The crisis of reusable cotton bags - Revista Así - Opinion Bolivia

Venetia Berry, an artist from London, recently counted the free cotton bags she had accumulated in her closet. She was at least 25.

These objects have become a means for clothing brands, companies and supermarkets to send a message of care to the planet, or, at least, to show that they are aware of the overuse of plastic in packaging.

“There's a trend in New York where people are wearing merch: They're carrying bags from local delis, hardware stores, or their favorite restaurant,” explains designer Rachel Comey.

But are they friendly to the planet? Not quite. It turns out that the unconditional acceptance of reusable bags may have created a new problem.

A bag of organic cotton needs to be used 20,000 times to offset the overall impact of its production, according to a 2018 study from the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food. That is equivalent to using a single bag daily for 54 years. By that metric, if all 25 of her bags were organic cotton, Berry would have to live over a thousand years to make up for her current stockpile.

Cotton packaging has been around for a long time in the luxury sector; shoes and bags are packed in bags to protect them from dust. But the supposed sustainability means that more and more brands pack their merchandise in numerous layers. Items that don't even need dust protection, like hair ties or facial cleansers, now arrive wrapped in a bag.

This does not mean that cotton is worse than plastic, nor that they should be compared. While cotton production can use pesticides (if not organically grown) and has dried up rivers from its consumption of water, lightweight plastic bags use fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases, never biodegrade, and clog the oceans.

Aries, You're feeling indecisive about something that you're emotionally invested in. This could go for your finance… https://t.co/cMEafL2kyt

— Tatiana Tue Jul 13 16:55:25 +0000 2021

By contrasting the two materials, "we end up with an environmental rejection that leaves consumers with the idea that there is no solution," says Melanie Dupuis, professor of environmental studies and science at Pace University.

For her part, Buffy Reid of British knitwear brand & Daughter discontinued production of her cotton tote bags in April this year; she plans to launch a device where customers can choose to receive one. Although Aesop is not going to stop production, the brand is converting the composition of its bags to a 60-40 mix of recycled and organic cotton. "It will cost us 15% more, but it reduces water consumption by between 70% and 80%," says a company statement.

Some brands are turning to other textile solutions. British designer Ally Capellino recently swapped cotton for hemp, while Hindmarch unveiled a new take on her original bag, this time made from recycled water bottles.

Getting rid of one of these bags with little environmental impact is not as easy as many think. You can't, for example, just leave them in a compost bin. In fact, only 15% of the 30 million tons of cotton produced each year reaches textile warehouses. And even when a bag reaches a treatment plant, most of the inks used to print the logos use PVC as a base and therefore are not recyclable; they are "extremely difficult to break down chemically," says Christopher Stanev, co-founder of Evrnu, a textile recycling firm.

At that point the topic of turning old fabric into something new arises, a process that expends almost as much energy as making it the first time. The largest carbon footprint of textiles occurs at the factory.

In the end, the simplest solution may be the most obvious. "Not all products need a bag," says Comey.