Today is International Plastic Bag Free Day and it aims to raise awareness of the dangers of the native effects of plastic pollution, especially plastic bags, motivating people and institutes to embrace sustainable alternatives and combat the detrimental effects of plastic pollution. As the fight against plastic intensifies, alternatives have come into the market in the form of cute cotton tote bags adorned with environmentally friendly puns, becoming a trend and an aesthetic for social media.Yet the impact of these so-called plastic alternatives is debatable. The truth is everything has some systemic environmental price.Dr Lize Barclay, Senior Lecturer in Futures Studies and Systems Thinking, Stellenbosch University Business School shares more now