A new glossy plastic bag costs only about $.005- $.03 in the United States. At possibly the lowest price, you get a sturdy, colorful, and infinitely pliable item. What then is the issue? Plastic bags take up to 1000 years to degrade, and this means 1000 years of releasing toxic gasses and polluting their surroundings. So, if we were to look at the bigger picture, plastic ramifications are the infinite opposite of cheap.

The Bigger Picture: 

Oil is a source of plastic, and it has permeated every aspect of modernity since petrochemicals were first converted into it by chemical corporations. The 1950s saw a booming market for plastic, and it hasn't stopped a second from assimilating itself into our daily lives and becoming as ubiquitous as food and water. 

Plastic production is inexpensive, but getting rid of it is expensive. While recycling can be seen as an appealing solution to plastic pollution, it is starting to prove nothing more than a deafening roar. Had it been as successful as marketed, the world would have by now taken care of around 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic produced (so far) since its peak commercial period. Or keep the production of over 380 million tonnes of plastic yearly under control. Recycling plastic is proven to be ineffective— regardless of how much plastic debris we put in our bins, just about 9% gets recycled, and roughly 10 million tonnes go into the oceans annually. 

Despite these harsh plastic realities, businesses still continue to use plastic for their packaging needs.

Modern technological resources have unveiled many environmentally responsible packaging solutions. Yet businesses are not abandoning plastics. For example, Amazon.com, currently the world's e-commerce frontrunner, exclusively produced 465 million pounds of plastic packaging in 2019. So, why is it so difficult to operate packaging without plastic? Cost-cutting is the major factor that dominates the reason. Plastic packaging is frequently the least expensive choice for shipping products, particularly for e-commerce brands. 

Businesses must start taking responsibility to take care of the plant and reduce (or even refuse) their use of plastic. Companies who keep using plastic demonstrate how unbothered they are about what is good for their customers or the planet. And given that the number of consumers ready to pay more for sustainable goods is increasing rapidly, companies who continue to support plastic may lose a large percentage of their clientele. In a world where shoppers want to avoid single-use plastic, brands active in plastic shipping will not only suffer losses but also weaken their business identity. 

Consumers' demands and wants are evolving, and it is up to brands and companies to ensure satisfaction. No matter how hot the brand's items are, they risk becoming irrelevant without the efforts to become more sustainable or ethical. Keeping this in mind, many companies have started utilizing eco-friendly packaging. For example, they are using bulk drawstring bags as dust bags to pack their items over single-use plastic and paper bags. Some are also encouraging customers to bring their cloth shopping bags. 

Overall brand impression and identity transformations can have a big impact on how well businesses operate. Companies must accelerate the practice of being more environmentally friendly. Those still not playing their part should start; if not, the price to pay can be too expensive— falling short, losing customers, and ultimately, going out of business. 

Gallant International supports and promotes plastic-free packaging through our eco-friendly wholesale muslin bags and other products.