Though the debate in Chicago’s City Council was vigorous, aldermen voted 36-10 to ban plastic bags on April 30. The biggest city in the Midwest will ban plastic bags entirely in chain stores beginning in 2015. Smaller retailers are exempt from the legislation until 2016. Rather than settling for a fee or discount when shoppers didn’t bring bags to the store, the Council’s decision means reusable wholesale grocery bags will be the norm in the Windy City. The legislation, sponsored by Alderman...

As California plastic bag bans celebrate their anniversaries and officials ponder a statewide ban, it’s come time to look east. New York City’s City Council already has more than 20 supporters of a minimum 26 needed to move a plastic bag law forward. Is this New York’s time to embrace reusable wholesale shopping bags for good? Considering the disastrous effects plastic bags have had on the Big Apple, most people hope the law’s time has arrived. Like many laws banning or charging a fee for...

Business owners hoping to show their green stripes have a variety of options at their disposal today. You can run a paper-free workplace, run HVAC equipment at high efficiency standards or change every light bulb to a compact fluorescent model. These efforts make a big impact, but custom shopping bags provide you with a two-sided opportunity to do something green and spread the word in the community simultaneously. Drop Single-Use Bags You’ll hear statistics about plastic bags and their...

Lost in the hype of plastic bag bans across the country is the impact legislation has on the entire community. Once single-use bags disappear, members of the community begin conserving resources in many other ways. There is a palpable “green” domino effect. It starts with wholesale custom shopping bags and extends to composting efforts as well as the resources cities use to haul trash from one place to another. A perfect example is the city composting effort undertaken in San Francisco....

Of all the states hurt by plastic bag pollution in local seas, Rhode Island may feel the most pain. For this reason, state officials are sponsoring a bill that would ban plastic bags at checkout counters throughout the Ocean State. While there are communities in Rhode Island that have already banned plastic bags, this legislation would make them disappear from all checkout counters in the state. In an area that is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and has 30 islands off its coast and the...

Less than a year after failing in an attempt to ban plastic bags in Chicago, City Council members have the votes to deliver an even stronger law to address plastic bag waste in the Second City. Alderman Joe Moreno told reporters he has the votes to make a full plastic bag ban become law regardless of whether Chicago’s mayor signs the bill. Once it passes, Chicago shoppers will bring eco-friendly reusable tote bags to the store during shopping trips, saving millions of plastic bags a day. Like...

A recent New York Times article offered a forum for both sides to present their case on banning plastic bags throughout the state of California. State Senator Alex Padilla has introduced a bill that would phase single-use plastic bags out of the state for good, but the usual pushback from special interest groups is certain to make the issue a volatile one. The 100 communities in California already relying on wholesale shopping bags for carrying groceries have plenty of evidence to offer in...

Modern businesses always hope to combine customer needs, ethical practices and good publicity in the same package. That’s a tall order, but green company initiatives are probably the easiest way to make it happen. Customers love supporting a company that respects the environment and community. Before you plan your next marketing campaign, consider what promotional reusable shopping bags can do for your business. Promotional bags get out any message your company wants to communicate. Whether...

Since New York City is getting a weekly dose of snow this winter, the look on the streets is decidedly white. However, a hint of greener things to come is popping up in the City Council with a bill that place fees on plastic bags returns. Though you can find stores with wholesale reusable shopping bags at most counters in New York, a statewide bill making it mandatory to charge for single-use bags would force big changes in the Big Apple. As it stands, New York wastes plastic bags on a scale...

Advocates for the environment have always looked for ways to show conservation as the epitome of common sense. If we help foster a healthy ecosystem, doesn’t everyone benefit? The answer may be clear, but business owners are only starting to realize how going green is a money maker in terms of operation savings and branding in today’s marketplace. From reusable shopping bags to retrofitting HVAC systems, a green company mission is the profitable way to go. Indeed, everyone wins when...