Reusable Bags News

I’d like to welcome Theresa with five ACCESSORIES to our eco community. They have a unique approach that mirrors our own by fully supporting the countries where their bags and other accessories are manufactured. Here’s what Theresa has to say about their approach to sustainable business.

Designer handbags

five ACCESSORIES is a socially conscious company featuring handbags and accessories sourced through fair trade practices in FIVE countries.  Our mission is to help generate income for individuals in developing areas, donate a substantial portion of the revenues to worthy causes in those areas, and to foster the use of sustainable materials in fashion. $5.00 from every handbag sale is given back to the country it originated in.

In addition to our work with artisans in Bali, India, Honduras, and Cambodia, five ACCESSORIES is also partnering with several local organizations.  In April 2009, we launched an accessory line titled ‘Off The Street’, which is sourced and produced by vendors of StreetWise, a Chicago based social enterprise designed to help elevate severely impoverished men and women out of poverty.  By employing individuals that have formerly been homeless and using littered material “off the streets” of Chicago, we are offering a unique eco-friendly accessory line consisting of bracelets, buttons, belts, pins and picture frames constructed and adorned with items such as transit cards, bottle caps, ticket stubs from sporting events and other urban refuse.  As with all of our accessory sales, 15% of gross income will be donated back to the local organization, StreetWise.

The Growing Popularity and Importance of Reusable Bags

Reusable grocery bags (also known as eco bags) have seen their popularity surge in the past few years. Celebrities from Aretha Franklin to Lindsay Lohan, and everyone in between, can be seen sporting them around town. What makes these reusable bags so great? Most importantly, the reduced environmental impact reusable bags have over disposable paper and plastic ones. Next, these bags are far more useful and customizable over disposables. Reusable grocery bags make a compelling case to vendors and merchants that still haven’t made the switch yet.

The environmental impact of opting for reusable non woven bags is the easiest to discern. According to the counter at Factory Direct, so far this year nearly 360 billion (360 with nine zeroes behind it!) have been wasted this year in the U.S. alone. These bags are filling garbage dumps, polluting rivers, streams, and waterways, and getting caught in trees at a truly alarming pace. Far too many landscapes are ruined by every present plastic bags tumbling through the air. The worst part is these bags never biodegrade (they photo degrade, meaning the molecules get smaller but never disappear. Within the disposable plastic bag niche (which should be moved away from completely) paper bags avoid much of these problems. However, they have plenty of their own.

First, we are running out of forests and jungles at an alarming pace. In 1999 alone, 14 million trees were cut down to produce paper bags for America alone. This has a two-fold effect. Not only does producing these bags produce greenhouse gases, the Earth is then less prepared to fight off these gasses due to the loss of trees. Next, according to several industry sources paper bags actually require four times the energy of plastic bags to be produced.

Paper and plastic are out and reusable bags are in. The disposable bags simply have too much of a negative environmental impact to warrant their continued use. The reusable grocery bags aren’t only better for the Earth, they are better for both users and marketers alike. A quality reusable bag can take over two years of normal use. This means that when a merchant gives one away, their customer becomes a walking, talking advertisement for a good amount of time. Since the material in eco bags is much more durable, a wider range of eye-catching colors, logos, and features can be used, making the marketing message that much stronger. Instead of having a one color logo on an ugly peach plastic bag, why not offer your customers a bright beautiful bag emblazoned with your brand? Doesn’t a custom branded nonwoven bag with 4 colors and a cell=phone holder built into the strap send a better message than seeing your brand on a plastic bag clogging a rain gutter somewhere?
Disposable bags are on the way out, and it’s for the better. All stakeholders involved, including the environment, customers, and store owners all stand to gain from the shift to reusable bags. They pollute less, last longer, and are more durable and better market companies that use them. What’s not to love? Switch to eco friendly bags today.

The first thing made apparent is that product options don’t suffer. A look at their reusable shopping bags, for instance, shows a range of options. From typical custom printed bags to green shopping bags with shoulder straps or even wholesale wine totes, they offer a full product line-up. Their custom promotional bags offer a range of options to display your logo or message. Creativity is definitely not lacking in Factory Direct Promos’ products.
Next, you see that an eco-friendly take on promotional business items can actually expand your product catalog. Factory Direct Promos offers a wide range of promotional products, from seed bookmarks that bloom when you plant them to their unique Turf’n’Tin item (wheatgrass that grows out of a branded tin.) Eco friendliness not only helps the Earth, but from a marketing standpoint brings a breath of fresh air to product lineups.

Finally, and most importantly, is the benefit to all citizens of this planet. Their custom recycled bags, once the user gets two years of life out of them, decompose harmlessly. Likewise, imprinted pens made of corn (rather than plastic) don’t occupy space for long in our already overflowing landfills when they run out of ink. Further, seed paper products actually benefit the Earth, leaving behind a nice blooming flower.

At last count, over 360 billion plastic bags have been consumed this year. This is a truly frightening number, especially considering businesses can easily switch to reusable shopping bags. The benefits are apparent. Reusable bags are a better product, far more durable, eco friendly, and give business a great opportunity to shape their image or message. I encourage all stakeholders to turn to Factory Direct Promos for their next eco-friendly custom manufactured items. We can, and must, all work together to make sure we leave our children with a strong Earth, and shopping with Factory Direct Promos is but one of many simple ways to do this.

Governments everywhere are advocating reusable, recycled bags at a breakneck pace. It was a big week for shopping bags indeed. The end is drawing near for our disposable, gutter-clogging, tree-hanging one-time use friends. On the other side of the coin, eco-friendly RPET bags (think the Whole Foods bag) are enjoying their time in the sun like never before.
In 2009 large grocers and retailers in New York State that give plastic grocery bags to their customers must provide recycling bins for returned bags. It seems public awareness about the adverse effects of the typical petroleum-based shopping bags has finally boiled over into legislative action. This law has a two-pronged effect. Beyond the obvious, it represents a push towards using recycled grocery bags. Instead of buying a bin that uses up retail space and hiring a transport service to collect the throw-away bags, merchants are thinking that it is better and more profitable to simply give their customers recycled shopping bags. Flexible manufacturers such as Factory Direct Promos offer custom branded non woven bags that are cost-effective enough for mid-size merchants to get in on the action as well. Not only do retailers get to save the Earth, they can do it in style with their unique custom branding and leave a lasting impression.
On the other side of the country, Los Angeles is celebrated their second annual “Day Without a Bag.” L.A., historically one of the more eco-conscious cities out there, is making a major push to eliminate the unsightly disposable plastic bags completely. According to KTLA,
“In January, the county Board of Supervisors told large grocers to lower the number of plastic bags used by 30 percent by 2010 and by 65 percent by 2013, or else face an all-out ban. In July, the Los Angeles City Council ordered plastic bags to be removed from store checkout counters by July 1, 2010.”
This is more great news for all of the stakeholders. Reusable grocery bag manufacturers will enjoy increased sales, citizens will enjoy a cleaner city, and retailers, in using custom branded reusable bags, will get to have their message on the single most used product in their entire inventory.
Our brothers across the pond are getting in on the action as well. Tesco, Asda, and Sainsbury (the three largest U.K. supermarket chains by sales) pledged to cut their use of disposable plastic bags in half. According to Bloomberg, this will eliminate enough waste to fill 60 Olympic-size swimming pools by this spring.
In summary, a new era in bags is dawning. The unsightly one-time use bags are being replaced by eco-friendly custom-branded reusable grocery bags that come in a variety of shapes and styles. This is a change where we all win.