CAIRO: Tired of those non-biodegradable plastic bags? Looking for a greener alternative? Then Carrefour's Ecological Bag is just the thing for you. The project, started in June 2008, hopes to eliminate plastic bag usage one shopping trip at a time. Plastic does not decay naturally and can only be disposed of by burning or disposing of it in landfills. Burning releases gaseous emissions, harming both humans and wildlife. Eco-bags, or eco-totes like the one in the picture above are usually hand stitched and made of either organic or recycled cotton, in order to produce less waste. According to popular U.K. store, Tesco, some bags are made out of recycled plastic. They come in a variety of shapes. “Bottle bags” for instance, are long and thin, designed to hold one or two bottles. Customers purchase Ecological bags for five pounds each. According to Carrefour's website, using one bag four times decreases plastic bag production by 18%, which reduces the effect of greenhouse gas emissions by 20%. Using it twenty times leads to an 82% plastic bag decrease, and an 80% emission reduction. But has this project been successful here in Egypt? Carrefour customer and fellow eco-bag owner, Heba Rifaat, believes that most Egyptians are not aware of the wastefulness of plastic bags, or the benefit of Carrefour's bags. “I don't know anyone who uses them” she said. Some customers like Marlie Gommans first learned about these bags from retail stores abroad. “I had brought one from Holland, and after that I saw them in Carrefour and straight away I bought some” Gommans said. Compared to Carrefour, international stores like Tesco provide a lot more advertising. The totes themselves have also had advertisements and store logos on them. Carrefour's first phase was to introduce the bag in its stores, but other than the website, there is little evidence of advertising campaigns to encourage customers to use them. The bag itself rips easily, but the good news is that damaged bags can be replaced free of charge. “I replaced one of them before” Rifaat said. Five reasons why eco-bags are good for you: 1. Well, first things first, using one eco-bag repeatedly reduces dependency on plastic, decreasing oil consumption and pollution. 2. Eco-bags are made out of organic or recycled cotton and other recycled materials. The problem with standard cotton is its high pesticide usage. Large amounts of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and soil additives are detrimental to soil, air, and water. Organic cotton is better because it costs less to produce and uses environmentally friendly methods. The downside is that it takes longer to yield a crop. Even better than both standard and organic is recycled cotton. This way, harsh dye and pesticide usage is decreased, as well as water and human labor required for yielding standard and organic cotton. Recycling also decreases textile waste each year. 3. Each eco-bag holds twice as much as regular plastic ones. Not only that, but they are designed for convenience. They have soft, long, fabric handles, making it easier to carry over the shoulder, leaving your hands free. 4. There's no need to worry about the cleanliness of repeated use as they're washable. 5. It's cheaper in the long run. Sure you buy a few bags in the beginning, but if they're good quality you wouldn't need to buy more. Not only that, but eco-bags encourage you to shop smarter, choosing fewer items with less packaging. Eco Options Egypt
