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The Trees Used to Make Paper Bags

In 1883, a Philadelphia resident named Charles Stillwell invented a machine to make brown paper bags so people would have something in which to carry their groceries home from the market. In 2010, more than 20 million paper bags were used in supermarkets annually. Manufacturing that many bags requires a vast amount of trees.

From Trees to Bags
- Soft wood is used to make pulp.
  
  Paper bags are manufactured with the same types of wood pulp used to make many other paper products. The most common type of tree used in the process is pine. It is a soft wood and easily harvested. These trees are abundant in the southern and western areas of the United States.
Ecological Impact
- Paper making is not a clean process, but the finished product is biodegradable and eco-friendly. In fact, paper bags are often recycled to make new paper bags and other paper products. The vast majority of trees used are sustainably grown and replanted for the express purpose of making paper products.
Paper or Plastic
- Plastic grocery bags are a relatively new innovation.
  
  The introduction of plastic grocery bags in 1977 was originally intended to slow the consumption of trees for making paper bags. By 1996, four out of five supermarket bags were plastic. Unfortunately, plastic grocery bags are not biodegradable, so they are not the most eco-friendly option. They are, however, recyclable and are used to create building materials and more plastic bags.

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