Are shopping totes really better for the environment than brown paper or plastic bags?

With all the craze of celebrities using shopping totes and retail clothing stores that supply them, are shopping totes better for the environment? I've looked at these "This is not a plastic bag" totes and I wonder "Aren't these too made of non-environment friendly materials? If say, one of these shopping totes lasts me a year, how much damage does making this bag do to the environment, versus the damage a year's worth of plastic bags from the grocery store do to the environment?

Are shopping totes really better for the environment than brown paper or plastic bags?
Good point. If you recycle your plastic bags, that should be just as good as using a tote, right?
Reply:yes they are
Reply:The plastic bag has to go to the dump and never completely decompose even after you recycle it, the tote made of natural fiber; will redily decompose.
Reply:A good quality "shopping tote" should last you much longer than a year, especially if you repair it in the off chance that it should break. You can also use other multi use bags than just the newly popular totes. Backpacks make good bags for small trips. By using reusable bags for shopping, you also have the option of buying used, making your own out of scrap fabric, or using organic cotton...all of which are better than constant consumption of either paper or plastic single use bags.
Reply:I'm not sure where these "totes" are coming from or how much noxious gas is put in the air during production...





I usually fuse old grocery bags together, sew them up and make my own tote bags... This way I am pretty sure it's better for the environment.
Reply:A good heavy duty cotton tote should last a a long time, if it's only lasting a year it was probably a cheap piece of garbage from China.
Reply:Totes are for a long time use. Brown bags are friendly and are reusable for different new use of paper. Plastic last for ever and barely decay. Best to avoid plastic.
Reply:In the mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, they are listed in that order for a reason. If you use a re-usable bag, you are reducing the amount of disposable bags, as well as reusing the same bag over and over, Then, after you have used your re-usable bag for years and years and it's time has come, you can recycle it. Disposable plastic shopping bags really are horrible and are actually being banned in some parts of the world. Besides the fact that plastic takes millions of years to decompose, the use vast amounts of oil to produce, pollution is created when the bags are made, and the energy it takes to deliver and ship these bags to the stores causes more emissions that contribute to global warming. Also, a large amount of plastic bags become litter, then drift to sea. There, many animals, especially turtles, mistake the bags for jellyfish, eat them and choke and die.





I love my reusable bags and keep them in my car and near the front door so I don't forget to bring them to the store!
Reply:Paper, Plastic, or Canvas??





Paper, Plastic or Canvas??? This is a question we face with every trip to a store but what is the Best choice? It is easy to say that a reusable canvas tote is the best choice but is it really the best choice? Actual carbon-footprints vary depending on the sources of the bags. Recycled plastic bags are showing up in many markets. Most paper bags are post-consumer recycled paper (not usually from "trees" directly.) Canvas tote bags are costly(compared to plastic or paper) and are mostly made in China under questionable working conditions. When we add up the materials(new canvas), the construction(underpaid workers in bad working conditions), add a huge PLASTIC graphic on the side and shipping across the world, then canvas tote bags get very expensive for the environment and for humans.





To be the MOST eco-friendly, just re-use the bags you already have and save the environmental expense of making new tote bags. Double or triple the old plastic bags and double up on paper bags and they will last through a hundred shopping trips. Or, you could re-use a pair of old jeans and make a tote that will last as long as you do.





At the very least look for bags made of re-used materials (Canvas from sails or denim from old jeans maybe) by someone in your neighborhood.





Beware of any eco-friendly ideas that require the purchase of a new item! Every new item including tote bags require a manufacturing process that adds to the over all problem. Right now, being green is a fad that inspires people to buy more, more, more....in the future being green will mean buy less, use less, and use what you have until it is worn out. When you buy stuff you are feeding the FAD...when you actually start re-using what you already have then you are MAKING A DIFFERENCE!





BTW, I got my Free Tote Bag from Yahoo Answers and it arrived in a PLASTIC BAG and has a huge plastic graphic on the side and it is "Made in India"!
Reply:Yes...why? Because plastic comes from trees, and the more plastic we use, the less trees we cut down. And, plastic bags blow freely and get caught in trees and stuff.
Reply:Permaculture Answer:





The Short Answer YES use re-useable tote or any other bags. It is a green issue, not a fashion statement. If you already have any old tote bags, rucksacks etc, no matter what they are made of, that will carry shopping use these. Using what you have is by far the greenest option. Use them to their death, it is even greener. Check your cupboards and use what you have first.








The Reasons Why?: Or The Long Answer





The scale of the use of plastic is a major environmental problem. Plastic production is highly unsustainable, presuming that we are talking about the oil based plastics and not the new bio-starch products. Plastic carrier bags are ephemeral so they are quickly disposed of. The chances are that the bag will end up in landfill after one use.





Plastic Bags: There are a lot of reasons given why people 'like' plastic bags. However, they still never decompose no matter how many times you use them. This is compounded when people tie their rubbish into plastic bags and thousands of other such filled plastic bags are piled on top of each other iin landfill sites. So if you must use plastic, re-use as many times as possible then take them supermarket to be recycled.





Biodegradeable Bags/Bioplastics: Polylactic acid (PLA) a biodegradable polymer derived from lactic acid. These vegetable based bioplastics biodegrades quickly under composting conditions and does not leave toxic residue. However, bioplastic have own environmental impacts caused by manufacturing and disposal of end product. Charges will be levied for plastics and bioplastics as the Government are having to pay landfill penalties. You will be charged for these impacts and taxed but on the plus side biodegradable bags (from potato and corn starches) are a new thriving industry





Paper Bags. Great if singly composted. In land fill can take years for layers to decompose. Still an organic material. But there is cost of production, costs to environment of pulp trees (monocultures, loss of habitat, etc) costs of recycling/disposal. Again you will have to pay for these production costs and disposal costs and taxed.





Recycle the cardboard boxes at the store to carry your groceries home or just pack into the boot of your car without bags and then carry in from the boot.





France is banning plastic bags 2007 others are moving towards it. The most effective is taxing plastic bag use. If we do not take action we will be taxed as the Irish are for using plastic bags. Effective as a decrease of 90% plastic bag use in Ireland.





http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2...





Whilst cotton bag production is also unsustainable it is generally used many many more times, generally for a number of years. And are not non-biodegradable. People do not tend to tie their other rubbish into a cloth bag to send it to landfill. Cotton bags will compost in any home composter. Therefore a reused bag made of cloth clearly does not have the same detrimental effect on the environment as a reused bag made of plastic (or many). The environmental impact of plastic bag disposal is magnified because of the number of the bags that are used.





Willow is highly sustainable, from willow coppice and returns to the ground without trace. A wicker basket would be the obvious thing, to cut down on this massive use on single-use plastic carrier bags. Willow can be grown on sewage outfall which as we know is an environmental pollutant. There are no ENVIRONMENTAL costs of processing/production of a willow basket. It is a local economy that does not use heat, beat or treat. It could be grown in the supermarket car park dealing with the waste from the toilet block. In Permaculture we call this zoning and edge. It also demonstrates redundancy of function when used in sewage treatment. Willow is highly sustainable, from willow coppice and returns to the ground without trace.





Perhaps the best solution is to LIMIT YOUR CONSUMPTION OF EVERYTHING.





Think about what you are buying first and how the packaging will be disposed of:


Use your local butcher who will wrap in paper.


Buy fruit and vegetables from local growers it supports your local economy. There are usually lots of recycled cardboard boxes at Farmer's markets.


Buy from the local baker wraps in paper.


Buy milk in glass bottles or recyclable plastic.


Avoid pre packed foods and processed foods. The packaging is excessive.





Ensure you recycle metals, plastics, glass and cardboard.


Compost green waste.





There will be hardly anything left to go to landfill.