PAPER VS. PLASTIC

Ah yes…paper vs. plastic. The age-old question that launched a thousand others. Disposable vs. cloth. Local vs. organic. Leather vs. “pleather”…

I could take the easy way out and reply “neither.” Truth is, a disposable option is rarely a better choice than a reusable one. And clearly the green consumer market has caught on, offering up any number of reusable alternatives to paper and plastic. From the polyester EnviroSac that’s folds up tiny enough to be tucked into a pocket to the coveted Anya Hindmarsh designed “I Am Not a Plastic Bag” that doubles as a purse, reusable seems all the rage. Looks, however, can be deceiving.

In spite of the fact that reusable bags are so darn…available, far too few of us are using them, leading to that inevitable question at the checkout: Paper? Or plastic…

It’s impossible to get away from the fact that plastic is a petroleum product, gulping 12 million barrels of oil each year to make only the bags consumed in the U.S. And though reusable bags are getting plenty of play these days, they’ve barely made a dent in Americans’ love affair with plastic bags. According to Washington-based think-tank Worldwatch Institute, Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year – or 330 for each and every citizen. Most of them are thrown away where they’ll languish for centuries in landfill or make their way into lakes and oceans, wreaking havoc with marine life that accidentally ingest them, or adding to the enormous garbage Atlantis between San Francisco and Hawaii.

The prognosis on paper is a bit better but not much. Fourteen million trees give their lives every year so that we can carry home our groceries. While paper is technically biodegradable, unless it’s recycled, it’s likely to get buried in landfill where it rarely receives enough oxygen or sunshine to begin decomposition. And decomposition, if it occurs, releases methane into the atmosphere (though larger landfills often collect this methane for use as a biogas). Recycling is a better possibility, though the process requires energy, which is frequently achieved by burning fossil fuels. Recycling also produces something imaginatively named “sludge”, basically the unusable material left over including ink, plastics, filler and short fibers, which is either buried in a landfill, burned or used as fertilizer.

Thus, if one is absolutely forced to choose, I think paper wins by a narrow margin (ha!). But given the proliferation of reusables, the clear winner is a bag that lives on…as a bag.

1. Ella Vickers

These water-resistant bags are made from recycled, practically indestructable sailcloth from boats around the world. No two are exactly alike and Vickers offers a range of shapes from a duffel to a bag small enough to take to dinner.

enjoysailbags.com

2. Mimi the Sardine

Manufactured in San Francisco, the Sweedish cotton prints make these bags adorable, and the environmentally friendly acrylic coating makes them water and dirt resistant. These bags are PVC free and Oeko-Tex certified.

mimithesardine.com

3. A Pocket full of Posey

These bags are beautiful solutions to the paper vs. plastic dabate. Made in Phoenix, Arizona from upholstery weight cotton, this machine washable soft-sided bag is reinforced for some serious shopping.

bhappybags.com

4. Skeeda’s Frost Bag

Bring some style to the aisles when you’re shopping with one of Skeeda’s eco-hip bags. Made in the US from 100% cotton canvas, these bags have comfy handles that fit over your shoulder.

skeeda.com

5. EveryDay Tote™

This classic reusable bag is made from unbleached, untreated cotton canvas, has a

gusseted bottom, convenient handles and an inner pocket for those items that you don’t

want to disappear.

ecobags.com

6. Gecko Trader Bags

Take discarded Vietnamese rice bags to a village setting with a certified Fair Trade environment and what do you get? A great recycled market bag that is durable and one-of-a-kind.

ecobags.com

7. Mais oui!

Looking for something a little more je ne sais quoi? Try this French woven shopping basket with tote and over the shoulder handles. Handwoven in Morocco from renewable resources including palm leaves and water reed stalks.

ecobags.com