Shopping bags are medium sized bags, typically around 10-20 litres in volume (though much larger versions exist, especially for non-grocery shopping), that are often used by grocery shoppers to carry home their purchases. They can be single-use (disposable), used for other purposes (storage, can liners, etc) or designed as reusable shopping bags.
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Types
Types and typical use of shopping bags vary by country:
- In many European countries, plastic shopping bags were also free and common well into the 21st century, and as of 2007 still are common, but their use is becoming less and less widespread, partly due to environmental legislation, which has led retailers to charge for single use plastic shopping bags. The Republic of Ireland for example imposed a dedicated plastic bag tax, thus forcing retailers offering plastic bags to charge for them.
- Reusable shopping bags are increasingly used, eg. in EU countries where use of single-use plastic shopping bags is in decline. Reusable bags are often made from jute cloth, also known as burlap in the US,[1] but sometimes they are also made from plastic; however these reusable plastic bags are sturdier than single-use plastic shopping bags. In the USA, reusable bags are used as a fashion statement or for advertising.[2]
- In the United States and Canada, single-use plastic shopping bags are common and often free with a purchase. Some retailers, such as department stores, are more likely to provide paper bags to shoppers, whereas supermarkets and grocery stores tend to favour plastic bags. People are encouraged to have reusable shopping bags, when possible. In an effort to reduce plastic bag use, the city of Toronto requires retailers to charge a minimum CAD 0.05 fee for each plastic bag; prompted by the plastic bag charge in Toronto, many grocery retailers have imposed similar fees on plastic bags in their outlets in other parts of Canada.[3][4]
Environmental concerns
Heavy duty mulitple-use shopping bags are often considered environmentally better than single-use paper or plastic shopping bags. When possible single-use bags should be recycled or reused as trash bags, storage bags, etc. Responsible solid waste usage is encouraged. Used bags should not be littered: this can be unsightly and damage wildlife.
Popular culture
- It has been written that filmmakers, when depicting someone returning from shopping, always ensure that something is sticking out of the top of the shopping bag, usually a baguette (loaf of french bread).[5]
See also
References
- ^ the fabric of these jute bags/burlap bags is typically less coarse than that of gunny bags, which are often much larger
- ^ Barbaro (December 16, 2007). "Never Mind Whats In Them, the Bags are Fashion". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/business/16bags.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
- ^ "Toronto's new plastic retail shopping bag bylaw now in effect". City of Toronto. 2009-06-01. http://wx.toronto.ca/inter/it/newsrel.nsf/bydate/B189C7961D38AD96852575C9004E8B3C. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- ^ "Retailers can keep fees for plastic bags". National Post. 2009-06-02. http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/toronto/story.html?id=1652847. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
- ^ [1] Movie Cliches, "Shopping"
External links
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