Hi! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article as it’s relevant to me in more than just the usual or expected ways. I volunteer at the local “Ecological Centre”, which is an over-simplified name for what is most accurately described as a learning place with some characteristics of a science museum, a mini farm, and a mini library, with space and facilities for workshops and meetings. Since starting nearly a year ago, I’ve become more aware of what precisely “environmentally friendly” means or entails. Your article really did a good job, at least for me, of systematically evaluating each type of bag, helping me weigh the pros and cons. My verdict at the moment is that the imperfect, lesser-evil paper bag wins, and that is mainly due to plastic bags having greater cons than do paper bags. I’m always using what we, here in Japan, call eko-baggu (eco-bag), which in normal English refers to tote bags made from a variety of resilient materials, such as cotton and nylon mostly. And though this is a bit off-topic, I am more than ever avoiding buying any groceries wrapped in plastic. I often lose that battle though. Japan is obsessed with packaging! But over the past 6 months, my plastic trash has been reduced to about a third. I can do better, I know, but I’m not giving up. It’s also kind of therapeutic to be this mindful about the amount and kind of rubbish I dispose of each week. Anyway, this is getting too long! Looking forward to reading your other articles! Thanks