Switching from plastic to paper in the late 90′s and early 2000′s was an important step 10 years ago. The average American would feel a sense of pride coming home with a paper bag of groceries, even though it meant they could carry less in their arms, couldn’t walk far in the rain with paper bags, and couldn’t find many uses of the paper bag after.

How much of an impact did switching to paper bags actually effect the environment?

In 1999, 14 million trees were cut to produce 10 billion paper grocery bags used in the United States.

Americans use them at the rate of 40 billion a year.

It takes one 15 year-old tree to make 700 grocery bags.

Paper bags generate 70% more air pollutants and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.

Single use plastic bags are even more of a problem. Ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Knowing most of the plastic we use on a daily basis ends up in one of the 5 “garbage patches” in our oceans is a horrible feeling.

The world’s largest landfill, which is called the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” is between Hawaii and San Francisco. This landfill is twice the size of Texas.

Of the 3.5 million tons of trash, 2.8 million tons is plastic.



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The answer to all of this is to use eco-friendly cotton tote bags, large enough to carry groceries, and durable to hold heavy items. Take a look at our tote bags, all of which are under $20.

With the need of carrying reusable bags becoming more and more of a necessity, it’s important to know how many eco-friendly reusable tote bags you need. Don’t end up paying an equivalent of a monthly cell phone bill to get one or two tote bags. Get durable totes at an inexpensive cost, plus free shipping on any order at Shop123Go.com.