Reusable shopping bags aren’t just a trendy way

Reusable shopping bags aren’t just a trendy way to carry your groceries as you walk home from the organic farmer’s market sipping your kombucha through a paper straw. There are many reasons why using reusable bags is the right way to carry your groceries (and everything else), not the least of which are new laws that mandate it in many areas.

So, why should we use reusable bags, and do the benefits of using reusable shopping bags really add up?

Here are the immense benefits of reusing bags – even plastic ones!

We know plastic is harmful – but that still doesn’t stop us from using it in every sphere of life. Every time we buy something from any store, most of us put the items into plastic bags. Which we then throw away. And many of us also believe – wrongly – that these plastic bags could be ‘recyclable’. So why would someone want to reuse bags – or even buy a reusable bag?

The answer to this question is straightforward. When individuals and businesses choose to reuse the same bag – or invest in reusable shopping bags – over plastics, the damage that plastic bags do to the environment gets massively reduced.

How do plastic bags harm the environment?

The Centers for Biological Diversity report that pollution caused by plastic bags directly harms 267 different species living in the oceans, while also being responsible for the death of over 100,000 marine animals annually.

While you might see many campaigns devoted to recycling plastic bags and promoting their reusability only 3 to 10% of the plastic bags used are ever recycled, with a large majority of them ending up polluting oceans and landfills, where they are left for decades to degrade.

How reusing bags helps the planet.

Reusing a single bag as little as 4 times means the need for new bags to be manufactured comes down by a margin of 18%. That’s a really big impact for such a small act, primarily since we use bags for many reasons in our day-to-day lives.

You know what? If we reuse the same bag – any bag, plastic or not – 20 times instead of 4, the number of new bags required drops by a whopping 82%!

Just take a moment to think how beneficial it would be for the environment if you make this a lasting habit. This way, even if you stick to using plastic bags, just 4 or 5 bags can potentially replace 520 plastic bags throughout the entire year.

Imagine this being applied grander with more and more people adopting this culture. Thousands of plastic bags currently in use would be reduced to just a handful.

How companies benefit from people reusing bags

Aside from the positive impact on the environment and the reduction of plastic pollution, business owners can benefit from an improved brand image when they promote reusing bags or sell reusable bags instead of single-use plastics.

This new image can go a long way toward attracting future customers who are becoming increasingly more environmentally conscious. In a report by Recycling Lives2, it was found that 4 out of 5 people would prefer shopping from a brand that engages in environmentally sustainable operations.

Being environmentally conscious is often an integral part of a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility, with many of them leaning towards implementing sustainable practices in order to give back to the community by promoting a greener lifestyle.

We, at Bag the Future, can provide you with environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions when it comes to both reusable bags and recyclable bags. Our eco-friendly, sustainable products can help your company prove your environmental consciousness to your customers and boost your brand impact, which will go a long way toward building customer loyalty.

Invest in reusable bags, and a greener future.

Interested in finding out more about how you can partner with us? Get in touch today and our representatives will give you a call or set up a meeting to discuss this further.

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