Inspiration #2: Corporate Interest

Reusable plastic bags are made of plastic, too, but I do think they are beneficial, since they reduce our total plastic use. I also see it as UPcyling, that is, turning a recyclable product into something that upgrades its value (plastic into books/bags/art, not just another bottle).


My friends at Pick Up America just posted this article (snippet below) about plastic bag producers' attempts to quash the reusable bag.

We see it all the time: When an alternative option becomes a commercial threat, or a nuisance to bigger companies, it often meets with threats and attack. In this vein, I did a story for NPR on the demise of the independent bookstore.

I believe it's our job to stay in touch with a variety of news sources, avoid blind bias, and politically stand up for the endeavors we see as serving personal and environmental wellness. I believe we have to stand up for independent businesses, or else we'll end up going from cradle to grave relying on large corporate production methods and value systems. Just as growing only a few varieties of corn, tomato or potato makes us more susceptible to blight, depending on and consuming from a tiny number of companies puts our health at greater risk when these companies fail -- fail to be ethical, fail to prioritize customers' well-being, or fail to plan for long-term sustainability.


Green America: Stand Up to Big Plastic
May 16, 2011

What will our grandchildren think of the disposable plastic bag? Will they see it as a relic of a bygone era?

It depends on the winner in a number of battles now playing out both in state and local governments, and between the bag manufacturers themselves.

There are other good reasons to avoid plastic bags — from the petroleum products used in their manufacture to their effect on wildlife when ingested — which is why many shoppers choose to carry their own reusable bags, whether their local community taxes or bans them or not.

But now, the forces behind the current misinformation campaign in Oregon and others aimed at bag bans at the community level are even attacking companies that offer green-minded shoppers a reusable bag option.

A lawsuit making its way through the U.S. Circuit Court in South Carolina targets California-based reusable-bag manufacturer ChicoBag. Led again by Hilex Poly (along with Superbag Operating Ltd. and Advance Polybag), the suit alleges that ChicoBag "deceptively communicates that ChicoBag's products are superior to plastic bags, such as those sold by Hilex, with regard to environmental impact" and seeks to end all advertising suggesting that reusable bags represent an "alleged environmental superiority."