The Pacific Plastic Patch is growing, and hemp is the only plausible solution. Ditch polythene for pure hemp bags and do your bit in saving the oceans and the planet. Read how hemp bags can help. The Trash Island. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Plastic Island. The Pacific Trash Vortex. The Pacific Plastic Patch. Irrespective of what you call it, the floating mass of debris accumulation between California and Hawaii in the North Pacific Ocean is growing each day. It is already twice the size of Texas and three times the size of France. That’s a slap on the face of the earth. Marks of which you can view from thousands of miles above in the air. Over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals are affected by it each year. And the microfibers from the plastic patch can break down to become nanofibers and enter the food chain through fishes. It would pose grave health concerns for us. But did I cause it? Am I responsible? Not really. The plastic found in the patch is several decades old. Maybe you weren’t even born then. When it was first discovered in 1997, you didn’t even have an ounce of contribution to it. What can I do about it? I don’t live near the place. I am not the one dumping plastic there. But you are continuously contributing to its growth. By using plastic carry bags. 80% of the debris in the patch comes from the land, which predominantly includes plastic bags, bottles, and consumer products. Is this a rant about asking me to stop using plastic bags? Show me a legit alternative, and I’d stop. No, this isn’t a rant about the problem of the infamous plastic patch. I have a solution that I wanted to share. I know you, and I cannot just clean up that patch overnight. Cleaning efforts are underway. UN and other international organizations are at it. But the least we can do is not keep adding to the ocean debris. And I do have the perfect alternative to plastic: HEMP. Clearing The Air of Confusion Around Hemp Hemp isn’t marijuana. The super crop has faced many legal hassles because of its close ties to Mary J., but it isn’t anything like it. They share the same plant family, sure. (They are both from the family called Cannabis Sativa) But hemp isn’t psychoactive. It has less than 0.3% THC (the substance that gives the euphoria-like feel.) So when you’ll keep your groceries (or anything else) in a hemp bag, it won’t negatively affect them. And neither will using a hemp bag alter your mental state. What it will change is the production of plastic waste. It will be significantly reduced. And thereby, you’ll be contributing less to the growing Pacific Plastic Patch. Now changing litigation around the use of plastic — banning it completely or adding a deterrent in the form of a plastic tax — is not under my control. But I can offer you an alternative in the form of reusable hemp bags. If you can cut down on your polythene usage, among other things, we can work towards a healthier planet. At Hemp Foundation, we have a range of beautifully designed and carefully crafted hemp bags that not just save the planet from being strangled by plastic but also keep your style quotient high. Oh, so because you have hemp products to sell, you feel hemp is the solution to Trash Island? Well, it is the other way round. Once I saw and understood how much hemp could help the environment, I decided to make hemp products available by growing, processing, and manufacturing these hemp bags and other products. Why only hemp? Aren’t there other alternatives to plastic? Yes, there are. But they all come with their own set of troubles. Cotton, paper bags, even bioplastic, nothing is even half as good as hemp. Don’t believe me? Read on to find out for yourself. Cotton Bags — They Are NOT The Answer People tell me that they are switching to cotton (some even say organic cotton). “Why?”, I ask. “Because it is good for the environment.” Well, that’s not true. Cotton isn’t doing any good for either you or the environment. Why? Because: Cotton is a thirsty crop. And 57% of world cotton production happens in areas with water shortage, which further makes drinking water scarce in those regions. 7% of world pesticide consumption is for cotton. 16% of world insecticides are used for growing cotton. Cotton production results in reduced soil fertility, which means more fertilizers are used later. 1098 liters of water is used to produce one cotton shirt. For an organic cotton shirt, the required water is 2,500 liters. Does that seem good for the environment? No, right? So reusable cotton bags, (even organic ones), aren’t actually good for the environment. Picking cotton over plastic is like going for the lesser evil. But it still is evil. The Pacific Plastic Patch isn’t our only concern. You need to be mindful of pollution, environmental degradation, and water usage as well. Also, you will have to use a cotton bag 173 times before it will compensate for the waste that it produces in production, processing, transportation, and end disposal. Not a possible option, you see? Paper Bags — The Hidden Enemy Of The Environment Paper? Enemy of the environment? That doesn’t sound right. Yes, paper bags can decompose within six months of disposal and would most probably make the soil fertile for further vegetation. But that’s no match to the environmental mess that is created to produce this paper. Also, when paper bags end in landfills, they take longer to decompose. No better than plastic. Here’s how paper bags aren’t even half as good as they seem: Manufacturing a paper bag requires four times as much energy as manufacturing a plastic bag. The world’s forests don’t have enough wood to feed the world’s gluttony for paper bags. And once we […]
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from Hemp Foundation https://hempfoundation.net/how-hemp-bags-are-the-solution-to-the-infamous-pacific-plastic-patch-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-hemp-bags-are-the-solution-to-the-infamous-pacific-plastic-patch-2
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