National Brown-Bag It Day is a holiday observed on May 25th annually and reminds people that taking their lunch in a brown paper bag is still an option—even if they’re a grown adult. Many of us had our brown bag lunches packed by our parents—lunches that often had handwritten notes of love and encouragement placed gently inside them.

Unfortunately, as we have grown older, most of us have stopped taking our lunches in brown bags and instead rely on workplace cafeterias, vending machines, or fast-food restaurants. This day serves to remind all of us, however, that taking our lunch to work in a brown bag is still a viable option.

Interesting Facts About Brown Paper Bags

Have you ever wanted to know everything there is to know about brown paper bags? Probably not, but we’re still going to give you some interesting facts about them that we feel will be of interest to a lot of people. So, without further ado, let’s look at some brown paper bag facts below.

• Paper bags decompose in about a month, which is a lot shorter than the 1,000 years it takes plastic to decompose.
• Paper bags are made from a renewable resource, while plastic is made from a non-renewable resource.
• Approximately 20% of paper bags are recycled, compared to only 0.5% of plastic bags.
• It takes less energy to make a paper bag than it does to create a plastic bag.

Observing National Brown-Bag It Day

We would think that everyone who wants to celebrate this holiday will do so by packing up their favorite lunch in a brown bag and taking it to school or work. If there’s a microwave at your school or job that you can use, then you have an almost unlimited number of options available to you.

However, if you don’t, then you’re probably stuck having to pack yourself a basic lunch of a sandwich and a bag of chips. Whatever you pack in your lunch bag, just make sure that you let us all know about it using the hashtag #NationalBrownBagItDay on social media.