Common Totes

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Submit a tote design to us and if the community likes it well enough to vote for it, not only will you stand a chance to have a tote bag that you are proud to see your name associated with, but we'll also throw in US$200!

In 2001, it was estimated that 27 million plastic shopping bags were disposed of each day in Hong Kong. This is four tim...
10/10/2011

In 2001, it was estimated that 27 million plastic shopping bags were disposed of each day in Hong Kong. This is four times the individual consumption level in Australia. Hong Kong has implemented a campaign of "No plastic bag, please," and prohibits larger retailers from providing free bags. The program has been designed to educate the public on alternatives to plastic bags and to encourage customers to make environmentally-friendly decisions and purchases. In addition, there is a tax for products for which there is an environmentally-friendly alternative readily available.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

Denmark employs a general waste tax that has proven to be very successful. The waste tax is differentiated so that it is...
26/09/2011

Denmark employs a general waste tax that has proven to be very successful. The waste tax is differentiated so that it is most expensive to landfill waste, cheaper to incinerate it and tax exempt to recycle it. Also, they have so-called "green" taxes on packaging, plastic bags, disposable tableware and nickel-cadmium batteries.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

As part of a larger packaging tax introduced in 1994, Denmark taxes plastic bags. The stated aim is to promote reusable ...
14/09/2011

As part of a larger packaging tax introduced in 1994, Denmark taxes plastic bags. The stated aim is to promote reusable bags. However, the tax is paid by retailers when they purchase bags, rather than by shoppers, yielding less dramatic results than the Irish PlasTax, which charges consumers directly for each bag used. Still, consumption of paper and plastic bags has declined 66%.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

China prohibits stores from giving away free plastic bags. Their strategy, removed from the increasingly-common bans and...
05/09/2011

China prohibits stores from giving away free plastic bags. Their strategy, removed from the increasingly-common bans and taxes of other countries, states that a clearly marked price must be placed beside bags previously given away. Additionally, ultrathin plastic bags of less than 0.025 millimeters were banned, with further talk of bag taxes in the future.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

To combat the growing problem of plastic bags in China, Guo Geng, a political adviser in Beijing, has proposed the intro...
22/08/2011

To combat the growing problem of plastic bags in China, Guo Geng, a political adviser in Beijing, has proposed the introduction of a "bag tax" to decrease demand for plastic bags and to raise more money to tackle pollution caused by the bags. Media reports claim that the Ministry of Finance is conducting a feasibility study for introducing such a tax.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

The term "white pollution" has been coined in China for the tumbleweed of polythene blowing on the streets. According to...
18/08/2011

The term "white pollution" has been coined in China for the tumbleweed of polythene blowing on the streets. According to UK's The Guardian, 2 billion bags are used each day.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

The Canadian Plastics Industry is launching defensive strategies, including websites such as myplasticbags.ca, arguing t...
12/08/2011

The Canadian Plastics Industry is launching defensive strategies, including websites such as myplasticbags.ca, arguing that plastic bags are useful, convenient, and inexpensive. They urge customers to use them but to use them wisely by reusing and recycling. "It is hard to think of a world without them," the website proclaims.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

The Ontario government has committed to reduce plastic bag consumption 50% in the next 5 years. The initiative also incl...
04/08/2011

The Ontario government has committed to reduce plastic bag consumption 50% in the next 5 years. The initiative also includes monitoring and reporting to ensure progress is indeed made. "Ontarians use almost 80 plastic bags per second - that's close to seven million bags every day," said Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten. "Reducing the volume of plastic bags that end up in landfills is a top priority for us."

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

In June 2007, the Belgium government starts phasing in a tax on single-use plastic bags to change retailers' habits. "If...
01/08/2011

In June 2007, the Belgium government starts phasing in a tax on single-use plastic bags to change retailers' habits. "If the only way people will understand is through their pocketbooks," a Belgian store owner states, "so be it." Watch a BBC video report on the new ecotax for retailers, the cost of which will be passed onto consumers.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

The revival of the jute bag industry in Bangladesh continues to provide sustainable living for Bangladeshis. In 2006 Aus...
27/07/2011

The revival of the jute bag industry in Bangladesh continues to provide sustainable living for Bangladeshis. In 2006 Australia's organization "Keep Australia Beautiful" awarded a "Plastic Bag Reduction Award" to a business that provides sustainable-trade, Bangladesh-made jute bags to mainstream Australian retailers.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

The polythene ban is leading to a revival of the jute bag industry and other sustainable and biodegradable alternatives....
20/07/2011

The polythene ban is leading to a revival of the jute bag industry and other sustainable and biodegradable alternatives. It is widely acknowledged that jute may be one of the solutions to the polythene menace. Jute grows abundantly in Bangladesh and requires a lot less energy for processing than polythene.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

In March 2002, Bangladesh put a ban on all polyethylene bags in the capital, Dhaka, after they were found to have been t...
19/07/2011

In March 2002, Bangladesh put a ban on all polyethylene bags in the capital, Dhaka, after they were found to have been the main culprit during the 1988 and 1998 floods that submerged two-thirds of the country. Discarded bags were choking the drainage system. Plans are to extend the ban nationwide.

Common Totes: A crowdsourcing tote bag design fest! Submit a design, let the community vote on it, and win cash!

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