What kind of reusable bag is best for the planet?


With all the debates surrounding the environment going around, more and more people are trying to take up a more environmentally-friendly approach to their daily life. One of the biggest debates is about what kind of bags we should use, especially when people have called for the ban of the conventional plastic bag. After all, plastic bags have been proven to be adversely affecting marine life and causing severe issues to the environment. So, which kind of reusable bag is actually better for the environment?

Choosing the right bag

Everyone takes on the concerns about the environment with varying degrees of urgency. However, with thousands of scientists and millions of people calling for action, there is little doubt that things have to change. However, with so much information out there, and with differing reports and opinions, what should we do? One of the things we can all think about are the bags we use for our everyday shopping, and how we dispose of them. First things first, how do we choose a bag?

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Considering the environmental impact

Unfortunately, it seems overly complicated to really get to grips with where our materials are coming from and the overall environmental impact of them. This is especially true when those products come in the form of bags, and other accessories, ready to be purchased at a small price. When choosing a reusable bag, we often think more natural materials would be better for the environment, however there is often a carbon footprint that followed the product to those shelves.

Which material is better to choose?

Unfortunately, while we might go toward the cotton bag, there are substantial environmental consequences attached to the product. In a study conducted by Denmark researchers, they discovered that as a result of organic cotton production, they were not a good choice, as it’s a chemical and water-intensive process. Instead, people have suggested that using bags made from jute or hemp would be far better than choosing cotton and, more importantly, organic cotton. However, there’s more to this than merely the material of the bag.

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Reducing the production

One of the most significant issues when it comes to bags and reusable bags is actually how often we use them and throw them out. The best thing we can all do is hold on to our reusable bags, especially if they’re cotton, because textile recycling is not as effective. The advice is that we should all be remembering and reusing our bags until they have completely worn out, and only then should we consider recycling them. The fewer people who casually buy these reusable bags, the fewer bags will need producing, thus decreasing the environmental impact.

Continuing a trend

While most of us do our best to remember our reusable bags – safe to say many of us already have a store of reusable shopping bags of all kinds of materials – we do sometimes forget them. However, various movements and trends are going around that help people to reduce their waste. One of those is the Boomerang Bags trend, the idea being that people can borrow them for free, with the theory that they will bring them back for someone else to use. It saves people feeling that they need to buy one on the spot because they left their bags at home, and reduces waste.

It’s not always easy trying to be environmentally friendly, but reducing waste and reusing your bags as much as possible will make a difference.

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