People have different opinions about plastic bag and paper bag use. To enlighten your mind, we came up with the pros and cons so you can weigh in an objective view that will be beneficial to your company as you source out the best packaging for products.
Environment-Friendly. Paper bags are eco-friendly because they are 100% biodegradable, reusable, and recyclable. Paper bags decompose naturally during the recycling process, unlike plastics, which emit toxins and hazardous gases when recycling them. A colorful paper bag can also be recycled and reused as shopping bags or organizers.
Special Paper Bags are Heavy-Duty. Contrary to popular belief that paper bags have a weak structure, there are unique paper bags that are heavy-duty, and able to withstand pressure. They are thicker and carry a high paper basis weight of about 50 pounds.
Safe for Children and Animals. Paper bags are less likely to suffocate people and animals. With that being said, if you are in the business of selling items to children and animals, you using paper bags as packaging is safer than using plastics.
Durable and Fashionable. Paper bags come in different sizes, styles, and designs. Depending on the type, designer paper bags can carry medium to heavyweight items and look elegant at the same time. Here is the brown paper bag size chart you can look at.
Useful in Brand Promotions and Marketing. Lastly, paper bags with logos, you can use paper bags to create brand awareness as you design them with the colors based on your branding and include logos and taglines as one of your print-ad strategies.
Not Waterproof. Once the paper is exposed to liquid and steam, it will not be useful because it will deform and unable to carry items. Plastics, on the other hand, can still hold off items even if they get wet.
Not as Strong as Plastic Bags. True enough, paper bags may have their limitations, especially when it comes to packing heavy materials. Plastics can hold off liquids and come in handy even in bad weather, whereas paper bags will be deformed when exposed to solutions. Like how baguette bread bags can get wet and rip when expose to liquid syrup.
More Expensive and Requires More Materials in Production. Paper bag production causes air pollution and emits 70 more air pollutants and 50% more water pollutants than plastic production. Moreover, you need more water, greenhouse gases, and chemicals to produce papers. So, the production itself requires more energy consumption.
Take More Storage Space. Since paper bags are heavier than plastics, you need more space to store them, especially if you order in bulk. Aside from that, you will also pay more on shipping costs if they come from overseas.
Manufacturing Requires Cutting of Trees. Americans consume more than 10 billion paper bags annually, equivalent to cutting 14 million trees to produce paper.
Lightweight and Water-Resistant. Plastics don’t take too much space, unlike plastic bags, and they are light, which only requires limited storage space. They are also water-resistant and practical all ‘year-round.
Durable and Functional. Plastic bags can carry heavy materials, especially if they are made of thick materials.
Affordable Packaging Material. If you plan to buy in bulk, plastic bags cost less than a cent. Unlike paper bags, you shell out five cents or more when ordering in bulk.
Production Requires Few Energy Consumption and Environment-Friendly. Producing plastics is less expensive and less complicated because it only requires low energy and less solid waste than paper bags.
Great Tool to Promote Your Brand. You can also print your brand’s name, logo, and tagline on plastic bags, making them a great tool to create brand awareness.
Harmful to the Environment. Improper waste management of plastic bags can harm the environment that can clog rivers and even sewage systems in the cities. It can cause litter everywhere — from the streets to fences, to trees, and more.
Danger to Marine and Wild Life and Contaminate Food Sources. Marine and wildlife animals can consume these plastics, which leads to suffocation, death, and even contamination of food sources.
Decomposition Takes 1,000 Years. Plastics break down through photodegrades, which means they break down through light. The process may take about hundreds of years and even up to 1,000 years to decompose, which takes up spaces on landfills.
Hard to Recycle. While plastic bag production is environmentally friendly, recycling is complex and less sustainable. It also requires machinery to segregate and recycle plastics, which are unfortunately not available in developing countries.
Countries like Bangladesh, Kenya, France, China, to name a few, have already banned plastic bags to protect the environment. Now that you know the benefits and repercussions of using paper bags and plastic bags, you can make an informed decision on your packaging materials.
Paper bags are eco-friendly in terms of use and functionality. If you care about the environment, then paper bags are a sure win for the brand, community, and nature.
Since December 2020, Chinese paper manufacturers have reported higher prices for paper products. The increase in price is due to the rising cost of raw materials caused by the pandemic and strict environmental protection rules.
So how will higher paper prices impact your packaging? Let’s find out!
Industry experts acknowledge that there are three main reasons for the rise in paper prices.
Firstly, from January 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment has banned the import of solid waste, in particular, waste paper. In turn, the domestic paper market has become highly concentrated, which gives leading paper enterprises more bargaining power.
Secondly, with the latest version of the Chinese plastic restriction order in place, more people are switching to paper packaging. Consequently, the demand for for paper-based food packaging and packing bags has increased significantly!
So, considering both of these reasons, there’s a great demand for paper, but only a limited amount of supply available.
Unfortunately, that’s not all! To even think about increasing the supply of paper, we need to acknowledge that the price of pulp itself has soared!
Given that China is the world’s largest pulp importer, COVID-19 has made it harder to access pulp. As a result, many enterprises in the industry are raising their prices as well.
For example, Gold East Paper, a company based in East China’s Jiangsu Province that produces coated paper has raised its prices by 300 yuan per tonne! A sales person from the company stated that the change in prices is mainly the result of expensive raw materials.
In fact, a large amount raw materials that his company uses for paper production are imported from overseas. “The logistics cost of imported raw materials have increased due to the global spread of coronavirus, which also leads to the rise of prices for our products,” he said.
With this in mind, these three factors have been the main reasons behind the soaring paper prices!
So how will this affect your packaging?
For one, a majority of packaging companies such as ourself work with Chinese suppliers and factories. So with the increase in paper prices and cost of raw materials, you can expect paper bags and paper boxes to be slightly more expensive as well.
“But what if I buy my packaging from local suppliers? Will my packaging still be affected?”
Yes. With a greater demand for paper-based packaging, if businesses find imported packaging to be very expensive, they’ll want to make the switch to domestic companies. This would cause a shortage of paper-based packaging and domestic companies would be forced to increase their prices as well.
“Is there anything I can do to avoid paying extra for paper-based packaging?” Yes, absolutely!
If you don’t want to pay extra for paper-based packaging, consider opting for some reusable bags!
For those who may not know, reusable bags were actually the founding product of our company. So over the past 15 years, we’ve worked really hard to create custom high-quality and affordable Non-Woven polypropylene (Non-woven PP) reusable bags!
Non-Woven PP is a thermoplastic polymer. This means that you can melt it down to make it into something else.
The material we use to create our reusable bags is a strong recycled plastic, ensuring that they are an eco-friendly option and durable option. This way, you and your customers will be able to help eliminate the use of single-use plastics in the environment!
Reusable bags are also great for long-lasting publicity! With our reusable bags, there is no limit on printing capabilities, and many accessory options to consider. This includes:
We also offer heat sealed reusable bags! They’re very cost-effective, durable and actually cost around the same price as Kraft paper bags.
The main difference between a heat sealed bag and a non-woven PP one is that heat sealed bags are easier to clean and offer a unique look. Heat sealed bags also require less material to produce because they aren’t stitched.
As you can see, the picture on the left is a heat sealed bag and offers a much more defined shape than the non-woven PP bag on the right!
In addition to reusable bags, you may also consider specialty bags made from hemp, cotton, canvas, or Kraft-woven materials!
Interested in finding out more? Contact us today!
In the meantime, check out our blog post on the 3 essential characteristics of a reusable bag design!