World Paper Bag Day: History, significance and how to ...

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While the world awakens to the realities of environment pollution and climate change, the World Paper Bag Day becomes an important event that prompts us towards adopting sustainable lifestyle.

History of paper bags

The history of paper bags can be traced back to the 19th Century. In 1852, American inventor Francis Wolle invented and patented the first paper bag machine. Almost two decades later in 1971, Margaret E Knight invented a machine that could produce flat-bottom boxy paper bags. Knight came to be known as “the mother of the grocery bag”.

In 1883, Charles Stillwell added pleated sides to the paper bag. Walter and Lydia Deubener created the first handled paper shopping bag in 1912 by adding strings in a continuous loop to the conventional paper sack. The Deubeners also won a patent for their invention and became full-time producers of shopping bags.

Significance

Millions of brands switched to paper bags to encourage minimal and sustainable packaging. Their use has added an aesthetic quotient to shopping. Celebrating World Paper Bag Day is important as it raises awareness about the environment, harmful effects of use of plastic and pollution.

How to celebrate

Not only are paper bags 100 percent recyclable, they also consume less energy to manufacture. Paper bags are also quite sturdy and can hold around 10-14 items. They are safe for animals.

To celebrate the day, children are encouraged to use paper bags and are informed about the harmful effects of plastics on environment in schools. Those who buy groceries can use paper sacks to collect the items.

World Paper Bag Day is observed on July 12 every year to spread awareness about plastic pollution and encourage the use of environment-friendly alternatives. Use of paper bags, which are easily recyclable, will help reduce plastic waste that takes years to decompose, causing environment pollution.While the world awakens to the realities of environment pollution and climate change, the World Paper Bag Day becomes an important event that prompts us towards adopting sustainable lifestyle.The history of paper bags can be traced back to the 19th Century. In 1852, American inventor Francis Wolle invented and patented the first paper bag machine. Almost two decades later in 1971, Margaret E Knight invented a machine that could produce flat-bottom boxy paper bags. Knight came to be known as “the mother of the grocery bag”.In 1883, Charles Stillwell added pleated sides to the paper bag. Walter and Lydia Deubener created the first handled paper shopping bag in 1912 by adding strings in a continuous loop to the conventional paper sack. The Deubeners also won a patent for their invention and became full-time producers of shopping bags.Millions of brands switched to paper bags to encourage minimal and sustainable packaging. Their use has added an aesthetic quotient to shopping. Celebrating World Paper Bag Day is important as it raises awareness about the environment, harmful effects of use of plastic and pollution.Not only are paper bags 100 percent recyclable, they also consume less energy to manufacture. Paper bags are also quite sturdy and can hold around 10-14 items. They are safe for animals.To celebrate the day, children are encouraged to use paper bags and are informed about the harmful effects of plastics on environment in schools. Those who buy groceries can use paper sacks to collect the items.

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The origins of paper bags

It is accepted that paper bags appeared in the Bristol area – this took place in 1844. It sounds even remotely plausible, but the truth is that the Chinese are responsible for creating a product without which it’s hard to imagine shopping these days. They were the ones who used sheets obtained thanks to the bark of the mulberry tree. They were used for packaging – usually of foodstuffs. So can this be considered the first paper bags? Let’s take a closer look at the whole story

Margaret E. Knight, Patent model of paper bag making machine, 1879
Source: timeline.com.jpg

People associated with the history of paper bags

An extremely important figure in this story is Francis Wolle, it was he who patented the first machine for producing paper bags, which were then very similar in appearance to those used today. His name has made history, but how did it happen?

It all started in the United States, in 1852 to be exact, when a patent for a machine to make paper bags came into effect. A few years later, in 1869 to be exact, Wolle decided to establish a company, which was called the Union Paper Bag Company – Francis did not operate on his own, he cooperated with his brother, thanks to which the company was increasingly profitable, and the effects of production could be seen not only in the US, but also in France or England. Growth was really rapid, allowing the company to expand to manufacturing plants in other cities; in 1935, a factory was opened in Savannah, employing 500 people. Interestingly, the factory has been operating ever since.

Margaret Knight
Source: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Strona_gC582C3B3wna

Francis Wolle
Source: https:%C3%

Time of greatest popularity

Let’s move to the 1930s – that’s when paper bags had their heyday and were most popular. All this, of course, thanks to a certain man responsible for the creation of an even more improved production machine – we are talking about Charles Stilwell. He refined the paper bags to the point where their bottoms became rigid enough to allow the bags to stand straight. That’s not all, of course. Stilwell has entered very heavily into the retail sector – it has shown that paper bags are ideal for sales, for example, as a way to package groceries. Charles convinced Walter H. Deubner, who was the first store owner to introduce a paper bag option for his customers, of his theory.

Walter slightly modified the bag. He made two holes in it and put a ribbon through them. That’s how the handles were created, which made it easy to carry groceries all the way to the door of the house. Later, paper holders were added, but that’s a topic for another article.

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