How does plastic effect the environment?

Plastic is one of the popular materials on Earth with many useful properties. But we consume far too much of it, and often our consumption of plastics is unnecessary.

As of today, there’s approximately 9 billion tons of plastic on the planet, all of which has been made since the 1950s. Like King Midas with his golden touch, it's backfired somewhat.

Why plastic is bad for the environment

• It takes between 500 to 1000 years for plastics to decompose. During this decomposition process, many harmful chemicals are released into the environment. Link: polluting the environment.

• Plastics are made from non-renewable raw materials. The majority of all plastics are polypropylene, which is made from gasoline and natural gas. 4% of oil extracted goes to producing plastic. This has to be extracted from the ground, which takes a lot of energy and damages the environment. Source: global climate change.

• The production of plastic is extremely energy-intensive. The production of 9 plastic bags requires the same amount of energy as driving a car for one kilometre. And the average plastic bag is used for a mere 12 minutes.

• Plastic is dangerous for both humans, animals and marine creatures. We've all seen the images and videos of how plastics ruin the environment and animal life. But don’t forget that some plastics are bad for humans too!

In just ten years there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans, which is a terrifying thought. There are many great initiatives to clean up our Oceans that you should support!

If you’re curious about the impact of plastic and want to research a bit deeper, read more on Conserve Energy.

How can you reduce your plastic consumption?

1. Use a backpack or recycled bags when shopping for groceries.

2. Ensure to recycle all plastics.

3. Buy products from companies that use BPA-free plastics, environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional plastics, or natural alternatives.

How we at A Good Company combat over-consumption of plastics

At A Good Company, we’re committed to not using plastic across our entire supply chain by finding or developing sustainable alternatives. Sometimes we can't escape it, but often we can.

1. We never use synthetic fabrics.

2. We avoid virgin plastics in our packaging - we use Stone Paper whenever possible.

3. We design products made from sustainable alternatives, like these plastic-free mobile phone cases.

4. All of us think about reducing plastic consumption in our daily lives.

Anders Ankarlid

Co-founder & CEO

Co-Founder and CEO of agood company. A serial e-commerce entrepreneur, and a father of three. Have worked in e-commerce for more than a decade. Mindless consumption-activist.