PE Film Market Analysis: T-Shirt Bags
It's a huge business that will grow modestly over the next three years even in the face of environmental obstacles.
Last year, processors consumed about approximately 1.35 billion lb of polyethylene to produce grocery sacks, also known as t-shirt bags. Though ban, taxes and other environmental roadblocks are seemingly never-ending threat, the market should experience modest growth of 1.6% a year through 2017, when PE consumption for T-shirt bags will reach 1.420 billion lb.These are among the conclusions of the most recent study of the PE Film market conducted by Mastio & Co., St. Joseph, Mo.
Plastic bags still face competition from paper bags, as some consumers believe paper makes for a more natural and environmentally safe bag, says Mastio. Truth be told, paper manufacturing pollutes the water, releases dioxininto the atmosphere, contributes to acid rain, and depletes the tree population, the study points out.
Moreover, Mastio states, PE t-shirt bags consume 40% less energy than paper when produced, and generate 80% less solid waste than paper bags. Fewer atmospheric emissions are produced and less waterborne wastes are released with PE t-shirt bag production compared to paper bag production.
Currently, reusable cloth sacks continue to make inroads into this market due to the pressure from several state and city governments. Many states and cities are in the process or have already enacted legislation on single-use, paper and plastic bags that varies from an all-out ban to imposing a tax or bag fee on each bag at the point of sale. As a result, many stores are now selling their own reusable cloth or plastic sacks to consumers, Mastio point outs.
MATERIALS TRENDS
T-shirt bags are made primarily of HMW-HDPE and MMW-HDPE. HMW-HDPE is the resin of choice due to its superior strength in thinner gauges than LLDPE or LDPE. HDPE resins, particularly
UHMW-HDPE and HMW-HDPE grades, maintain the desired strength levels when downgauged, and have very high impact resistance.
LLDPE and LDPE resins are utilized when there is a desire for a strong bag that has improved printing properties, a softer texture, and more surface gloss. The various grades of LLDPE resin utilized included the following: LLDPE-butene, LLDPE-hexene and LLDPE-octene. LDPE-homopolymer resin was also incorporated in the production of t-shirt bags. The cost and appearance are typically higher for LLDPE bags when compared to HDPE bags, and some bag strength is sacrificed. With the small operating margins that most grocery stores experience, HDPE bags are a more feasible economic choice.
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
T-shirt bags are made via the blown film process. Some 20 or so years ago, most t-shirt bags were single layer. Last year, according to the Mastio report, nearly 72% of t-shirt sacks produced were coextrusions, generally three layer. On average, says Mastio, PE t-shirt bags used 30% less material today than bags made five years ago. Advances in the PE resins used to produce t-shirt bags have reduced material requirements without decreasing bag strength.
MY TWO CENTS
Equipment builders argue that too many processors are making do with older equipment when newer technology will permit them to produce better quality films at higher speeds. One industry source estimates that more than 70% of the 20 billion lb/yr of blown film is currently processed on equipment that’s 10 years old or older. But T-shirt bagmaking is a highly competitive market will razor-thin margins, making big capital equipment investments a big challenging.
That argument aside, if more processors followed the lead of Novolex (Hilex Poly), staving off environmental threats might be a bit less challenging. The firm made a huge commitment in setting up an infrastructure allowing to collect post-consumer film and reprocess it into new bags. Read that story here.
Related Content
The Importance of Barrel Heat and Melt Temperature
Barrel temperature may impact melting in the case of very small extruders running very slowly. Otherwise, melting is mainly the result of shear heating of the polymer.
Read MoreSpecialty Purging Compounds Optimize Color and Material Changeovers
Selecting of the correct purging compound can speed up material and color changeover time and reduce scrap. You’ll even save on material.
Read MoreExtruder Alignment: Important, but Only Half the Equation
The other half? Aligning and supporting downstream equipment. Here are best practices.
Read MoreFully Automated Extrusion Process Enables Use of Composites for Manufacturing Pressure Tanks
Amtrol was looking for a more cost-effective means to produce thin-wall liners for a new line of pressure tanks. With the help of a team of suppliers, they built one of the world’s most sophisticated extrusion lines.
Read MoreRead Next
Lead the Conversation, Change the Conversation
Coverage of single-use plastics can be both misleading and demoralizing. Here are 10 tips for changing the perception of the plastics industry at your company and in your community.
Read MorePeople 4.0 – How to Get Buy-In from Your Staff for Industry 4.0 Systems
Implementing a production monitoring system as the foundation of a ‘smart factory’ is about integrating people with new technology as much as it is about integrating machines and computers. Here are tips from a company that has gone through the process.
Read More