"In a War of Words, Makers of Plastic Bags Go to Court"

"SAN FRANCISCO — The plastic bag industry, increasingly on the defensive as municipal bag bans proliferate, has gone on the attack against ChicoBag, a competitor that bills itself as an eco-friendly alternative. A federal lawsuit in South Carolina accuses ChicoBag of illegal trash-talking about plastic bag waste.

The lawsuit, filed by three leading plastic bag manufacturers, contends that ChicoBag (whose reusable bag, when compressed into its carrying pouch, looks like a slightly squished Hacky Sack) knowingly overstated figures like the size of the garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean and the number of marine creatures killed by eating plastic garbage.

Andy Keller, 38, the inventor of the ChicoBag and the company’s president, said Wednesday he believed the industry was going after a small competitor because 'their product'had 'become the poster child of unnecessary waste.'He added that the facts on his Web site 'have been part of the public debate for years.'"

Felicity Barringer reports for the New York Times June 11, 2011.