Paper Bags | 1 Bag At A Time

Paper Bags

For a long time, paper bags were considered a more environmental alternative. However, consider their whole life cycle and you find a different story.

We often think of paper bags as a better alternative for the environment, and no doubt, there are some benefits. They are biodegradable.  They don’t threaten marine animals if they end up in our oceans. They are easier to recycle than plastic bags.

Still, overall, disposable paper bags are as questionable as disposable plastic bags when you look at the bigger picture. Take a look at paper bag manufacturing, usage, and even disposal problems. You will see why they are not a better choice.

Compared to plastic, making a paper bag:

• emits 51% more global warming gasses
• creates 50 times more water pollution
• uses 4 times more raw materials
• consumes 2 times more energy

Once used, paper bags are unlikely to be re-used. They tear easily and disintegrate when wet. So even if they are recycled, they cause emissions and waste while we truck them to a new processing center, reprocess them, and then truck the new ones back for another use.

There is another problem with paper bag recycling.  Only about 80% percent of all paper bags end up in landfills. There, they often do not biodegrade for decades, or perhaps hundreds of years, because of a lack of oxygen. Bag for bag, they cost more to landfill than plastic bags because they take up much more space by weight and volume. Recent studies suggest we may consider landfill more like long term storage for paper than a mechanism for biodegrading.

Every government study has shown reusable bags to be by far the best choice for the environment. Help keep our forests green and use shopping bags wholesale!

Request information about how easy you can get bags for your business, school or group today.

« Plastic Bags in Our Forests Bag Comparison Chart »

Bags and the Environment

• Plastic Bags and Petroleum
• Plastic Bags and Climate Change
• Plastic Bags in Our Oceans
• Plastic Bags in Our Forests
• Paper Bags
• Bag Comparison Chart
• There is No Free Bag
• Plastic Bag Clean Up Costs
• Reusable Bags Help Businesses
• Reusable Bags Help Consumers
• Measuring Plastic Bag Impacts
• Reduce Reuse Recycle

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I’ve Been Using Them for 12 Years!

I see your best seller guarantees 2 years of regular use – OMG – I’VE BEEN USING THEM FOR 12 YEARS!  And still using them.  I’ve used them weekly to go grocery store and washed them quarterly since I purchased them in 2004!!  I haven’t purchased another bag since I bought yours.

I still use it to this day

I bought my first 1Bagatatime bag in 2005 from a local produce stand, Kordell's in Lake Oswego, OR. I still use it to this day in 2015 on a weekly basis. I thought it was a great idea then, and look, now every store asks "Do you have your reusable bags with you?"

The bags are exactly what we wanted

Every Earth Week, we give away 20,000 free custom reusable bags. 1 Bag at a Time is attentive and responsive and offers us great customer service! The bags are exactly what we wanted (and come in right on budget) and our customers look forward to them every year.  

Allison Weinhagen Director of Community Engagement / City Market, Onion River Co-op

The quality of the bags is so good

The Mountain Lodge Telluride has been purchasing top quality bags from 1 Bag At a Time for the past 5 or 6 years. We use the bags as a marketing tool for our Lodge and give them away in each room upon arrival so our guests can use the bags for local shopping and therefore cut down on plastic bags contaminating our planet. The quality of the bags is so good people take them home and re-use them. We have images of our property along with our name and website. I have seen our bags in Australia, Europe, South America and all over the United States. They are very popular and the marketing value is unbeatable.

Neil Hastings Director, Sales and Marketing / Mountain Lodge Telluride

Excellent service

We’ve been a customer of 1 Bag at a Time for approximately 10 years and have always received excellent service, competitive pricing, and a top-notch product. Lisa is very responsive and great to work with

Norma Angel Sr. Administrative Analyst / Santa Monica Public Library

We love our 1 Bag at a Time

We (here at LifeSource Natural Foods) love our 1 Bag at a Time reuseable grocery bags. Because we change our color combination and/or design with each order, our customers collect them and use them whenever they shop elsewhere. And, the customer service is great, too!

Roxanne Magnuson Marketing and Outreach Director / LifeSource Natural Foods

Excellent customer service – with 1 Bag at a Time

At Harvest Co-op Market, we have been repeat customers for 10 years. We not only wanted a good quality, long lasting bag for environmental reasons, but we also wanted to be sure that workers were treated responsibly. We found both - along with excellent customer service - with 1 Bag at a Time

Christopher Durkin Director of Membership and Community Relations / Harvest Co-op Market