Spring Break Collections Guide

Reusable grocery bags have become increasingly popular over the last decade, and have slowly replaced the paper and plastic grocery standard. In fact, more than 90 cities around the country have prohibited the use of plastic bags, and paper bags were absent in grocery stores long before the plastic bans. The reusable versions have come a long way from the cheaply made polyethylene bags that introduced the trend to the market, and can be stylish and convenient as well as good for the environment.

Significance of Using Reusable Grocery Bags
Using plastic bags as a single-use container raises significant environmental concerns, according to a 2010 report by Aecom Technology Corp. Adverse effects include both short- and long-term consequences to marine ecosystems, solid waste management, global resource consumption, and litter. A switch to a reusable grocery bag can have a profound positive effect if, in fact, it is a lifestyle switch and consumers use the bag a minimum number of times. A consumer must use a polyethylene bag more than four times and a polypropylene bag more than 11 times, while a cotton bag must be used more than 131 times before it becomes better for the environment than plastic.

In addition to toting around groceries from the store to home, reusable grocery bags are useful for a multitude of other purposes, such as gardening, toting pet supplies, and holding items to go to the beach. The bags can also be upcycled, such as holding and organizing dry goods, onions, potatoes, and other countertop food items.

Choosing a Style
There are dozens of different styles of reusable grocery bags, and consumers can even make their own from materials lying around the house. Using old cotton T-shirts is one way; simply sew the bottom hems together and cut the sleeves off to make handles. If shoppers are not crafty or prefer a ready-made bag, there are styles to suit every type of personal brand.

Bags with similar dimensions to a brown paper bag carry easily because of their size. Those with flat bottoms can stand up by themselves and are easy to pack and tote in the car. The bags can have either long handles that loop over the shoulder like a purse, or shorter handles that resemble the handles on a traditional plastic bag. Yet, other styles have special compartments for things like keys and cell phone.

Choosing a Material
Many retailers sell bags constructed with biodegradable or recycled materials. One concern consumers have is carrying food several times over in the same bag, because of the possibility of contamination. Using washable bags, such as cotton, remedies this concern. Since the point of the bags is to reuse them hundreds of times over, looking for a bag in a durable material is important. Hand knit bags are popular because of the small environmental impact they have, due to the minimal amount of energy consumed in creating the bags.

Cotton and canvas are popular material choices, and have about the same eco-print as growing and harvesting cotton plants. Furthermore, cotton and canvas are biodegradable. In addition to cotton and canvas, polypropylene and polyester are commonly used materials. Each type of material has its own characteristics as well as pros and cons.