But how did they come about? Who invented this harmful item that is now in our oceans?
Just as many questions about why and how it originated will arise. For the new generations, it’s hard to imagine, much like deodorant, that it didn’t always exist, no matter how normal and essential it is today.
In the early 20th century, everything was peace and love in North America. Canada and the United States were experiencing a golden age, a time to build their commercial foundations into what they undoubtedly are today in the 21st century.
After the First World War, which claimed the lives of nearly a third of humanity, it forced humanity to reinvent itself. Thanks to this, companies emerged that brought out the best in times of crisis, giving birth to carbonated beverages, which today, just their names alone, are worth billions of dollars. But most importantly, it led to the rise of supermarket chains, fast-food restaurants, neighborhood stores, and more. The future was anchored here to establish its foundations.
The northern and central United States, as well as southern Canada, were huge producers and exporters of logs and processed wood, not to mention the largest exporter within the United States: Alaska.
Their exports were so extensive that by 1930, they reached 126 million tons per month for local consumption alone. Industries such as furniture, homes, ships, among others, paved the way for a booming industry: disposables.
Before and during the Second World War, the paper industry made from raw cellulose surged as a packaging and food transportation system due to its natural origin and protective properties. Whether it was packing your children’s or spouse’s lunch or going on a field trip, paper bags were indispensable.
However, it seemed that no one cared about the raw material with which it was made, and the collateral effects of obtaining it were unknown: the Trees.
It wasn’t until 1960 that many non-governmental organizations began presenting evidence that tree depletion had caused deforestation in nearly 35% of all trees in the United States and Canada. Its effects were noticeable because rainfall caused soil erosion, entire animal species disappeared, and where there were once blue skies and crystal-clear rivers, there were now cloudy skies without color and rivers that resembled log-strewn canals for kilometers until they reached the sawmills.
Facing this reality, a Swedish immigrant and career engineer, Sten Gustaf Thulin, conducted his first tests using polyethylene films with the aim of finding a substitute that would allow him to create a more cost-effective, lighter, longer-lasting, and cheaper alternative to paper at home. And although it may not be written in any book, after creating the first rectangular substitutes, he found his wife folding them in half and cutting the top to create handles that would make it easier to tie, like a bowtie.
This idea was so impactful that he decided to patent his invention with the United States Patent Office for commercial use, ultimately winning his patent in 1965.
His invention was a bag with side gussets that allowed it to reduce its base while increasing its capacity. He named the upper die-cut system with handles as simple as “T-shirt.”
This invention, although many may think otherwise, aimed to reduce pollution generated by paper production by cutting down fewer trees, reducing the use of millions of liters of water for processing, and emitting fewer tons of sulfur and CO2 in gas emissions. In contrast, Thulin’s bag produced less than 1% of environmental pollution compared to its cellulose counterpart.
Many environmental organizations may disagree with our professional opinion, but this invention gave rise to an industrial revolution that, in less than 10 years, allowed this bag format to be developed in every country on the planet.
Thulin, months before his death in 2006, in an interview with the press and when asked about the effects of plastics and the environmental damage caused by the use of bags, simply responded: “I never imagined that a bag designed to be reused an infinite number of times would be used and then discarded as trash. A trash that no one does anything with. Don’t blame plastic when there’s only one culprit: yourselves.”
Today, the paper industry invests millions of dollars to prove things that are not remotely true with actions. As an example, they promote paper as a substitute for traditional plastics, but they don’t explain that over 80% of the world’s paper production results from indiscriminate and unjustified logging in countries such as Brazil, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and, in the case of Europe, Romania and Hungary.
Also, officials don’t necessarily need to know, but many manufacturers mix traditional plastics (polyethylenes or polypropylenes) with paper to give it a glossy finish or attribute water-resistant properties. What’s even more serious is that health authorities are unaware that products made from recycled cellulose are not food-grade, as the chemicals used or the temperatures it reaches are not capable of killing allergens that can harm food and even the health of consumers.
The paper industry, despite dressing in white and promoting the purity of its products due to their biodegradability, has no capacity or even the likelihood to sustain production compatible with ecosystems. Countries like Chile had to put brakes or limits on these industries so that, without having to ban them, they could control their processing methods. Species like the Black Swan came close to extinction by drinking water in highly contaminated wetlands from toxic runoff, which were habitats for these birds.
Perhaps Thulin’s dream of creating a product that would become a solution by being able to be reprocessed an infinite number of times, avoiding indiscriminate tree felling, reducing greenhouse gases by more than 90%, all got out of control, not because of his invention, but because humans were not prepared for this invention.
Today, 60 years after his invention, we understood a variation that he may not have comprehended: that as societies, we depend on our governments and their ability to process waste, promote culture, and educate their people, but this did not happen, at least not in Asia, Africa, and America, and it’s unlikely to change.
As it won’t happen in a couple of generations, the only thing left for us is to create products that are real solutions:
- That do not harm trees
- That reduce carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions
- That reduce the culture of waste
- That do not depend on governments composed of politicians rather than scientists
And while that happens, it is our responsibility to continue working for our planet. In our case, to empower you, to put biodegradation in your hands. No myths, no illusions, no deception… With Science!
#SaveThePlanet
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