Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has filed for a paper bag patent with the US patent office. The patent is for a shopping bag that is made using 60% recycled material.
Recycled paper bags are not an entirely new concept though they are considerably weak because of the amount of bleach used with the recycled materials. They are thus a bit weaker than those made with new paper. However, this is new territory for Apple to push to with the paper bag patent.
The Apple paper bag patent is an environmental move
The Apple paper bag patent is part of Apple’s environmental conservation efforts. The paper bag design in the drawings presented in the patent documents looks similar with the bags given to iPhone 7 customers. The background notes in the patent documents also state the bags are often used to contain items purchased at retail stores.
“This can help to reduce any environmental impact from production, use, and disposal of the bag,” claims the company in statement.
The rigidity aspects of the paper bags
Apple claims that the paper bag is made of 60% post-consumer products and the paper used to manufacture the bags is made using solid bleached sulfate paper. The company also claims that making the paper bags requires various construction and design innovations to make sure that they are strong. The amount of recycled paper used in the making of the paper bags also matters because the more the recycled paper used to make bleached paper bags, the weaker they will turn out.
The packaging designers working on the Apple paper bag patent claim that there will be reinforcements to strengthen the weaknesses and make sure that the Apple paper bags are strong. The company is also working on handles that are suitable for storage. Apple’s aim with the paper bag patent is to make sure it plays a part in environmental conservation which is definitely an interesting move for the tech firm.
Apple stock closed the recent trading session at $113.57, down by $0.01 or 0.01% compared to the value of the stock at the close of the previous trading session.