• The Wall Street Journal put the number at 100 billion a year in the US alone.
• The EPA has estimated that if you count all bags, sacks, and wraps, the number may be as high as 380 billion.
• Some worldwide estimates place the number of plastic bags used annually at a trillion bags a year-that's about a million per minute!
• But others say that 3-4 trillion plastic bags are produced each year."
linktext[4]="Why is it so hard to estimate the number of plastic bags used?
Perhaps it is because no one wants you to know and also perhaps because we ourselves don't want to think about it.
Manufacturers don't want to be associated with the problems these bags cause. Stores and even consumers are embarrassed about their own bag usage. Yet, stores and consumers continue to use them daily.
But now, there is an attractive and affordable alternative Stores and consumers around the world have rejected the plastic bag, and now in the Canada, the movement toward reusable bags is growing daily."
linktext[5]="What kind of bag is best for the environment?
Paper or plastic is the wrong question. In order to know what is best for the environment, we need to consider the impact of a bag's whole life cycle.
The best bag is the one that has the lowest lifetime environmental impact combined with elements that will gain widespread consumer usage.
Manufacturing:
Low emissions and energy usage during manufacture.
Life Span:
Reusable and durable to reduce impact over a long and useful life.
Disposal:
Recyclable or compostable when it is worn out.
Consumer benefits: attractive, affordable, clean, and easy to use.
See our Bag Comparison Chart to evaluate different kinds of bags on the usage of material and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as longevity.
Year after year, consumer after consumer, the bag that combines the lowest impact with the highest usability is the PP fiber bag. That is why we sell PP fiber bags.
Onlygarmentbags.com is dedicated to providing only the most functional, high quality and attractive reusable packaging products to the North American marketplace at the most affordable price possible."
linktext[6]="Who else is taking action against disposable bags?
All over Europe, Australia, South Africa, Asia, and around the world, citizens, retailers, and governments are joining the movement for reusable bags. Now, North American cities provinces and states are taking on plastic bags, as well.
Ireland
took the lead in 2002 by declaring that "the day of the plastic bag is over." The government instituted a levy of €0.15 per bag (roughly equivalent to $0.20 per bag) resulting in a 90% reduction of plastic bags in one year.
Australia
initiated a voluntary program, urging retailers to carry reusable bags and exhorting citizens to buy them. In the first four years of this campaign, from 2002-2006, Australia reduced bag use by 45%, without a single tax penny collected.
South Africa, Rwanda, and other Asian and Indian nations
have banned some types of plastic bags. In some places, discarded bags by roadsides were so ubiquitous that they were mockingly referred to as "the national flower" or "the national flag."
Hong Kong
had one of the highest rates of bag use in the world: a whopping 4 bags a day per person! But recently, government and retailers joined forces to institute a "No Plastic Bag, Please" campaign, and bag use has dropped dramatically.
New York
has considered a tax on plastic bags to recoup the costs of disposal.
Toronto
has suggested a city-wide tax on disposable bags recently, creating quite a reaction.
The debate continues."
linktext[7]="Where are our bags made?
Our bags are made in China.
We practice fair trade.
We monitor our factory closely for human rights and labor rights.
Solving one problem only to contribute to another problem elsewhere does nothing for the greater good. We believe that we have global problems and that we must find global solutions. By engaging with other countries responsibly to ensure fairness, we can use globalization as a force for good.
Sharing responsibility for people and the environment along the supply chain. From the factory, to the supplier, to the store, and ultimately to the consumer, each level must contribute a little and demand responsibility from the next level in the chain. The result is a truly sustainable economic model.
We do our part. By asking where our bags are made and purchasing our bags, you are doing your part.
Thanks!"
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