Guess what? We’re turning plastic bottles into bags!

Have you ever thought about what you could do with an old plastic bottle? 

Reuse it a few times? Sure. 

Turn it into a planter? Ooo, we like this one! 

Create a bird feeder? Fancy! 

But, do you know what our favourite thing to do with old plastic bottles is? 

Well, it’s to turn them into bags! Bags you can brand. 

Yep, you read that right. 

We’re delighted to share with you our new Green & Innocent Tausi shopping bag that’s made from plastic bottles thanks to the magic of traceable GreenGold yarn. 

If you’re looking for a bag with a story behind it, then this is YOUR bag. 

And if you’re looking for some other amazing merch with a story to tell, check out our whole range of products that leave a positive impact below. 

The story behind our bottle bags

Did you know, more than 60 million plastic bottles end up in landfills every single day? That’s 80 billion plastic bottles yearly, taking up 80% of our landfill. 

That’s why we thought it was time we did something about it! Welcome, to our Green & Innocent Tausi shopping bags made from GreenGold yarn. 

When compared to cotton, each bag saves: 

• 70 PET bottles from landfill
• 99.89% of litres of water used 
• 76.23% in CO2 emissions 

Read more: Your ultimate guide to sustainable merchandise

What’s GreenGold yarn? 

Recron GreenGold yarn is made from 100% post-consumer PET bottles! The bottles are collected, broken down, and turned into strong, lightweight PET yarn which is then woven into rPET bags. 

What are the benefits of GreenGold yarn? 

1. It uses less water 

Turning bottles into bags uses 1/10th the amount of water compared to virgin polyester.

2. It’s traceable 

Tracer particles are added once the bottles have been broken down, meaning that you can have full transparency about how your bag has been manufactured. 

3. It uses less energy 

A whopping 70% less energy is also used in its production compared to virgin polyester. 

4. It helps reduce plastic pollution 

Instead of ending up in our oceans or waterways, by being turned into yarn (and then bags), this is stopping countless numbers of bottles from harming our oceans. Perfect! 

5. Zero-waste management 

The process uses a closed-loop production process that recycles 90% of the water used, plus it only uses solar energy and doesn’t use any harmful chemicals. 

Read more: 2023’s top trending sustainable products

Why you should care about plastic

1. It’s harming our oceans 

If you’ve watched Blue Planet 2, you’ll already know that we dump eight million tonnes of plastic into the sea every year, which is the same as five bags of plastic every foot of the coastline. Not very beach vibes, is it? 

Sadly, it’s not just us suffering, either. Turtles eat plastic bags thinking they’re jellyfish, and plastic has now been found in the stomachs of creatures in the deepest depths of the ocean. 

Not only that, but seabirds are also stuffing themselves on our plastic waste, too. 

Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the ocean, which then causes the plastic to become lodged in our coral reefs and severely damage their health - a habitat that hundreds, if not thousands, of different species. 

If we don’t do anything about our plastic epidemic, there will be 12 billion tonnes of plastic in our oceans by 2050.

Things need to change, and FAST. 

2. We’re running out of space 

In 2019, there was an enormous 95.1 billion tonnes of waste being created by us. 

Let that just sink in. 

More than 50% of this was then sent to landfill, with the rest of it burnt up in incinerators (releasing planet-warming gases - great). 

A whopping 75% of plastic ends up in landfills; historically, only 9% has ever been recycled. 

We are quite literally being smothered by our plastic waste. Ew.

3. Microplastics are a BIG problem 

Oh, and microplastics are now in our food chain, so that’s fun. They’re eaten by animals like plankton, which is then passed up the food chain – to us. You could literally be munching on plastic right now! 

4. It lasts FOREVER 

Seriously, plastic lasts forever. It’ll take 1,000 years for your plastic shopping bag to break down, and 450 years for your plastic water bottles. They’ll long outlive us, their environmental damage lasting decades. 

“Think about it. Why would you make something that you’re going to use for a few minutes out of a material that’s basically going to last forever, and you’re just going to throw it away? What’s up with that?”

Jeb Berrier, Bag It movie

Read more: Are we too late to stop the climate crisis?

Our Tausi rPET Foldable Bag

Our Tausi bag is a great alternative to your usual plastic bag. 

It’s a foldable rPET tote made from 100% plastic bottles! 

This handy little eco-shopping bag can be neatly folded into a small pouch and slipped into your pocket when not in use. With a variety of colours to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect bag for your brand. 

We promise transparency 

We know the importance of transparency when it comes to your product media. Of trusting 100% that your item is the very best it can be for your brand. 

That’s why our Tausi rPET foldable bag has a tonne of certifications that guarantee its positive ecological impact. Think of them as its little green degrees.

These aren’t just related to the materials used in our bags, either. We’ve also got credentials that support an ethical production process. Because of this, you can rest assured that our Tausi bags are made in fully certified and audited factories - phew! 

Read more: What's greenwashing?

It’s all part of a larger circular economy

Circular design is about creating a product whose materials can be reused or 100% recycled. The item’s lifecycle no longer has a beginning, middle, and end - there’s just one, continuous, circular concept. It’s about being restorative and regenerative.

To give you some perspective, in 1970, we took 22 billion tonnes of natural resources from our planet. In 2010, this increased to 70 billion tonnes. The prediction for 2050 is 180 billion tonnes. Our world just can’t keep up with our increasing demand, so we’ve got to do everything we can to find, and support, alternative solutions.

And because our bags are made from recycled plastic bottles, they’re durable and long-lasting and can be reused again and again. They’re made using a single-sourced material, too, which means they can be easily recycled at the end of their life.

Read more: What is circular design?

Social sustainability 

Not only are our bags good for the environment, but they also help to support social sustainability. 

The bottles used to create the yarn are collected from across India, with 70% of them actually being collected near the recycling plants, keeping our carbon footprint low. 

The local vendors who collect the bottles do so from public places like streets, stadiums, stations and airports. This means that these spaces stay litter-free for longer. 

The people collecting the bottles are usually from some of the poorest communities in India, but this collection process benefits them by providing them with employment - hello to income, healthcare and a better lifestyle! 

It’s time to give plastic a new life

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to give plastic a new life with our washable, printable bags! 

To find out more about other products that have a positive impact, check out our whole range of products that leave a positive impact now. 

Or, if you’d like to request a call-back from one of our team to discuss any of your promotional merchandise needs, fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch ASAP!