Are cotton bags environmentally friendly?

As a manufacturer of cotton bags, we felt "called to the board". Who if not a company that officially defines itself as a "manufacturer of ecological cotton bags" should, face the international reports on the negative impact of cotton bag production on the environment, and put a stick in an "environmental" anthill.

Let's start with a few facts:

Around 110 million tonnes of cotton bales are produced each year - a lot, but let's not forget that this is the material used to make more than just cotton bags.

Fact 2.

50,000 tonnes of plastic bags end up in the oceans every year - the figures are specific - this refers to the "plastic bags" in question.

According to the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food's report, Life Cycle Assessment of Grocery Carrier Bags, the process of making a cotton bag is the least favourable process in terms of the 15 factors included in the report - but there are many more factors and these were not included in the study.

Doesn't look good, does it? As mentioned above, the report looks at the life cycle of each individual bag, assuming that it 'lives' in a particular environment and it is used according to a particular pattern - as it should be.

However, it is the fact of 50,000 tonnes of plastic bags poisoning the oceans, which cover 70% of our planet, every year; according to research, more than 100 million tonnes of plastic float on the surface of the oceans, the decomposition process of which is estimated to take hundreds of years, killing millions of marine animals and changing the ecosystem forever. A cotton bag decomposes in about 4-6 months. There's a difference, isn't it?

So why is there so much confusing information about the environmental impact of cotton bags?

Based only on statistics and the process of cotton itself, we can conclude that it is a huge burden on our ecosystem - affecting climate change, among other things.

However, we should take a much broader view of the entire life cycle of cotton bags.

Between 500 billion and one trillion plastic bags are put on the global market every year. Their production requires oil, gas, water and energy.

The issue of ecology and production of all kinds of products has been influencing consumer choices for almost two decades now, both from the point of view of entrepreneurs, who are paying more and more attention to production processes, and from the point of view of statistical consumers, who are now able to check the contents.

But back to the point - are cotton bags environmentally friendly? We think they are - they are versatile, biodegradable and aesthetically pleasing. They can be used as a stylish accessory and an excellent tote bag for everyday use. It can be given to a business partner who will not throw it away or treat it as a 'budget gadget'. We believe that the process of growing and processing the cotton used to make our bags is as safe as possible for the environment - we only use verified, certified cotton suppliers.

MART’S BAGS

info@martsbags.com

+48 787 340 123