Neither Paper nor Plastic

Hopefully, 'paper or plastic?' will soon be an obsoslete phrase, a cultural reference from bygone times. Legislation is also moving in this direction; TIME reported on 8 countries where plastic bags are either banned or will be within the next few years. And this growing trend is more than a green alternative. Although plastic bag manufacturers are resistant, reusable bags will soon be the norm.

And, this trend is one area where fashion consciousness can have measurable, environmentally beneficial results and celebrity culture can be harnessed for good.

In the article mentioned above, TIME reported that Anya Hindmarch's "I am Not a Plastic Bag" canvas tote is so coveted that the $15 bag can resell for up to $450 on eBay. Sightings of the bags on celebrities' shoulders in the UK have made them a hot ticket item. Apparently, they are as much a designer bag as the latest clutch. Stella McCartney's canvas tote costs hundreds, and the Louis Vuitton canvas bag costs thousands.

Whether eco conscious or self conscious, trendiness is not bad if it achieves the desired effect - fewer plastic bags in landfills. This is one trend that should not be dismissed glibly. It would be all to easy to disparage conspicuous, self conscious environmentalism and simply continue along unchanged, making this choice that leaves non-biodegradable waste. But if brand consciousness takes the lead, shifting the norm away from trillions of plastic bags, if that is the way that positive change happens, then it should be welcomed. This is an instance where brand consciousness can have an upside. Even at its worst, even if the Hindmarch bag is a mere status symbol, its wearer chose a reusable bag, instead of plastic. So what if one is not an avowed environmentalist, or activist. It is heartening to imagine that the norm will shift so much so that plastic bags become as unthinkable and passe as flourescent green blazers, or parachute pants.

If it becomes outre and, like, so totally uncool to use plastic bags, this change would happen like any other shift from one brand to another, phasing out the old completely. Remember the high top fade haircut? If consumers begin to prefer reusable bags, whether because of perceived status or environmental concern, this consumer choice, as it catches on, will lead to a marked decrease in the 1460 plastic bags that the average family of four in the US throws away each year.¹

Introduced as a convenience for the consumer, the plastic bag is the quintessential, universal, consumer item, "an icon of convenience culture," as Katharine Mieszkowski of Salon.com wrote. However, they are unnecesary. Trillions sit in landfills around the world.

Furthermore, consider the following:

Every year, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags after they've been used to transport a prescription home from the drugstore or a quart of milk from the grocery store. It's equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil.²

Ponder that for a second, with all its economic and political implications. The perils of our reliance on fossil fuels, and the environmenal impact of carbon emissions are well documented. Plastic bags are tightly woven into this unhealthy dependence, and decreasing their use will only have a positive impact.

Plastic bags not only exchaust a non-renewable natural resource, and a politically unstable one at that, they are also dangerous to ecosystems. They choke animals when they fall on them, they look like tasty jellyfish to the species that eat them. Plastic gets tangled up in wetlands, and sinks to the bottom of rivers and lakes, stifling their ecosystems.

Predictably, plastic bag producers point out that bags are recyclable, and resist the negative stigmatization this move toward recyclable bags is creating for their product. However, while they are recyclable, this is complicated, ineffective, and voluntary, as Salon.com describes here. The best way to weather this shift would be going with the flow of environmentalism, rather than resisting it. TIME reported that the Progressive Bag Alliance (the organization of major plastic bag makers) released a plastic bag that says, defiantly, "I Am a Plastic Bag, and I am 100% recyclable."

If plastic bag makers aren't careful, they could become the tobacco companies of environmental concern, a synonym for Bad Guy Big Corporation. And, it will be interesting to watch what this will mean for America's large retailers. Arriving home from shopping at Wal-Mart and Target could mean many, many plastic bags. Whatever the arrangement, it is certain that it will not go gently, where plastic bag producers can make a profit. However, until legislation forces change, consumers can make a difference, by simply carrying their own recycled bags to the store. Even when they are available for sale, or taxed as they are in Ireland, purchasing one or two to wrap leaky meats is one thing. Going home from each shopping trip with at least thirty is something else entirely. There is no plausible reason why already packaged goods should be carried in plastic bags, except forcustom and habit.

The Hindmarch bags demonstrate that consumers are definitely willing to pay for status, for the appearance of eco-consciousness. The genuineness of environmental concern is irrelevant. This trend is catching on, virally, as fashions do. Hopefully, it will continue to grow in strength, until plastic bags at checkout lines are completely gone, a 'what were we thinking!' memory of the bad old days.