What about cotton and jute?

Cotton and jute are natural fibres and are fully biodegradable as long as they haven’t been treated (which many are to prolong their life span). They are ideal when levels of demand are fairly low. The real problem is in the use of natural resources in production to cope with the ever increasing demand. Both need a lot of water and are heavily treated with pesticides to kill off bugs. You can (and should) buy organic and Fair Trade products (non-fair trade working conditions can be deplorable). This doesn’t remove the water issue, and we are concerned that vital water supplies and land currently used for food crops will be diverted to satisfy the demand for bags.

For further details see our “Grow Food, Not Bags” article.