Paper Carrier Bags Vs Cotton Bags
There are many articles which talk about the benefits with Eco friendly bags such as paper, jute or cotton bags over plastic carrier bags, but I have yet to come across an article which talks about the benefits of paper and cotton bags from a buyer perspective. I talk about the pricing, durability and just the general environmental benefit of both options.
When choosing your bags for your business, it’s always important to consider what type of bag you buy because this bag will reflect on your business and it will tell your customer about your business when your customer leaves your shop. Here you will be opting for an environmental carrier bag but you are not sure which bag you want to go for. The two types of bags you are considering are cotton bags and paper, but which one do you choose.
One of the most important things you will be considering is price for your bags. Ideally you want to pay as little as possible to keep funds for other things in your business. Paper bags will tend to be much cheaper than cotton bags because paper costs much less to make, these bags are easier to make and you can manufacture more for less. Generally if we are talking about rope paper shopping bags these will cost you on average about £1 per where as a cotton bag depending on how many you buy could cost you £2 or £3 each. So price is certainly one aspect that will influence your decision.
You want to buy a bag for your business that lasts. Your bag has to be durable because it is supposed to be an advert for your business. Let’s talk about durability of each option. Depending on which type of paper bag you buy there are some types that will last longer than others.You could specifically opt for a laminated paper bag that will last a little longer than a bag that has not been laminated. On average depending on which country you live in, if you get rainy weather then your bags will probably last no longer than 12 months after it has left your shop. On the other hand well you can imagine how long a cotton bag will last, it is a bag for life so it will last you look after it, a great way to advertise your business for a very long time.
What are the environmental issues of each option? Well even though paper bags are a better for the environment than plastic carrier bags, in actual fact paper does have its downsides. You still have to use trees to make paper bags so the cutting of trees is still a major impact on our environment. There are many businesses that opt to have a lamination on their paper bags which make them last a little longer, this plastic lamination still takes many years to degrade in landfill sites. You do not get any of these kinds of issues with cotton bags.
In summary there are probably more benefits with cotton than there are with paper, the choice will be down to you which type you go for. In my opinion It is always good to choose what is best for your business and if price is the issue then maybe paper bags are your best bet. If you run an extremely Eco friendly business then I would advise cotton bags as these are better for the environment.
Tariq Amin is a Graphic Designer that has been in the packaging industry for 12 years. Through years of carrier bag designing I have learned what works with regard to business marketing with packaging. MK bucket bag