# What is a stylish, yet affordable eco-friendly alternative to poly bags?



## dubfonik (Nov 3, 2015)

I was wondering what could be used as an alternative to plastic poly bags, which would just get thrown out. The apparel line is street wear, so it still needs to convey a style/quality message, but I'd just prefer to use something that isn't as damaging for the environment.

Any suggestions?


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## SpadeSchumacher (Sep 29, 2020)

They make biodegradable poly bags


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## NoXid (Apr 4, 2011)

You have a choice. Kill trees, or kill already dead dinosaurs  Having grown up where those trees come from, I prefer to use dead dinosaurs.

Poly also has some practical advantages. It is water proof, low weight, and high strength. Sure, in theory your end consumer might toss a 100% plant-pulp package in the recycling ... or not. The issue isn't that plastic exists; it's that no real effort has been made to reuse most of what is produced, or to consider ease of reuse in design of the original products.

Engineers have developed new formulations that can be reduced back to their components and reused (pigments and conditioners separate out from the base polymers). Just a matter of doing what no one bothered to try before. Also, California is moving ahead with requiring recycled content in beverage bottles. That's _real_ recycling, unlike the _pretend_ recycling we've been doing for years where we ship garbage to some 3rd world country for poor people to sort through, burn, and dump in the ocean.

Regardless, the cotton and/or poly content of the garment itself has orders of magnitude more environmental impact than the package.


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## PatWibble (Mar 7, 2014)

NoXid said:


> Regardless, the cotton and/or poly content of the garment itself has orders of magnitude more environmental impact than the package.


 Agree 100%. 
1kg of cotton uses 10000 litres ( 10 tonne) of water to grow. Depending on the dying method it takes up to a further 350 litres to process, bleach and dye the yarn.

Very laudable to want to provide green packaging, but whatever it is in the store is probably going to dispose of it when it displays the garment. If you trade online then the post pack you use will probably be made of plastic.

Best to source something recylable.


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