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Marine world cottons on

The world’s first ‘Plastic Bag Free Day’, supported by the Marine Conservation Society, took place on 12 September 2009. The day was an attempt to reverse a trend that, in a 2008 litter survey, found 8,174 plastic bags littering UK beaches on just one weekend. On the day itself, around 140 towns and communities went ‘plastic bag free’ for 24 hours and Dr Sue Kinsey, MCS Pollution Programme Manager, was delighted with it: “This is a fantastic initiative and will hopefully act as an incentive for everyone to leave plastic bags at the check out.”

As the marine world comes down in favour of re-useable bags, made from degradable materials like cotton, Steve Anderson joint MD of KeepMe Bags is content that this annual expression of public conscience is a very positive sign of the times: “In the world of promotions and marketing, we all know that there are a hundred ways in which modern cotton bags are vastly superior to the old plastic ones. Happily, events like the Plastic Bag Free Day prove that the UK’s general public is becoming ever more conscious of that fact.”

But if the positives of cotton aren’t compelling enough to put re-useable bags on your promotional wish list, Steve Anderson thinks we would do well to consider the potential negatives of plastic: “Your marketing department is not going to be best pleased to see its branded plastic bag wrapped around the neck of a dying seabird on a public beach. It’s an extreme example I know but it’s also a realistic one. You can no longer think about just getting your name out there by any means available. You have to think carefully about the platform you use to achieve that and, in the world of bags, there remains nothing to beat cotton.”

Picture caption: The UK’s first ‘Plastic Bag Free Day’ is a sure sign that the benefits of the cotton bag are receiving even greater public recognition