Thinking Differently: Leaders of Innovation, Apple Patents Environmentally Friendly Paper Shopping Bag

Photograph: USPTO

Apple has long been at the forefront of the consumer electronic industry. Impacting and forever changing culture and societies across the globe through innovation and ingenuity.

In the summer of 2015, the founder of Modern Arts Packaging was reading an article about Apple’s new highly anticipated, self-sufficient headquarters being built in Cupertino, CA. As a frequent Apple Store patron, he was surprised to realize that such a forward thinking and ECO conscious company was still getting their shopping bags so wrong.
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Environmental Evaluation Guide – Shopping Bag Base Materials: ECO Truth Series

The decision to go “green” and develop environmentally friendly shopping bags and retail packaging presents no shortage of conflicting ethical, practical and legal factors to consider.

The base material your packaging is manufactured from is one of the most important elements to review. Optimal Eco-conscious base materials are made from recycled or renewable content that is easily available.

Mixing materials makes recycling in standard waste streams a challenge. The best solution utilizes a die-cut handle or another handle style that is the same base material as the bag. Laminated finishes add a plastic coating to paper and make recycling difficult. Most plastic laminate films will also not degrade naturally.

The guide below is to help you make educated material choices when developing environmentally conscious shopping bags and packaging. However, all projects are specific to individual needs. Contacting a retail packaging specialist at ModernArts will assure your brand’s Eco-friendly packaging efforts are on track.

Green, Eco Friendly Shopping Bag and Retail Packaging Base Material Guide

shopping bag and retail packaging base material eco friendly guide
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The True Cost of Fashion and the Shopping Bags It Leaves The Store In

The True Cost Movie is a must see to fully understand the darker side of fashion manufacturing and production.

After you view this stunning and groundbreaking documentary you will easily make the connection from the garments and accessories that are the subject of this film to the bags, boxes and packaging those items go home with the consumer in.

Another stark reminder of the need for responsibly sourcing your retail packaging. At Modern Arts we offer a wide range of environmentally friendly packaging and shopping bags. Our production facilities are also highly responsible and held to strict labor standards.

Just as consumers should be demanding more responsibility from the companies supply our clothing, the same should be true for custom retail packaging and shopping bags.

Packaging News Alert: Self-Serving Data Endangers Legitimacy and Use of 40% PCW Content Legislation.

The Rise of Self-Serving Data: A Growing Problem in The Packaging Industry.

Self-serving data refers to claims or “guarantees” issued by best parties, such as paper mills that are selling paper; converting mills that are selling packaging; and governments that are supporting or subsidizing commerce for export. Each of these official bodies can issue documents/letters asserting the 40% PCW content of shopping bags, as an example, which when tested by “third-party” accredited labs in the USA yields different or inconclusive results.

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LATEST PACKAGING ALERT: THE 40% PCW DEBATE IN THE NEWS

40% Post Consumer Waste Content

FACTS ABOUT 40% POST-CONSUMER-WASTE CONTENT (PCW)

In our ongoing research and follow-up with paper mills, we have found that supporting the 40% Post-Consumer Waste (PCW) requirement with integrity is much more difficult than what seemed possible at first glance. Many paper sources/mills claim to produce paper with recycled content, but when third-party testing is utilized one finds contradictions, distorted data —much confusion.

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Packaging and the Environment: Reality, Ethics, Law, $$

Green Paper Plant

Taking care of the environment is now part of our legislation and of our future. The laws are ever-changing and the fines for non-compliance continue to occur, increase. What’s more, you may not have a have a team of experts that can address –foresee– the newest changes; and you need a packaging source that realistically addresses the laws (before the fines knock at your door!). You also demand award-winning packaging that has great graphics and promotional value. This is a tall order; however, unique eco-certified packaging can now be part of your solution. The following steps will afford greater sustainability and compliance with the laws…

When Choosing a Packaging Source, Inquire About These Topics:

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A Sack Standoff in the Checkout Aisle

The plastic bags shoppers use to carry their goods home from the store have become an environmental battleground, and statistics are a key weapon in the fight.

Cities around the U.S. have banned or considered banning the bags because of their environmental impact. Manufacturers of the sacks have dueled with environmentalists and makers of reusable bags over carbon footprints. And last week, a maker of reusable bags settled a lawsuit filed by a plastic-bag manufacturer over competing numerical claims on bags’ imprint on the environment.

Reusable-bag makers, which market sacks made of sturdy canvas or recycled plastic meant for years or a lifetime of use, claim disposable plastic bags impose a big burden on the environment and deplete fossil fuels. Plastic-bag makers counter that a large proportion of their bags are reused or recycled, and that reusable bags must be washed frequently, diminishing their green credentials.

NUMBGUY

Associated PressA recent suit laid bare how much remains unknown about plastic and reusable bags’ environmental impact.

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Modern Arts and DuPont Partner on Tyvek Shopping Bags Project

Only now are we realizing the tremendous advantages of using Tyvek for shopping bags.  Tyvek is considerably stronger than non-woven base material so it is much more “reusable” and has a much longer usable life.  And Tyvek is washable in a way that non-wovens aren’t.

Tyvek can be printed in sophisticated designs and a full spectrum of colors.

So we at Modern Arts are teaming up with our partners at DuPont, and our colleagues at a manufacturing plant south of the border, to experiment with making Tyvek shopping bags in exciting shapes, new sizes and vibrant colors.

We’ll keep you posted on how it works out.

Mayor Bloomberg Wants a Plastic Bag Tax

Mayor Bloomberg Wants a Plastic Bag Tax

New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg wants to raise money to help offset the current financial crisis. He has proposed a 5 cent tax on every plastic bag, following in the footsteps of San Francisco and Seattle. New Yorkers use an estimated 1 billion plastic bags a year. The tax could raise an estimated 16 million dollars a year.

San Francisco bans plastic bags unless they are biodegradable, while a proposed 20-cent fee in Seattle is on hold pending a challenge. In Ireland, a 33-cent fee pushed plastic bag use down 94%.

New York considered a plastic bag tax earlier this year but settled for a mandatory recycling program, figuring most stores would just switch to paper, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) said.

Ikea tried charging customers a nickel per bag, but when demand for its 70 million bags a year dropped 92%, the chain just eliminated them.

“There’s a positive impact on the environment,” spokesman Joseph Roth said. “It certainly has not hindered our sales, and it has helped our reputation.”

Some grocery chains already give customers a discount for every cloth bag they bring. Whole Foods switched its stores to paper bags this year, even though the plastic industry insists paper bags are worse for the environment.