The latest news to rivet the Bag Manufacturer world is coming at us from spots as familiar as Chinese manufacturing centers, to small towns in Midwestern America. It might come as a surprise that most of the hottest news is not really about handbags at all; it’s more focused on the post-holiday season attention that’s been put towards finding solutions to challenges that have had suppliers and manufacturers scratching their heads all year long.

Without a doubt, there are countless fashion handbags and designer bags to choose from. However, now that the rush of the holiday season has come and gone, we’re all left with the reality of finding solutions to old questions that have vexed the industry for at least a couple of decades.

The big news today is about plastic bag manufacturers, and what they will do to offset the pinch felt after a series of plastic bag bans have been put into effect, in various locations around the world.

While this kind of intervention on the part of authorities has yet to reach the shores of consumer-driven economies like the US, it’s already being seen in countries that have long been struggling with their own forms of pollution and landfill issues, and would like to minimize damage done with a sudden influx of shoppers’ bags being tossed to the wayside.

In Malaysia, the measures to curb waste plastics have put the squeeze on manufacturers.

When asked to elaborate on their feelings about plastic bag bans, the answers were similar. Manufacturers are somewhat unified in their beliefs that outright substitution of plastic bags will lead to desirable changes. Some makers of plastic bags and related products pointed out that the biodegradable products can actually cause more harm than good, as they produce gases like carbon dioxide and methane when they break down in the absence of oxygen, as most landfills are prone to do when waste is buried under tons of rubbish.

On a different note, there are other bag manufacturers who have been hit with the recent headaches caused by lead contamination found in some plastic bag products. Disney-themed plastic bags have been discovered to contain up to 15 times the legal limit of lead, and this has become an issue for Safeway, the retail superstore that carries the bags for customers to use with their seasonal promotions.

Currently, the federal limit for lead in children’s products is 300 parts per million, or 0.03% lead by weight. Long-term and high exposure to lead is toxic and potentially fatal, because it can damage the nervous system, brain, kidneys, and reproductive system. While harmful to all humans, children are particularly vulnerable to the heavy metal.

Perhaps in contrast to the arguments made by plastic bag manufacturers regarding the promotion of biodegradable bags, policy makers in both India and the Middle East are working hard to ensure that not only the lead contamination issues are held at bay, but also that a planned national ban on conventional plastic bags be passed and enforced actively by 2013.

Officials are expecting to see a logo which provides assurance that any bag bearing the mark meets federal requirements for biodegradability and safety levels.

And good news for the people of Alabama, as the town of Haleyville finds itself producing an increased number of sleeping bags.

Currently the town holds the highest level of unemployment in Alabama, and the increased production figures are bringing 20 new jobs to the local factory, as demand for products like sleeping bags has gone up. This not only brings new jobs forth, but company spokespersons acknowledged that it will also contribute to the factory increasing overall production by 33% for the year.

Bag Manufacturer challenges are faced with new innovations, on a daily basis.