Is a Reusable Cotton Tote Bag Better Than a Plastic Bag?
Are Cotton Tote Bags really Better For The Environment Than Plastic Bags?
In today’s eco-conscious world, choosing between reusable cotton canvas tote bags and plastic bags may seem like an obvious decision. After all, plastic bags are often criticized for their environmental impact, and canvas totes are seen as a more sustainable option. But is the choice as clear-cut as it appears? Let’s explore the pros and cons, considering factors like production, usage, and the environmental footprint of both options, as well as whether an organic cotton tote offers significant benefits over a conventional cotton tote.
The Case Against Plastic Bags
The case against using single use plastic bags
Plastic bags, especially single-use ones, have long been vilified for their negative environmental impact. Globally, we use approximately 500 billion plastic bags each year. The main problems with plastic bags are their:
Non-biodegradability: Plastic bags can take anywhere from 10 to 1,000 years to decompose in landfills.
Litter and Wildlife Harm: Due to their lightweight nature, plastic bags often become litter, harming wildlife that may ingest them or become entangled in them.
Fossil Fuel Dependence: Most plastic bags are made from non-renewable petroleum-based products.
In response to these concerns, many cities and countries have implemented plastic bag bans or taxes to reduce consumption. But, while banning plastic bags may seem like an easy environmental win, replacing them with reusable alternatives—like cotton canvas tote bags—comes with its own set of challenges.
Should we use single use plastic bags for our shopping?
Is a cotton tote bag a more sustainable choice?
The Environmental Impact of Cotton Tote Bags
Cotton tote bags, while reusable and biodegradable, also have a significant environmental footprint—especially during production. Cotton farming is resource-intensive, requiring large amounts of water and pesticides. For instance, it can take 2,700 liters of water to produce just one cotton t-shirt, and the environmental costs of producing a tote bag are not much different.
A study by the Danish Ministry of Environment in 2018 revealed surprising findings: A cotton tote bag needs to be reused 7,100 times to make up for its higher environmental footprint compared to a plastic bag used once. This high number is largely due to the water and energy required to grow cotton, harvest it, and process it into fabric.
Organic Cotton Tote Bags: A Better Alternative?
Organic cotton tote bags are often marketed as a more sustainable option compared to conventional cotton totes. Organic cotton is grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, making it less harmful to ecosystems and reducing soil degradation. Additionally, organic cotton farming uses 91% less water than conventional cotton production, as reported by the Textile Exchange. You can find out more about the benefits of organic cotton over conventional cotton in our blog The Organic Cotton Revolution.
Which is better? A cotton or organic cotton tote bag?
But the question remains: is an organic cotton tote better for the environment? Here’s some benefits of choosing organic cotton over conventional cotton.
Water Use: As mentioned, organic cotton farming uses less water than traditional cotton farming, which can be a significant benefit, especially in water-scarce regions.
Pesticides: Organic cotton farming does not rely on synthetic pesticides, which protects biodiversity and prevents soil contamination.
Energy Use: Organic cotton requires less energy to grow, but the processing (turning it into a tote bag) often uses a similar amount of energy to conventional cotton.
Durability: Organic cotton totes tend to last just as long as conventional cotton totes, meaning they can be reused many times, reducing the need for frequent replacement.
However, the downside to organic cotton is that it typically has lower yields than conventional cotton farming. This means that more land is required to grow the same amount of cotton, potentially offsetting some of the environmental benefits.
Plastic vs. Cotton: Which is Truly Better?
Plastic or cotton shopping bags? Which is best?
When comparing the two options, the answer isn’t as straightforward as “cotton is better than plastic.” It all comes down to how many times you reuse the bag.
Plastic Bag (single-use): The average single-use plastic bag requires 0.48 megajoules (MJ) of energy to produce and emits 1.6 kg of CO2 per 1,000 bags .
Cotton Tote Bag: A cotton tote bag requires 170 MJ of energy to produce and has a carbon footprint of 272 kg of CO2—over 170 times that of a plastic bag .
However, once you start reusing the cotton tote multiple times, the environmental scales begin to tip in its favour. The key lies in how long the cotton tote lasts. If you use it daily, a cotton tote can last for years and eventually become the more eco-friendly choice.
The stats on the energy (MJ) and CO2 emissions for both plastic and cotton bags are derived from a life cycle assessment study by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food in 2018. Their report, which evaluated the environmental impacts of different types of shopping bags, provides detailed comparisons of the total energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across various bag types.
What About End-of-Life?
Plastic bags, even when used responsibly, are often not recycled due to the complexity of sorting thin plastics, and they generally end up in landfills or oceans. In contrast, cotton totes are biodegradable and can be composted under the right conditions, making them a more responsible choice for end-of-life disposal.
Conclusion: Which Bag Should You Choose?
If you are using a plastic bag only once and then disposing of it, the environmental impact is undeniably higher.
Cotton tote bags—whether organic or conventional—have a larger environmental impact upfront, but if reused consistently (potentially for years), they can be a more sustainable choice.
Organic cotton tote bags offer additional environmental benefits like reduced pesticide use and water savings but require more land and may come at a higher cost.
We sell a selection of organic cotton tote bags in lots of different prints. As they are organic they are a better choice than conventional cotton tote bags. Here are some examples and you can shop all the prints here.
To truly minimize your environmental footprint, choose a tote bag (whether organic cotton or conventional) that you can commit to reusing hundreds or thousands of times. And whenever possible, avoid single-use bags, whether plastic or paper. The future of sustainability doesn’t just lie in choosing “natural” materials but in how we consume and reuse the products we have.