Do fresh products stay fresh if kept in cotton bags instead of plastic bags?
By Batul Bharmal and Anupama Gokhale
We all know how the problem of plastic is responsible for polluting our land and oceans. Our addictions to single use plastic item has led to a huge long term impact on the environment.
According to a report presented in the World Government Summit in February 2019, 11 billion plastic bags are used annually in the UAE, which is the equivalent of 1,184 plastic bags per person per year compared to a global average of 307 plastic bags per person per year.
These can be easily substituted by the use of cotton reusable produce and shopping bags. Making small changes in our shopping habits can make a big difference.
As the name suggest the cotton reusable produce bags are reusable! They’re also durable, washable and breathable and the life span of just one of these bags is equivalent to 700 single-use plastic bags. That’s roughly 8400 minutes of use, instead of just 12 mintues for a plastic bag. One person that makes the change to reusable cotton produce bags can remove as many as 22,000 plastic bags from the environment. In the long run, reusable cotton produce bags also work out to be a much cheaper financial option.
Plastics are synthetically manufactured with a combination of chemicals. Two class of suspects under scientific scrutiny are Bisphenol A and Phthalates. When food is stored in plastic bags, these chemicals can leach into the food and infest them. Studies have shown that these chemicals have been linked to tissue changes, genetic damage, early puberty and hormonal changes to name a few.
When produce is brought in Cotton produce bags home from the store they are not only ideal for buying but also for storing fruit and vegetables. Cotton bags are breathable and can be dampened to keep veg crisp, so produce is more likely to last longer than when it’s wrapped in unbreathable plastic.
These are a picture test to show you how tomatoes kept in plastic and cotton produce bags appear over time. These pictures were taken on the day of buying the produce. One was stored in the plastic bag and one in produce bag using the same refrigeration.
To find the right range of reusable bags, check Upcycle Lets transform for more information
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