If you are a business selling or producing goods of any kind, you must be aware how important it is to provide a good customer service. And this includes every step big or small – from warmly greeting the customers entering your store, answering their questions in a friendly manner, all the way to what carry bags you use. By using quality shopping bags you are sending a message to your customers that you are a business that cares deeply.
Moreover, shopping bags have a great importance as an advertising medium. Not only do they provide your business with a canvas on which it can put its logo, but they can also increase the trust a customer has in you. But deciding whether you should use paper or plastic bags is no easy task, so for that reason we’ve made a quick comparison to help you make up your mind.
Paper Bags
What do Nike, Topshop and Primark all have in common? Nothing much besides the fact that they are all famous brands which have completely shifted to paper bags! Well-designed paper retail shopping bags have a certain class which you cannot get from the plastic alternative. Packing the merchandise in a custom embellished paper bag can help you get the name of your company out on the streets. And since paper bags are reusable, you’ll essentially get free marketing from the many customers who might go grocery shopping with one of your sturdy bags.
And since we’re on the topic of sturdiness, it’s important to mention that besides the cloth bag which is rarely used in retail, the paper bag is the strongest choice. Especially the ones made out of kraft paper which is smooth, strong and has great water-resistant properties. There are also laminated models as well for even greater protection. When you send off customers with one of these bags, you make sure that they won’t return for a refund because rain destroyed their goods, or the bag broke and everything fell on the ground.
Another positive aspect of paper bags is that they are completely recyclable. Every paper bag can be brought back to life as another bag, or a whole other paper product such as notebooks, newspapers, and even toilet paper rolls. You can even tear paper bags into pieces and add them to your compost pile. Although they are made out of wood that needs to be cut down, paper bags do not damage the environment at all. The wood that goes into the paper bag production is a renewable resource and under great government supervision. Moreover, the production process itself uses far less chemicals than the one involving plastic bags. A huge hooray for the environment!
Plastic Bags
Plastic bags have a bad reputation due to the impact they have on the environment. Unlike paper, which decomposes fast and without any toxic effects, it can take years for plastic bags to break down after they’ve landed up in a landfill. According to an article in Slate magazine, plastic bags are not biodegradable at all, so it can take 500-1000 years for UV rays to destroy them. If every single store used plastic retail shopping bags, in 10 years there won’t be a square meter of Earth free from waste.
Cost-wise, they are a lot more affordable than paper bags. But if you consider that paper bags have the capacity to hold more stuff per bag, the costs can end up being even. And because plastic bags have far less strength and resistance, using them as a means to pack your goods is a bad idea. They can easily tear under pressure, which can damage anything that you might be carrying in them.