What Makes “Eco Paper Bags” Eco-Friendly?
Eco paper bags are picking up steam lately. They’re being used by companies to mail products and provide bags for grocery store customers, and some particularly green consumers are buying their own stockpiles to skip the plastic bags many stores still use.
What makes them so “eco-friendly” though? Wasn’t paper a bad product just a couple of decades ago? Well, if you were alive back then, you probably remember all the complaints about paper packaging and how plastic was the so-called eco-friendly alternative.
That turned out to be very false, and with new advancements, paper bags are probably the most eco-friendly option you have at your disposal.
Here’s why.
No Deforestation
The main reason plastic bags became the norm was because plastic companies were able to leverage the unsustainable clear-cutting practices of old paper companies to their advantage. Since plastic doesn’t use tree material, it was positioned as the solution to deforestation.
However, it has a ton of other environmental impacts that are far worse.
How did the deforestation issue go away, though?
Well, modern paper bags made by eco-friendly companies aren’t made from trees. They’re made from invasive seaweed species. That completely eliminates the worry about deforestation, and it provides other benefits we’ll be covering shortly.
Biodegradable
Plastic bags stick around in the environment for hundreds of years. When you throw one away, it doesn’t just disappear; it contributes to harming wildlife and their habitats, and that comes back to haunt us in the future.
Paper bags are biodegradable, and within weeks of being thrown away, they’re completely absorbed by nature. Sure, you don’t want to just chuck them all over your yard anyways, but at least you know they won’t harm anything if a bag does get improperly disposed of.
Saving the Oceans
Remember how we said modern paper bags are made from seaweed? Well, that does more than just reduce the worry about deforestation. It actively helps marine life, ocean habitats, and us humans.
The seaweed used to make these paper bags is invasive, and it destroys coral reefs. It’s also completely out of control.
By removing as much of it as possible to make useful paper products, the reefs are allowed to regenerate, the wildlife that relies on them can thrive, and we can enjoy the various fish products that fuel many global economies.
This simple shift in material usage has a tremendous positive effect and eliminates the negative effects of traditional methods.
Brand Benefits
If you’re a business owner, this is a major benefit for you. Simply using eco-friendly paper bags to ship your products, or providing them to customers instead of plastic, leaves a lasting impression on your customers.
They’re eco-minded, and if you show that you are too, you’ll align your brand with their values; making them much more likely to come back for more business and feel good for supporting your company.
Switch to Eco Paper Bags
Eco paper bags are a lasting solution to several of the world’s pollution problems. They clean up reefs, help businesses, and help eliminate the negative impact of plastic.
Make the switch, today.