We recently came across the website of some offshoot fake-grassroots organization launched by the American Chemistry Council, a big lobby group for the chemical industry.
They call it “Progressive Bag Affiliates”, of all things, and the press release announcing the new group suggests that it’s dedicated to “promote the environmentally responsible use of plastic bags”, and increase “in-store recycling programs” [emphasis ours]
We have no problem whatsoever with plastic bag makers advocating for what’s most important to them: that is, selling more plastic bags. In fact, that’s exactly what we do here, in clear, direct, make-no-bones-about-it language.
But these clowns at the Progressive Bag Affiliates seem to think that they can dress up their concerns in environmentalist mumbo-jumbo and that people are going to buy it. As if the city of Seattle is going to take environmental advice from the plastic industry. The notion is laughable on its face, isn’t it?
I hope that all of us in the plastic bag industry can agree on a direct, honest approach. We’re not really concerned about “City proposals that could impact consumers’ use of plastic bags”, like the Progressive Bag Advocates try to say. Let’s be straight: what’s *really* at issue are “city proposals that could *reduce* consumers’ use of plastic bags.
We’re plastic bag makers. What we care about it making more plastic bags. To claim anything else would be satire, no?
