Cotton Bags and Cotton Products

[Caroline Arena]

There are three main issues to consider for this argument: how each bag is produced, how our use of the bag impacts the environment, and how their disposal impacts our environment. When you pit plastic and cotton bags against each other one-to-one, it appears that cotton bags are in fact, less sustainable. Cotton bags require more material and more energy to create than plastic shopping bags. However, you must consider how often cotton bags and plastic bags are used. According to a UK government report, to be more eco-friendly than a plastic bag, a cotton bag would have to be used 173 times. So we’ve established an important point here – the more you use a bag, the more eco-friendly it becomes! In terms of plastic, we use 5 trillion plastic bags per year. That’s a whopping 160,000 per second and 700 a year per person. Of all those plastic bags circling our planet, less than 1% are recycled.

[Krishna Narine]

Nowadays, these cotton bags are in the race with other bag material alternatives to make a style statement. Plastic bags are usually transparent and have the brand logo or store names printed on them, whereas you can find a variety of colors, shapes and sizes in cotton bags that can easily match your style and preferences. Cotton bags are not only used for shopping purposes, they make an attractive tote for carrying a variety of everyday items as well. People carry them in their day-to-day life, to classes, to their workplace or to outings. Designer cotton bags with motivational quotes or peppy slogans can be bought from retailers or online stores, whereas some consumers sew their own personalized bags.

[johnpketchum12]

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall. Same goes when we are talking about the cotton bags in context of its unique features of being environment-friendly, sustainable and reusable nature as compared to plastic or paper bags in making a difference everyday to save the environment.Cotton bags are made from renewable natural fibers which are strong in nature as compared to those plastic bags which are made from polyethylene which are derived from natural gas and petroleum. If we look into the process of making the plastic bags, it releases many harmful and polluted by-products into the atmosphere, which itself takes thousand years to decompose and hence is harmful for the environment. But, these cotton bags are woven from thread procured from the plants and since cotton is a plant product, it is ultimately biodegradable.