Spring 2012

Carried Away By Caletha Crawford

The Plastic Problem

Approximately 14 million trees are used to make paper bags in the United States each year—National Co-op Grocers Association. It takes 12 million barrels of oil to make a year’s worth of plastic bags.

The Solution: Legislation.

Municipalities large and small have been enacting bans on plastic and charges for paper. The Seattle City Council voted to put similar measures into effect. San Francisco recently voted to expand its single-use plastic ban, which covered large grocery stores and chain pharmacies, to include gift shops, hardware stores and boutiques.

The measures seem to be having the desired effect. “Publix of Lakeland, FL, now calculates that it has saved 1.5 billion plastic bags, while in 2010, Kroger says it sold five million reusable bags to reduce plastic bag use by 159 million,” says Robert Vosburgh, group editor of New York-based Supermarket News.

Caletha Crawford

Caletha Crawford is a children's apparel expert, who consults with businesses in the industry on branding, launch strategies and marketing. Through her role as part-time faculty at Parsons, she continues her commitment to aiding emerging designers. She writes for a variety of publications and is addicted to playing Scrabble on her iPad.