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Eco Friendly Facts

Eco Friendly Facts

Eco Friendly Facts. Gorilla Totes is the leading supplier of eco friendly promotional products such as custom reusable bags, reusable grocery bags, and wholesale tote bags.

Recycled Green Grocery Bags – Gorilla Totes – Eco Friendly Tote Bags

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Plastic/Paper Bag Problems & dangers: Eco Friendly Facts

Paper and plastic bags are a large threat to the environment as well as having a negative impact on our ecosystems. Their dangers are not only related to the large quantities of them that end up in landfills, but also the resources used to produce, transfer, and recycle them, as well as the emissions that result from these processes. The recycling of plastic emits heavy metals into the air causing extreme air pollution.

See our complete line of promotional advertising products at bagpromosdirect.com. This includes reusable tote bags, recycled bags, reusable water bottles, and more.

Americans consume more than 10 billion paper bags per year, and approximately 14 million trees are cut down every year for paper bag production. Paper bag production also requires hundreds of thousands of gallons of water as well as toxic chemicals like sulphurous acid, which can lead to acid rain and water pollution. Paper bags are unlikely to be used more than once, tear easily, and are made for one time usage. 80% of all paper bags end up in landfills. Once in a landfill, they do not biodegrade because of a lack of oxygen. They also take up much more space by weight and volume than plastic bags do.

Bag Promos Direct offers an efficient and practical solution to the problems of disposable plastic and paper bags with our eco friendly reusable bags. As the consumer, you will be playing an integral part in helping to reduce the impact of plastic/paper bag waste worldwide.

Plastic/Paper Bag Facts: Eco Friendly Facts

-A plastic bag takes 450 years to biodegrade.

-Approx. 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year.

-Approx. 100 billion of the 380 billion are plastic shopping bags.

-An estimated 4,000 barrels of oil a day are used for plastic bag manufacturing.

-The production of paper bags causes 70% more pollution than plastic

-Only 1 to 2% of plastic bags in the USA end up getting recycled

-Thousand of marine animals and more than 1 million birds die each year as a result of plastic pollution

-an average person will use over 350 plastic bags in a single year

-In 1999, more than 14 million trees were cut down to produce 10 billion paper bags that were used by Americans that year

-over 500,000 bags are used globally every minute

-The petroleum in 14 plastic bags could drive a car a mile

-disposable bags cost our cities up to 17 cents per bag for disposal

-paper and plastic bags contribute to global warming

-The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store

Myths: Eco Friendly Facts

Paper Bags are not a better choice than plastic bags. Paper bags have been considered a more eco friendly alternative, however considering their whole life cycle, you find a different result. Although they are made from a renewable resource and are biodegradable, when looking at paper bag manufacturing, usage, and disposal problems, you will see they are not a better alternative. Compared to plastic, making a paper bag emits 70% more global warming gases, creates 50 times more water pollution, uses 4 times more raw materials, and consumes 3.5 times more energy.

Once a plastic bag goes into a landfill, it degrades completely, right? Wrong!!!Here, nothing completely degrades due to the lack of water, light and oxygen that are necessary for the degradation process.

A common assumption is that once a plastic bag photo-degrades in a landfill, then it is gone for good.However, the plastic from a single-use bag never goes away, and toxic particles can enter the food chain when they are ingested by unsuspecting animals

Recycling is the answer right? Wrong!!!
Recycling has its place — in fact, we offer bags made of recycled PET because we support sustainable paths for the world’s overabundance of plastic. However, it’s not the solution to the plastic bag problem. Recycling rates for plastic bags are extremely low. Only 1 to 3% of plastic bags end up getting recycled. In addition, economics of recycling plastic bags are not appealing. From the process of sorting, to the contamination of inks and the overall low quality of the plastic used in plastics bags, recyclers would much rather focus on recycling the vast quantities of more viable materials such as soda and milk bottles that can be recycled far more efficiently. If the economics don’t work, recycling efforts don’t work.

Global Warming:Is it happening? Eco Friendly Facts

-Global warming, or climate change, shows no signs of slowing down

-Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius) around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades, according to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

-The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century’s last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, according to a number of climate studies. And the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850.

-The Arctic is feeling the effects the most. Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia have risen at twice the global average, according to the multinational Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report compiled between 2000 and 2004.

-Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss.

  • Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana’s Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later.
  • Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffered the worst bleaching- or die-off in response to stress- ever recorded in 1998, with some areas seeing bleach rates of 70 percent. Experts expect these sorts of events to increase in frequency and intensity in the next 50 years as sea temperatures rise.
  • An upsurge in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves, and strong tropical storms, is also attributed in part to climate change by some experts.

Are Humans causing it? Eco Friendly Facts

-The report, based on the work of some 2,500 scientists in more than 130 countries, concluded that humans have caused all or most of the current planetary warming. Human-caused global warming is often called anthropogenic climate change.

Industrialization, deforestation, and pollution have greatly increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, all greenhouse gases that help trap heat near Earth’s surface.

-Humans are pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than plants and oceans can absorb it.

-These gases persist in the atmosphere for years, meaning that even if such emissions were eliminated today, it would not immediately stop global warming.

-Some experts point out that natural cycles in Earth’s orbit can alter the planet’s exposure to sunlight, which may explain the current trend. Earth has indeed experienced warming and cooling cycles roughly every hundred thousand years due to these orbital shifts, but such changes have occurred over the span of several centuries. Today’s changes have taken place over the past hundred years or less.

-Other recent research has suggested that the effects of variations in the sun’s output are “negligible” as a factor in warming, but other, more complicated solar mechanisms could possibly play a role.

What’s Going to Happen?

-A follow-up report by the IPCC released in April 2007 warned that global warming could lead to large-scale food and water shortages and have catastrophic effects on wildlife.

-Sea level could rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 to 59 centimeters) by century’s end, the IPCC’s February 2007 report projects. Rises of just 4 inches (10 centimeters) could flood many South Seas islands and swamp large parts of Southeast Asia.

-Some hundred million people live within 3 feet (1 meter) of mean sea level, and much of the world’s population is concentrated in vulnerable coastal cities. In the U.S., Louisiana and Florida are especially at risk.

-Glaciers around the world could melt, causing sea levels to rise while creating water shortages in regions dependent on runoff for fresh water.

-Strong hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, and other natural disasters may become commonplace in many parts of the world. The growth of deserts may also cause food shortages in many places.

-More than a million species face extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems, and acidifying oceans.

-The ocean’s circulation system, known as the ocean conveyor belt, could be permanently altered, causing a mini-ice age in Western Europe and other rapid changes.

-At some point in the future, warming could become uncontrollable by creating a so-called positive feedback effect. Rising temperatures could release additional greenhouse gases by unlocking methane in permafrost and undersea deposits, freeing carbon trapped in sea ice, and causing increased evaporation of water.

How Paper and Plastic Bags Contribute to Global Warming: Eco Friendly Facts

Though most of us don’t realize it, manufacturing bags-plastic, compostable plastic and even paper bags-contributes significantly to global warming.

Greenhouse gases are the result of emissions caused by burning fossil fuels during the production of plastic and paper bags. The greenhouse effect is caused when infrared radiations from the earth’s surface are prevented from escaping into the outer space. The consequence is global warming.

Paper bags have the highest global warming impact per bag compared to other types of bags. According to the US EPA, 70% more global warming gasses are emitted making a paper bag than a plastic bag, and 50 times more water pollution. They also use 4 times more raw materials, and consume 3.5 times more energy. They also contribute to global warming by destroying trees. In 1999, the American Forest and Paper Association reported that Americans used 10 billion paper shopping bags, consuming 14 million trees.

The petroleum used to make 14 plastic bags is enough to drive a car a mile. The 380 billion plastic bags that Americans throw away each year are made from millions of barrels of petroleum, contributing to global warming, depleting oil supplies, and driving up costs of petroleum-based products like gasoline and energy for our homes.

Environmental Facts and Concerns:

Environmental Impact:

-Each year billions of plastic bags end up as ugly litter

-Plastic bags eventually break down into tiny toxic bits polluting our soil, river, lakes, and oceans

– Production of plastic bags requires vast amounts of oil which produce large amounts of green house gases

-countless animals needlessly die each year due to the litter caused from plastic bags as well as the pollution

-Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups

-When plastic “photo degrades”, it ends up in our oceans. Incidentally, it appears much like plankton, and then is consumed by fish. Fish eat it, and it winds up on your dinner table.

-The recipe for making paper bags starts with 1 part pulp, 400 parts water!!!! Now that’s a waste of water!!!!

-The recycling of plastic emits heavy metals into the air causing extreme air pollution. That’s terrible for the environment as well as those inhabiting it (YOU!!!!)

-Greenhouse gases are the result of emissions caused by burning fossil fuels during the production of plastic and paper bags. The greenhouse effect is caused when infrared radiations from the earth’s surface are prevented from escaping into the outer space. The consequence is global warming.

Negative Effects on Marine Animals and wildlife:

-Greenpeace says that at least 267 marine species are known to have suffered from getting entangled in or ingesting marine debris. Nearly 90% of that debris is plastic

-The United Nations Environment program estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean

-Plastic bags are often mistakenly ingested by animals, clogging their intestines, which results in death by starvation. Other animals or birds become entangled in plastic bags and drown or can’t fly as a result.

-Approx. 1 million seabirds, sea turtles, whales, and other marine mammals die each year by ingesting discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.

-nearly 80% of litter in the ocean comes from land-based sources

-the petroleum based plastics float on the ocean’s surface appearing as feeding grounds. Marine animals die because the plastic eventually fills their stomachs. It doesn’t pass and they literally starve to death.

-In some parts of the ocean, there are six pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton.

-Littered plastic bags are a deadly killer for wildlife. Many plastic bags blow out of trash cans to become inadvertent litter. They make their way onto our roadsides and into wildlife habitat.

Solutions: Eco Friendly Facts

In every study done, reusable bags are rated best for the environment. We believe that in five years, over 90% of the country will be using a reusable grocery bag. Similar to the positive effects that a hybrid car has on the environment, our reusable pp bags take a little petroleum and go a long way. Each of our bags is designed to replace two paper bags or up to 4 plastic bags each time it is used. They are manufactured with a high standard of quality in mind, which is reflected by their lifespan. They can be used weekly for two years or more. Over a lifetime, each bag will replace over 400 plastic bags. A small change here and there equals a large change for our environment.

Reusable bags go a long way in maintaining our environment and ensuring the health and safety of everyone. Aside from the practical uses of a reusable bag, they also: Eco Friendly Facts

  1. save trees
  2. save water
  3. save gas and oil
  4. help air pollution
  5. help our oceans
  6. help our sea creatures
  7. save 700+ bags over the span of their lifetime
  8. help our families

When considering the safety of our environment, preventing pollution, and ultimately preventing global warming, the solution lies in the use of reusable bags. Unlike paper bags, the production of reusable bags does not lead to emission of harmful greenhouse gases. They are made from non-woven polypropylene that is not only strong but can also be reused for a longer period. Let’s say NO to greenhouse gases by stopping the usage of paper and plastic bags and give the environment a fresh lease on life.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

A carbon footprint is “the total set of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product”

In other terms, it is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in a negative way.

We need to be responsible and environmentally conscious consumers and do whatever is necessary in hopes of reducing our carbon footprint. For many people, paying bills online is a no-brainer way to save time and resources. In addition to that, the use of reusable bags is a very important way one can reduce their carbon footprint. The use of reusable bags as well as other eco friendly products is a large step forward in ensuring the safety of our planet and promoting the importance of being and environmentally conscious consumer. At Custom Green Promos, it is our responsibility to manufacture and supply products that allow you to be environmentally conscious consumers.

As we stated, our mission is to produce and sell the most eco-friendly reusable bags, while promoting business practices that are conscious of the environment as well as respect the earth. It is our endeavor to facilitate the flow of eco friendly promotional items into the hands of businesses across the globe.  We are helping to make the planet a safe and environmentally friendly place for generations to come by producing reusable and environmentally friendly products. We strive towards a common goal of enabling people to be able to make these products a part of their everyday life.

By achieving these goals in which we have set out for ourselves, we are able to reduce our carbon footprint and allow you the ability to do the same. With these objectives in mind, we can move forward into the future knowing we are doing our part in preserving the environment and making this a better place for ourselves as well as our children. Eco Friendly Facts, reusable bags, green bags, eco bags.

Gorilla Totes – Eco Bags Wholesale

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