Reusable shopping bags....Does using polypropylene or nylon make sense?

Question

I am in the market for some reusable shopping bags and some of the ones I like are made of polypropylene. Since these are made from oil, is that really helping very much?

Answer 1

They sell great reusable bags at Whole Foods if you have one near you.  They have $1.99 bags that seem like cotton and are extremely strong.  I have packed them and the handles are very strong and do not break, They also have a new one for .99 that is made of recycled material.  They seem a little stiff so I like the cottony ones better.  For the cost, you can't beat the quality!

Answer 2

I have seen some reusable shopping bags at Wal-mart.

However, they are kinda small and not able to hold many

items.  But they are made of cloth not polypropylene or

nylon.  Hope that this is helpful to you.

Answer 3

I have wondered the same myself.  I like the idea of making or buying bags from resourced material.  For example, the current issue of ReadyMade magazine has directions to make your own grocery tote from old rain jackets, but lots of other materials could be used.  You could probably check online -- etsy.com is a good place to start -- for someone who sells this kind of bag if you're not handy with needle and thread.

Answer 4

Actually, if you shop at Wal-mart a glad trash bag works just fine cause with their stuff that is where 80% of it winds up after you buy it anyhow!

Answer 5

Whilst it is true that they are made of petroleum products, they are more environmentaly sound than regular shopping bags due to the fact they are much more durable and therefore reusable. An other option would be to use clico or woven hemp.

I traveled to Papua New Guinea a couple of years ago and regular shopping bags are almost non existant. They use woven bags called "Billums". These bags range in size from no bigger than a small handbag right upto huge bags used for putting farm produce in. They are made from various differnt materials. Everything from traditional tree bark twine to shreded tarpaualen.

If you are interested in something like these, just find your local Hippee conmune and im sure youl find something similar.