Onya makes good reusable grocery bags from recycled plastic. These have carabiner clips to form a shoulder strap, and stuff down into a small carry pouch, when not in use.
Store all bags away from children and pets. If you do launder bags made with synthetic fibres (like recycled plastic), use a microplastics catcher.
Single-use plastic bags are not yet banned in England, though they are in many countries (including Bangladesh to prevent floods). They often get snagged in trees or dumped in rivers, where they choke wildlife or end up in the sea. So why not invest in a few good bags, and keep them in your bag or glovebox?
create a plastic-bag-free town or village
Although governments are slowly banning plastic bags, it’s not happening fast enough. Do what Rebecca did in her small Devon town of Modbury, and turn your entire town plastic-bag-free. A BBC wildlife camerawoman, she saw albatross chicks dying in front her while filming abroad, due to plastic pellet ingestion. On return, she plied the locals with wine in a local art gallery and showed everyone her film. Within 4 weeks, the whole town was the first in Europe to go plastic-bag free.
Everyone received a free reusable cloth bag through the post, delis used biodegradable pots, there was an amnesty of plastic bags that were sent off to turn into park benches, and even the local supermarket got involved. Rebecca said the campaign worked due to her being local and not having outsiders (like councils) to slow her down, though they did support the measure. Read how she did it in her little manual: Ban the Plastic Bag.
pretty linen reusable grocery bags
These pretty linen reusable tote bags are ideal for your trip to the farmers’ market. Choose from various colours and patterns, or order a surprise! This bag is made from European linen, and uses green energy to make bags from leftover fabric. Linen is from the flax plant, so is a more local fabric than cotton, which only grows thousands of miles away. And the natural fabric safely launders in the machine, without leaching microplastics into the sea.
wildlife organic cotton grocery bags
Lyndsey Green’s organic cotton grocery totes are not just made from organic Fair Trade cotton to last for years, but are also beautifully illustrated with endangered species. Ideal for the market or grocery shop, they are printed in the UK and made from quality cotton with long handles for ease of use. Choose from Sumatran tiger, Scottish wildcat or Giraffe.
packable grocery bag with 10-year guarantee
This packable recycled shopping tote is made from recycled plastic collected in Indonesia, then stitched by a family business into a quality item that carries a whopping 15-year guarantee. Made by Groundtruth, these bags (and everything else made by them) were created by explorers and have survived everything, even penguin poo! The bags have ripstop fabric to make them resilient and easy to clean, and each tote removes 8 plastic bottles from our planet.
