which is the best environtmentally green bag to buy, one made by hemp, canvas, plain cotton, or settle?

Question

for the usual "brown bag"?

gee, I hope Frogz wasn't talking to me.

Answer 1

I heard it was better to use canvas, we were just learning about things like this in my science class before we got out of school.
XD

Answer 2

"Believe it our not, it's actually more environmentally friendly to use a plastic bag than a paper bag." For carrier bags at least, that's definitely not the case. Even for a re-usable, properly made plastic bag it's a very debateable point.

"Since plastic doesn't decompose, it will remain the same for thousands of years, and thereby never contaminate the soil.
Paper bags often have print (which is ink), bleach, or other toxic materials that can seep into the ground when the paper decomposes. The plastic will stay the same and never harm anything."

Plastic does biodegrade very, very slowly, leaching chemicals into the soil. As another poster said, it's also a serious waste of petrochemicals which could be put to much better use in other areas (in other words, something which will last).

Cotton requires a lot of water and fertiliser to grow, hemp a lot less. At least a re-usable bag made of hemp could be composted once it's finished with, which is less energy-intensive than recycling.

Answer 3

Man, people are sweating the tiniest of matters on here and seemingly overlooking the big picture!

In the long run, it probably doesn't matter whether or not you buy a cotton bag, a hemp bag, whatever. What matters is if you buy the thing and actually put it into good use. To buy something and to use it are two different things.

So as long as you buy a re-usable bag (as a brown bag or a grocery bag, or whatever) and actually use it instead of using disposable bags, you're on the right track! Kudos!

Try not to sweat the small stuff, too, too much. Life is too short. Enjoy! :)

Answer 4

I have hemp bags--though they're expensive due to the fact that hemp needs to be imported from other countries. Hemp is very cheap in countries that are allowed to grow their own.

When I carry a hemp bag, it is to make a statement--that hemp should be legally grown in the US. Hemp can make paper, clothing, of course rope, health and beauty products, healthy foods... It is strong and durable--and an **alternative fuel** could also be made with hemp. It grows anywhere, and quickly--and would prevent us from needing to chop down so many trees. The forestry workers would have new jobs in the hemp industry--so it would not be cutting out jobs.

Answer 5

Believe it our not, it's actually more environmentally friendly to use a plastic bag than a paper bag.
Since plastic doesn't decompose, it will remain the same for thousands of years, and thereby never contaminate the soil.
Paper bags often have print (which is ink), bleach, or other toxic materials that can seep into the ground when the paper decomposes. The plastic will stay the same and never harm anything.
But if your thinking about a cloth bag, I would suggest cotton.

Answer 6

Environmentally Green - such a big picture to think about!

Plastic - even if you reuse it - comes from petroleum, which is usually transported a fair distance a couple of times (drilling to refinery to processing plant to distributor to point of sale store). By accepting the plastic, even though we will reuse it a couple of times, they will just make more.

Hemp - a great choice, but as mentioned already, it has to travel a pretty fair distance to get to you.

Canvas or cotton - probably your best choice, though most of the bags you'll see available have been manufactured and sewn overseas. Again, the environmental impact is hidden from us since we don't know where everything is coming from.

You might try looking at your local certified farmer's market to see if there is a merchant who is selling carrying bags that have been manufactured with materials grown/produced within a 100 mile radius of your home.

Otherwise, you might try making your own bag from worn-out bluejeans, sheets or other fabric goods from your own home.

Answer 7

Hemp. Since it grows like a weed, seriously no pun intended, there are usually no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc used in growing and cultivating. Cotton (including canvas) is probably the most environmentally unfriendly crop grown in the US. The amount of water and pesticides needed to grow cotton, plus the energy used to harvest it are obscene.

Answer 8

Hemp is probably the least consumptive of plants, but the actual manufacturing process is pretty 'dirty' in any of the situations.

The BEST bag is the one you actually re-use. I prefer mesh bags because I can carry 3-4 of them in my pocket until I need them. It can be quite awkward hauling the solid cloth bags around.

(The Prof overlooks the issue that plastic bags are made of petrochemicals, choke animals, and are visual pollutants. There are a lot of 'green' inks available that more and more bag makers are using.)

Answer 9

I own a bag that is made of recycled soda bottles. You'd never know that it's not a canvas bag except it feels a lot softer!

Answer 10

Any reusable bag is more environmentally friendly than getting multiple plastic or paper bags. Don't settle.