There’s a three-way war at most stores and supermarkets today, as the debate between paper and plastic has a new contender: The tote bag. Yes, many people are starting to bring their own bags to stories, forgoing the paper vs plastic debate entirely. While most people see this and think only of the environmental benefits, there are others.
Bringing your own bag doesn’t just help the environment out, but it can also help you save space, avoid ruined groceries, and save some money while you do so. You can find tote bags almost anywhere, and even some grocery stores are giving incentives to push you in the direction of the reusable bags.
Environmental Benefits
Before we get into the less known benefits of bringing your own shopping bag, we need to talk about the environmental benefit. Plastic bags aren’t biodegradable, are manufactured using fossil fuels, and simply clog up landfills, oceans, and other environments. Sure, they can be reused once or twice, but eventually, they will break.
While paper is much better than plastic since it can be recycled and reused much easier, sometimes a paper bag can still be a hassle to deal with. They can rip, are useless when wet, and have a tendency to bend in the wrong places to leave you with crumpled corners.
But reusable tote bags are much more durable, can be reused dozens of times without facing too much wear and tear, and many of them are already made of recycled material, to begin with.
Carrying Them Around
It’s interesting to watch your groceries get bagged. Whether you pick paper, plastic, or a mix of both, it’s fun to see the laws of bagging items. Wet items go together, warm items don’t mix with cold, and sometimes an entire bag will be filled with just two miscellaneous items.
What this normally means is you have anywhere from two to ten grocery bags, filled with a mix and match of items. Some bags are heavy, others are light, but all of them force you to make more than a few trips.
However, tote bags often have flexibility on their side. Due to the material they are made out of, they don’t bunch up like plastic or are rigid like paper. You can fit a lot of items inside a cloth bag, and still have room to spare.
Plus, you won’t have to fight to get through the handles. Instead just carry the shopping bag normally and you can loop a few on your arms.
Bags and Water Don’t Mix
We’ve all had those moments in the store that seem like something out of a movie. You’re walking out of the grocery store, paper bags in hand when the bottom falls out. Your groceries go everywhere, you get angry, and money hits the pavement right along with your carton of eggs.
Paper bags are pretty useless when wet, and sometimes this can come due to the groceries you buy, or just through an accident. But when they are wet, they become a lot less durable and more brittle. This certainly causes problems.
Plastic is no better because while they might not break, have you ever touched a wet plastic bag? It’s just gross, and the water makes it harder to get the bag open.
However, if a tote bag ends up getting wet, you won’t have to worry about the functionality of the bag. While it can be an annoyance, there’s no risk of the bag breaking or you having to fight to get it open. Instead, you can just use it as normal.
You Can Take Them Everywhere
Most plastic bags have one of two uses: grocery bags or dog poop scoopers. Paper bags aren’t much better, as most people typically use them for storage. However, when it comes to a shopping bag, you can use it for many more things.
A shopping bag is still a tote bag, and it can be used to carry other items while you are on the go. You can use them for gym equipment, as a purse, or just as a way to carry your essentials over your shoulder. Try that with a paper bag!
Try A Shopping Bag Next Time You Shop
There’s no downside to simply bringing your own bag with you and using it during checkout, so try it for one day. Whether you want to overcome the downsides of paper or plastic, or just be a little more environmentally conscious, there’s nothing to lose with a reusable bag.