In the context of global environmental deterioration, the shift from single-use plastics to sustainable packaging has become an irreversible trend. Eco bags, including non-woven bags and paper bags, have become the preferred alternative for enterprises and consumers to pursue green development. However, the controversy of “which one is more environmentally friendly” has existed for a long time.
This article will carry out a comprehensive bag comparison from multiple environmental protection dimensions, analyze the consumption of bag resources, bag sustainability, and bag value, provide guidance for enterprises to make wise choices, and highlight the sustainable solutions of Zhongjin.
Production process: Non-woven handbag is made of polypropylene (PP) fiber, which is made by spunbonding, heat bonding or chemical bonding, without the need for traditional textile processes. Compared with traditional textile technology, this production method is more energy-saving and reduces carbon emissions.
Core features: Lightweight, waterproof and moisture-proof, reusable, typical service life of 10-55 times, as a high-quality reusable bag and green bag, can effectively reduce the environmental impact of disposable plastic.
Zhongjin non-woven handbag series: Zhongjin provides diversified non-woven bag products, including recycled PP non-woven bags, biodegradable non-woven bags and reinforced reusable non-woven bag, covering daily shopping, commercial promotion and other application scenarios.
Cheap Promotional Heat Sealed Non Woven Bag
Production process: Paper bags are made by processing wood pulp or recycled paper into paper, and then forming, bonding and other processes. The production process consumes a lot of water and energy, and the production of wood pulp may involve the risk of deforestation – according to industry data, it takes 20 tons of water to produce 1 ton of wood pulp, and it may also cause forest ecological damage.
Core features: It is biodegradable and recyclable, but it has poor water resistance and limited reusability, usually only 3-10 times. Although it is often promoted as an eco-friendly bag, the high resource consumption in its production process and the limitations of its use scenarios make its actual environmental impact undeniable.
Common types in the market: They mainly include kraft paper bags, coated paper bags, and laminated paper bags. Among them, although the coated paper bag and the laminated paper bag have improved waterproofness through coating, the coating material (such as PE film) will cause the recycling difficulty to increase significantly, seriously reducing the sustainability of the bag, and in most cases can only be treated as non-recyclable waste.
Generality
Both can replace disposable plastic bags, reduce plastic pollution and short-term environmental pressure, conform to the development concept of eco bag, and are an important carrier for enterprises to practice green responsibility and consumers to convey environmental protection attitude.
Unique proposition
Non-woven bag (non-woven bag) takes durability and reusability as the core advantages, reduces the frequency of bag replacement to reduce long-term environmental costs, and is suitable for multiple scenarios. Paper bags are mainly sold as “natural materials” and “biodegradable”, but the high water consumption and energy consumption in the production process and the low practicality in use are the main shortcomings of their environmental attributes.
Resource input: The core raw material is polypropylene (PP). Zhongjin’s recycled PP non-woven handbag is made of more than 80% recycled plastic waste. Compared with the original PP material, it reduces the dependence on fossil fuels by 40%. At the same time, it reduces the pollution of plastic waste to the environment.
Carbon footprint: The carbon emissions in the production process are low, with only 8kg of carbon dioxide emitted for every 1000 bags. Through the optimization of energy-saving production lines (such as waste heat recovery technology), Zhongjin further reduces carbon emissions by 15%, lower than the industry average.
The size and material thickness of the eco non-woven sewing tote bag can be customised.
Resource input: It requires a large amount of wood pulp (only about 800 standard paper bags can be produced from one tree) or recycled paper (the processing process requires an additional 20% of chemical agents); In addition, the production of each paper bag requires about 15 liters of water, which is 187 times that of non-woven handbags.
Carbon footprint: Carbon emissions are significantly higher, with 15kg of carbon dioxide emissions per 1000 bags, which is 1.8 times that of non-woven shopping bags; At the same time, paper bags are heavier (3-5 times heavier than non-woven bags of the same specification), and carbon emissions increase by 10% to 15% in the transportation process.
Repeated use: The standard model can be used 10-5 times, and the Zhongjin reinforced non-woven handbag (using double-layer fiber and reinforced stitching) can be used more than 80 times, equivalent to replacing hundreds of disposable plastic bags, reducing the waste of resources in repeated packaging.
Long-term value: The cost of single use is low (0.02- 0.05 USD / time), and the economy of long-term use is significant; At the same time, the printing surface of the bag body is durable (water-based ink is not easy to fade), which is conducive to bag branding (bag branding) – such as printing the enterprise logo, which can realize brand exposure and enhance the value of the bag through repeated use by consumers.
Repeated use: It can only be used 3-10 times, and it is easy to tear and break when it comes into contact with water, and it cannot even be used 2 times in a humid environment, making it difficult to achieve long-term reuse; If it is a coated paper bag, the coating will easily fall off after repeated use, further shortening its service life.
Long-term value: The cost of single use is high (0.10- 0.20 USD / time), which is 4-10 times that of non-woven handbags; Printing is easy to fade due to wear and tear and moisture, and the branding effect of bags lasts for a short time and has low long-term value.
Recyclability: PP material has a mature recycling path. Zhongjin provides exclusive recycling solutions for bulk customers (such as regular door-to-door recycling). The material recycling rate is as high as 90%. The recycled PP can be reprocessed into new non-woven shopping bags or other environmentally friendly products.
End of life cycle: Zhongjin biodegradable non-woven handbag can be completely degraded in the natural environment in 1-3 years, with no residual microplastics (certified by SGS); Even if it does not enter the recycling system, it will not pollute the environment for a long time like traditional plastics.
Eco Non Woven Sewing Tote Bag with Hard Bottomboard4
Recyclability: Uncoated kraft paper bags can be recycled, but the number of times they can be recycled is limited (only 5-7 times), and each recycling requires additional water and energy. Due to the mixed material of the film and the coated paper bag, they are difficult to separate and recycle, and most of them end up in landfills.
End of life cycle: Although it can be biodegraded within 2-6 months, if non-environmental inks (such as oil-based inks containing heavy metals) are used, harmful chemicals will be released during the degradation process, causing secondary pollution to the soil or water body.
Advantages: It is waterproof (can handle shopping on rainy days), foldable and easy to store (only the size of the palm after folding), and suitable for outdoor and humid environments; The load capacity is strong (usually 5-10 kg), meeting the needs of daily shopping and moving items.
Advantages of Zhongjin: Zhongjin non-woven handbag supports thickness customization (50-125 grams / square meter) – such as lightweight model (50-80 grams / square meter) suitable for daily carry, reinforced model (100-130 grams / square meter), using double stitching process, weight capacity increased to 8-10 kg, balancing practicality and durability.
Limitations: Poor water resistance (softens and breaks when exposed to water), weak load-bearing capacity (usually 2-3kg, unable to carry heavy objects); It occupies a lot of space (cannot be folded, needs to be stacked for storage), is not convenient to carry, and is basically unusable in rainy or humid environments.
Market gap: It cannot meet the needs of heavy loads (such as supermarket purchases and industrial parts transportation) and humid environments (such as farmers’ markets and outdoor activities), and is not practical in most daily and commercial scenarios. It needs to be used with other packaging.
Supermarket / Retail (frequent reuse): Preferably choose Zhongjin reinforced non-woven handbag – Its waterproof and durability can meet consumers’ repeated shopping needs, reduce store packaging costs (1 reinforced bag can replace 50 + disposable bags), and improve consumers’ awareness of the enterprise’s environmental protection image through bag branding.
Luxury brand (one-time gift): The paper bag can be used for one-time gift packaging (reflecting high-end texture), but it is recommended to pair it with a small non-woven handbag from Zhongjin (such as a foldable portable one) to guide consumers to reuse it, balance “brand tone” and “environmental responsibility”, and avoid the waste of resources in one-time packaging.
Consumers with strong environmental awareness: Recommend Zhongjin Reborn PP or biodegradable non-woven handbag, highlight the environmental protection attributes such as “80% recycled materials” and “fully biodegradable” through bag branding (such as printing exclusive environmental protection logo), resonate with the audience’s environmental protection concept, and enhance brand goodwill.
General consumers: Focusing on promoting the convenience (e.g., foldable, easy to clean) and durability (e.g., “one bag can be used for half a year”) of non-woven bag, reducing the threshold for consumers to use eco-friendly products, and gradually cultivating their reuse habits.
Cost-effective and environmentally friendly choice: The cost advantage of Zhongjin non-woven handbag is significant – a single purchase can meet the needs of 6-12 months of use (for example, supermarkets use 1,000 per month, and 12,000 can be ordered at once), reducing the time and manpower cost of repeated purchases, and the long-term comprehensive cost is 40% lower than that of paper bags.
Short-term high-end budget: Short-term promotional activities or high-end activities (such as new product launches) can use paper bags in moderation, but the number should be controlled (it is recommended not to exceed 30% of the total packaging), and non-woven handbags should be used as the main force to avoid the environmental protection goal from being missed due to frequent use of paper bags.
Zhongjin provides free sample sets (including samples of various types of non-woven handbags and paper bags) to help enterprises conduct practical scene tests (such as load-bearing and waterproof comparison); At the same time, according to the industry, scale, and environmental protection goals of enterprises, customize exclusive solutions (such as recommending reinforced models for retail enterprises and biodegradable models for food enterprises), and provide exclusive after-sales teams to follow up on feedback to ensure the effectiveness of the solution.
Feature: Made from 80% recycled plastic waste, it complies with the GRS (Global Recycling Standard) certification; Lightweight (60-80 grams per square meter), wear-resistant and waterproof, the quality is not lower than that of bags made of raw materials, while reducing plastic waste pollution.
Application: Supermarkets, convenience stores, and chain retail enterprises are suitable for enterprises that pursue the dual goals of “cost-effectiveness + environmental protection”.
Black Eco Reusable Eco Non Woven Sewing Tote Bag
Characteristics: Using biodegradable PP material, it can be completely degraded in household or industrial composting environments, in line with OK Compost and ASTM D6410 international certification, with no toxic residues, suitable for food contact scenarios.
Applications: Food stores, farmers’ markets, zero-waste stores, suitable for industries with high requirements for “material safety” (such as fresh produce, baking).
Features: Thickness 100- 120 grams / square meter, reinforced with double stitching at the connection between the handle and the bag body, can carry up to 8-10 kg; The surface is covered with a waterproof coating, which can cope with humid environments, and its service life exceeds 80 times, making it the core choice for high-frequency reuse scenarios.
Application: Large supermarkets, corporate gifts, outdoor events, suitable for scenarios that require long-term reuse and focus on durability.
Process: Water-based ink printing technology is adopted – it is non-toxic and odorless, does not contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), complies with EU environmental protection standards, and there are no pollutants in the printing process, avoiding the harm to the environment caused by traditional oil-based inks.
Options: Support the printing enterprise logo, environmental protection slogans (such as “reuse, reduce waste”), QR code (link to the enterprise environmental protection report or brand story), deeply integrate the branding of the bag with the concept of environmental protection, and enhance the social value of the brand.
Provide personalized design solutions: custom sizes (A4 to XXL, Customization of different items), customization of color (accurate matching of Pantone color card with enterprise VI), customization of accessories (such as adding inner pockets, zippers, lanyards), ensuring that the non-woven handbag is consistent with the enterprise brand image and conveys unified brand values.
Certifications: Zhongjin non-woven handbag has passed multiple international certifications: ISO 140001 environmental management system certification (environmentally friendly production process), GRS global recycling standard certification (compliant with recycled materials), OK Compost compostable certification (compliant for biodegradable products), ensuring that the product’s environmental attributes can be traced and verified.
Transparency: For bulk orders, provide a detailed “Sustainability Report” that includes data on the consumption of bag resources, such as water per 1,000 bags. electricity consumption), carbon emission data, the proportion of recycled materials, etc., to help enterprises clearly grasp the environmental contribution of packaging, so as to facilitate the disclosure of environmental protection achievements.
Q1: Are there any scenarios where paper bags are more suitable than reusable bags (such as Non woven Bag ) ?
A1: Exists. In scenarios such as high-end gift packaging and short-term art exhibitions, the “natural texture” and “one-time aesthetics” of paper bags can meet brands’ needs for packaging style. However, it is recommended to use reusable bags made of non-woven fabric to guide reuse – for example, luxury stores use paper bags to pack gifts, and at the same time, they provide foldable non-woven fabric bags, which not only ensure the grade of gifts, but also avoid the waste of resources in disposable packaging.
Q2: How thick should the Non woven Bag be for daily use?
A2: It depends on the use scenario: for daily light use (such as carrying a mobile phone, keys, and a few items), choose 50-8 grams per square meter, light and easy to carry; For shopping and moving items, choose the reinforced version of 100- 120 grams per square meter, which has better durability and load-bearing capacity. Zhongjin can customize the thickness according to specific needs to ensure the balance between “practicality” and “lightness”.
Q3: Will Non woven Bag release microplastics?
A3: Low-quality non-woven handbags may release microplastics due to poor material quality or inadequate processing. However, Zhongjin products use high-purity PP materials (or biodegradable materials) and undergo strict microplastic testing (SGS certification) – especially the biodegradable version, which does not release microplastics during degradation and meets food contact standards in terms of safety.
Q4: Is the Non woven Bag of Zhongjin more environmentally friendly than the paper bag?
A4: From the perspective of comprehensive environmental protection, yes. Zhongjin non-woven bag is superior to paper bag in terms of resource consumption (water, electricity, raw materials), carbon footprint, and number of times it can be reused. Although paper bags can be quickly biodegraded, the high resource consumption in the production process and the low practicality in use make their overall environmental protection inferior to that of non-woven handbags. For example, 1,4920 liters of water and 7kg of carbon dioxide are saved for every 1000 Zhongjin non-woven shopping bags compared to paper bags.
Q5: Can Zhongjin’s Non woven Bag achieve brand customization without affecting sustainability?
A5: Absolutely. Zhongjin’s brand customization service is based on the premise of “environmental protection”: printing uses water-based ink (no VOCs emissions), avoiding the pollution of traditional oil-based ink; During the customization process, no extra materials are added (such as non-recyclable coatings), and customization options for recycled and biodegradable materials are provided to ensure that branding and sustainability do not conflict.
Q6: How does the bag resource consumption of Zhongjin Non woven Bag compare with that of paper bag?
A6: Comparison of resource consumption per 1,000 bags: Zhongjin non-woven handbag consumes 80 liters of water and 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity; The paper bag consumes 15,000 liters of water and 120 kilowatt-hours of electricity – the water consumption of Zhongjin products is only 0.5% of the paper bag, and the electricity consumption is only 41.7% of the paper bag. In addition, Zhongjin uses 80% recycled materials, reducing dependence on virgin resources, while paper bags rely on wood pulp, which may lead to the consumption of forest resources.
Q7: Does Zhongjin provide recycling support for used non-woven shopping bags?
A7: Yes. For batch enterprise customers, Zhongjin provides a closed-loop service of “recycling – remanufacturing”: it collects used non-woven shopping bags on a regular basis, transports them to a cooperative professional recycling factory for crushing and melting processing, and remanufactures PP fibers to produce new non-woven shopping bag; At the same time, we provide customers with a “Recycling Impact Report” that details the amount of recycling, the amount of resources saved (for example, recycling 1,000 bags can save 3 kg of virgin PP), and the amount of carbon reduction, helping enterprises achieve environmental management of the entire life cycle of packaging.
Regarding the controversy about the environmental friendliness of non-woven bag and paper bag, It cannot be judged by a single dimension (such as whether it is biodegradable) – from the comprehensive perspective of resource consumption, reusability, recyclability, and practicality, the environmental advantages of non-woven shopping bags are more significant and more in line with the long-term sustainable development needs.
As a professional manufacturer of eco bags, Zhongjin Packaging has always been committed to“environmental protection + Practical + Brand Value”The core is to create a diversified series of non-woven handbag series such as recycled PP, biodegradable, reinforced, etc., and help enterprises enhance their brand influence while practicing environmental responsibility through bag branding services and transparent certification.
In the future, Zhongjin will continue to invest in research and development to promote the upgrading of the environmental protection packaging industry. If your company is looking for a reliable and sustainable packaging partner, please visit the official website of Zhongjin or contact a professional team to obtain customized solutions and jointly contribute to the global environmental protection cause.
