One of the key challenges in tackling climate change is reducing the amount of waste that is produced in day to day human activities. One of the ways people have started to challenge this is through the use of reusable products and sustainable services that do not detract quality. This is one of the reasons why the cotton bag has become one of the most popular reusable bags on the planet – other kinds of products include green paper towels which are great for those families looking to better improve their eco-friendliness. Here are 4 of the interesting ways that cotton bags help to safeguard the environment. 

1. They reduce the number of plastic bags in landfills 

Cotton bags are highly reusable with many lasting a number of years. The high reusability means that anyone who adopts the product over plastic bags saves a lot of plastic bags from ending up in the landfill. An estimated 30-50 million plastic bags end up as part of the litter in our system every year. 

This has knock-on implications for the environment leading to increased pollution and threatening the life of many different species of wildlife. Increasing the adoption of cotton bags will reduce the amount of waste and help save money by reducing the pressure on landfill sites and the waste they need to process. 

• They can be a far less carbon-intensive process than plastic bags 

The manufacturing process for cotton bags is slightly more comprehensive than for plastic ones. The natural materials need to be harvested and processed in a few different stages. Whilst if the public continued to use cotton bags as a disposable product they would be worse than plastic bags; if manufacturers focused on developing cotton bags that would stand multiple different uses it would help reduce the carbon emissions for bag manufacturing overall. 

• They are made of sustainable biodegradable materials 

Cotton bags are made from the sustainable cotton plant. This crop is grown in warmer climates with much of thcotton e plant grown in southern states of the US, China, and India. Because the product comes from natural materials it is sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable.

• They help build trade in developing countries 

Whilst the production of cotton bags was mainly sourced from the US in the early years of the production of the product, the manufacturing process now takes place in many developing countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. This means that buying cotton bags from ethical sources helps both the environment and the poorer parts of the world.