Support Paper Nor Plastic

September is officially Support Small Green Businesses Month here at Greener Assets. This interview is part of that series. You can find more information about his series here.

Today’s featured business is Paper Nor Plastic. Check out their website and this interview with founder and owner Jeffrey Lui:

Greener Assets: How did your business first get started?

Jeffrey: After watching a few business inspirational segments on the Oprah Winfrey Show during my last two years in college, I developed a passion….a desire… to own and operate a company; preferably one that makes a positive difference to people’s lives. Shortly after college, I worked for a few companies while constantly searching for that simple idea I can run with.

That idea struck on January 27^th of 2005 when I heard the city of San Francisco was proposing a charge of 17 cents for paper or plastic grocery bags. I remember saying to myself, “This is crazy and unfair.” Therefore, I decided to do a little research. What I’ve discovered was an eye opener for me. I learned that millions of trees and barrels of oil were used to make paper and plastic bags. Plastic bags are a huge pollution problem to city streets and waterways. Importantly, plastic bags pollute the ocean which endangers marine life.

After an hour of research, 17 cents per paper or plastic bag did not seem all that “unfair.” On that same day, I decided to pursue my long overdue desire to become an entrepreneur and start my own reusable bag business. After a few nights of brainstorming with my wife, we decided if stores were to ever ask us “paper or plastic?” we would say, “PAPER NOR PLASTIC.” Thus, the birth of Paper Nor Plastic.

GA: Why did you make the decision to go green?

J: There is no better feeling than to start a business with a product or service knowing you will positively influence the lives of others. Bottom line, it feels good to do good.

GA: Tell us a little about your products/services:

J: At Paper Nor Plastic, we strive to help people become more aware with the basic and fundamental knowledge of how paper and especially plastic bags are negatively impinging the environment. At the same time, we provide a solution to this issue; a low cost, great quality, user friendly reusable bag with many uses. We hope to inspire everyone to improve the environment with the information and product from our site.

GA: What are your most popular sellers?

J: Our popular seller is our famous Paper Nor Plastic Grocery Style Bag. It is what I call our “WOW” bag. The bag earned its name because people have stopped me numerous times to say, “Wow! This is a great bag.” The bag is made from heavy duty 600 denier polyester. A fabric commonly found with manufacturing backpacks, personal computer bags, and tool bags. The design of the bag mimics a traditional grocery paper bag; it even folds conveniently away like one.

GA: Where do you see your business going in the future?

J: Funny that you ask because we recently decided to help companies with a unique way of advertising on our limited edition Paper Nor Plastic “Helping Earth” reusable bag.

For the past three years, we’ve had many companies requesting to have their logos display on our bags. We’ve always had to kindly defer those requests to strengthen the Paper Nor Plastic brand. It was until recently that we said, “Let’s give companies what they want.” We’ve started a “Helping Earth” program and are allowing companies to purchase lots (spaces), so the more lots purchased, the bigger their logo will be. When we successfully complete the program, we will be able to give out these limited edition “Helping Earth” reusable bags with all the different logos for FREE to the general public. Basically these companies will help us design the “Helping Earth” bag as they choose the size and placement of their logos.

Additionally in helping companies advertise and giving out free bags, we will make a $100,000 donation to one of three Environmental Agencies upon completion of the program; the winning agency will be selected by participants receiving the FREE limited edition “Helping Earth” reusable bags. We are extremely excited about this program as it benefits a lot of different people. Companies will get their message of supporting our planet out to the right customers, thousands and thousands of lucky individuals will get a free bag, and a generous donation will be made to one of three agencies. It’s a win-win situation for all.

Thanks, Jeffrey and Paper Nor Plastic!

Picture with permission from Paper Nor Plastic.