Noticed anything different while shopping at Ralphs lately? The grocer started eliminating handles on its paper bags in April, which is expected to save 142,000 pounds of paper weight a year.

Starting March 1, the Cincinnati-based grocery store chain will stop offering paper bags with handles. That bag choice has been available at about 40 of the 121 Kroger stores in Michigan ...

American Twisting is as niche as they come. It makes the paper handles on retailers' bags, enough of them to fill two large factories across the street from each other with machinery and employees.