4 Popular Types of Reusable Fabric Shopping Bags

Reusable fabric shopping bags are an eco-friendly, practical, and affordable alternative to disposable bags. Using reusable fabric shopping bags helps the environment by reducing pollution and conserving energy. Plus, switching to reusable shopping bags can save you money in the long run.

Up to 1 million birds, turtles, and many other sea animals die annually from taking in plastic bags. Animals can confuse floating bags with sea life to eat, such as plankton and jellyfish. Once they eat it, the plastic chokes up their digestive system. The animals typically starve to death. Other animals may drown after they are entangled in plastic bags. Thus, we should move to reusable fabric or paper bags.

There is a wide range of reusable fabric bags available in the market, including natural fiber bags like cotton and canvas, jute, hemp. There are also petroleum-based fabric bags, like nylon and polyester, known as PET.

1. Cotton and Canvas Bags

Cotton and canvas tote bags are the most common type of bags. This is made with natural-fibers like traditional cotton, organic cotton, or recycled cotton bags.

Though traditional cotton is made from a renewable crop source, it requires chemicals and pesticides. Is also consumes, high quantity of water. However, organic cotton is grown without pesticides, which is helpful in reducing the negative environmental impact of cotton production.

Cotton is made from a decomposable or natural plant fiber. Thus, after a sufficiently long and helpful life, it can get dismiss without many bad footprints on the earth. It also has the sources of getting renovated.

Plus, Canvas Shopping Bags are Strong and durable with soft fabric. You can wash it in the machine with cold water.

2. Jute Bags

Jute is natural plant fiber that can make strong threads. Jute bags are made with these threads, hence they are very strong. Jute pants grow in high rainfall areas and require little to no pesticides.

Jute has natural renewable resources. Jute too is a compostable plant fiber, thus, after a long helpful time, it can get disclose without any negative impact on the environment.

Jute can make great Reusable Grocery Bags. You can go shopping with a jute bag in your hand. Plus, green is a new style. It will make you look very caring about the environment. Switching to reusable bamboo straws from Ecoy can also a go long way in reducing plastic pollution.

3. Hemp bags

Hemp is a natural fiber that is several times stronger than cotton. Mostly, hemp is used for textiles and industrial applications. The hemp harvest can grow in poor soils. Moreover, it does not need much water and grows well without any fertilizers.

Hemp bags are extremely strong and durable. You can wash and dry hemp bags in machines. Plus, hemp blend with other material to make designer bags.

Hemp bags are not exactly cheap, yet it will prove cost effective for you. You can use your hemp bags for years and never throw them away. When they get dirty, it is simple to wash them and keep on using them.

4. Recycled PET Bags

Recycled PET bag looks and feels like a fabric but is made of plastic. PET fabric is recycled from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles and containers. Recycled PET bags are durable and eco-friendly. It creates a market for post-consumer recycled materials.

By using recycled PET materials you are reducing wastes. Also, it conserves a non-renewable resource. You can have it in customized designs. It is also used for promotion, advertisement, shopping, and gifting.

Over to You

On a life-cycle basis, stronger, heavier bags will have a greater environmental impact. Then it does not matter from which material it is made. This is because heavier bags use more resources, and as a result, have a more significant environmental impact.

Salman Zafar

Salman Zafar is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of EcoMENA. He is a consultant, ecopreneur and journalist with expertise across in waste management, renewable energy, environment protection and sustainable development. Salman has successfully accomplished a wide range of projects in the areas of biomass energy, biogas, waste-to-energy, recycling and waste management. He has participated in numerous conferences and workshops as chairman, session chair, keynote speaker and panelist. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management and environmental sustainability across the globe Salman Zafar can be reached at salman@ecomena.org

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