Have you ever gone to your local grocery store and thought about the number of bags that are used by them? Plastic is commonly provided to customers for carrying grocery items. But they can also be a huge waste, a key component to the ever-growing accumulation of the Earth’s man-made pollutants. By 2050, it is estimated that plastic waste will outnumber the combined weight of all the fish in the oceans unless worldwide human consumption of plastics is reduced.
One of the easiest ways to prevent this from occurring begins at the individual level. Reusable grocery bags are made from fabric, strong enough to hold up and last much longer than the short lifespans of bags. They can also sustain more weight, with some of them containing enough volume to hold a full carton’s worth of food. Below are seven of the best reusable grocery bags found online, made to substitute plastic bag’s strain on our environment. The Buyers Guide further down details all that you should know about reusable bags before checking out. The most recommended products from the list are announced at the summary.
Seven Reusable Grocery Bags that are Great for your Home and the Environment
| Product | Material | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BagPodz Reusable Bag and Storage System | 5 | RipStop Nylon | 2 gallons | Check Price |
| EarthWise Reusable Grocery Bags | 3 | PPNW | 5 gallons | Check Price |
| Anleo Reusable Grocery Tote Bags | 6 | PPNW | 5 gallons | Check Price |
| Household Essentials 2212-1 Krush Canvas | 1 | Vinyl | 5 gallons | Check Price |
| BeeGreen Grocery Reusable Bags | 5 | RipStop Nylon | 4 gallons | Check Price |
| BeeGreen Reusable Ripstop Fabric Bag | 6 | RipStop Polyester | 5 gallons | Check Price |
| Ahyuan Ecology Reusable Grocery Bags | 3 | Cotton (100%) | 1 gallon | Check Price |
7 Best Reusable Grocery Bags Reviewed
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BagPodz Reusable Bag and Storage System – Best Overall
The BagPodz Reusable Bag and Storage System consists of one small pouch and four large totes. You can store everything inside the pouch, using its small size for additional grocery items that can’t fit inside the big bags when they’re full. Furthermore, the pouch has a handy little carabiner on the outside. Drape it on your wheel cart as you shop, placing all bags the larger portion of the buggy. Remember, everything will fit into this pouch when you’re not using it, which has a zipper that closes it once finished.
Don’t make any plans to clean them in your washer, however; doing so would shorten their lifespan. Additionally, the zipper on the pouch often gets caught up with the rest of the bags. Be careful when you’re stuffing them inside again and ensure they’re not jammed in between the zipper’s teeth. But if you need reusable bags that are water-resistant and strong enough to lift 50 pounds of food, consider the BagPodz.- Contains two pouches for storing specialty items separately from other groceries
- The cylinder-shaped bag has a carabiner for draping over buggy handles
- All pieces included with the product will fit into each other when not used
- The bags are smaller than the size of the ordinary plastic bags
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EarthWise Reusable Grocery Bags Set Shopping Box with Reinforced Bottom – People’s Choice
The EarthWise Reusable Grocery Bags are sold in a set of six. They’re strong and should last years from the date that they’re purchased. When you’re ready to use them, you’ll quickly notice how each bag can be placed into a flattened shape once all the groceries are taken out, ready to be expanded upright again on your next shopping day. This is due to small cardboard inserts embedded on the inside of the fabric, which allows the bags to keep a cubed shape as your bag. As a result, getting your items packed is quick, and won’t take nearly as long as plastic bags would (especially since there’s no reliance on double bagging!).You can machine wash them if you wanted and the cardboard wouldn’t break, but it’s suggested to spot them to aid their longevity. If you live in a region that receives a good deal of rain throughout the year, the lack of a covering for the bags could be an annoyance. But that shouldn’t take away from their overall effectiveness. Try out this EarthWise bag set is you need someone that can be stored quickly and won’t break when something heavy’s place inside them.- All bags included will fold down the lay completely flat when not in use
- Each of the bags cardboard sides for walls, preventing them from being toppled over when standing in an upright position
- Can be cleaned easily without a machine wash (unless heavily soiled)
- No coverings added to the top of bags; nothing to prevent food from getting when walking outside during inclement weather
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Anleo Reusable Grocery Tote Bags (6 Pack, Black) – Best for Perishable Items
The Anleo Reusable Grocery Tote Bags come in a pack of six, all of them sturdy and built to hold most grocery items without the risk of breaking. There’s a carabiner (metal hook) placed on the side of the bag that you can suspend your items on, or even the bag itself when you’re storing it. Zippers on the top of each bag make them a good buy for people worried about rainfall; your groceries will never end up wet again. And best of all, the handle is one of the strongest that you’ll find on a reusable tote. It weaves down to the bag’s bottom, giving the carrier a great deal of support when hauling heavy items such as milk jugs and rice bags.Included are plastic inserts for perishable or frail products that you don’t want to break (or cause other items to get wet). These pouches also work well for meats, a good way to stop raw foods from potentially contaminating other edibles. You can take them out and hand wash them when back at home. Check out the Anleo Bags if your grocery list consists of many cold cuts items, or if you require something that will shield all food from wet weather.- A hook on the outside of the bag allows the user to suspend over a hook for storage
- Zippers featured at the top to close the bag shut
- The handle’s stitching extends all the way to the bottom of the bags, extending the entire product’s lifetime
- Plastic inserts included (easier to carry jugs and cans)
- Hard to keep the bag in an upright position unless held
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Household Essentials 2212-1 Krush Canvas Utility Tote – Best laundry carry Bag
With the Household Essentials 2212-1 Krush Canvas Utility Tote, there are multiple colors for consumers to choose, black included. And because of this, styling your bag the way you want is easy (for those that like arts and crafts). The other colors are nice as well, varying from floral, geometric, and all-white. They’re a little shorter than the other two bags shown so far, but open up to a wide degree. Surprisingly, this won’t interfere with your ability to carry them, even when filled to the brim with food items. Every bag included has a capacity that’s large enough to put them to use outside of grocery shopping. Feel free to use them for your trips to the laundry, or even as an alternative to your purse or hand carry when out in public.If you travel a lot, the bag easily conforms to the sizes of most airline’s overhead compartments. The biggest irritant would probably be the smell, which is chemical-like and doesn’t go away easily. And since it’s not recommended to machine wash them, hand cleaning might not get rid of the odor quickly. Still, try out the 2212-1 Krush Canvas if you want a bag that’s large and sturdy enough to be used for activities that involve more than picking up weekly groceries. There’s only one included, so you’ll need to purchase more if you buy groceries in bulk quantities.- Strong but very lightweight
- Zippers featured at the top to close the bag shut
- The dark color makes it easy for users to style it with artwork (stickers, stitching, etc)
- Large enough to be used when not grocery shopping (laundry, cleanup, and purse alternative)
- When used initially, the bag has an irritating smell to it (goes away after a while)
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BeeGreen Grocery Reusable Bags Foldable – Best for Heavy Groceries
The BeeGreen Grocery Bags can also be folded flat, or even bunched into a smaller “bag” and hung in your storage space for future use. When you’re ready to put them to good use, open it up and take advantage of the very wide top. More than one gallon of milk will fit into just one, which translates into lots of smaller grocery items for the rest of them. Five are included with this set, more than enough to handle the average shopper’s grocery list.One cool feature on these bags is the slouch handles along the top. They’re shaped like an ordinary plastic bag, but much wider. You could suspend them over your shoulders as you would with a normal carrying bag, a good time-saver for people that only want to purchase a small number of groceries. Heavy food items won’t cut or tear the bottom of your bags either since the nylon material gets stronger towards the lower portion. Unfortunately, there’s only one style to choose from (pink), with no alternative colors shown in the product’s description. If that doesn’t bother you, then go give the BeeGreen Bags a try.- Bags can be opened to a wide width (much wider than they appear)
- The handles are strong enough to be suspended over the shoulders without slipping off
- Heavy groceries will not puncture the bottom of the bag (so long as the bags are not overloaded)
- Difficult to fold and shape the bags into a pouch
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BeeGreen Reusable Ripstop Fabric Washable Durable Lightweight Bag – Best Material Quality
These BeeGreen Reusable Bags have assorted colors for you to pick, along with six bags in total. Each one is designed to store loads of groceries without ripping apart before you make it to your vehicle (or home). Even if you were to place jagged items into one of the bags, noting would tear if the size stayed under the specified capacity of five gallons. Each piece features a small carabiner on the outside of the bag that you can hook to your buggy, then using them for storage later. And there are no worries over spot cleaning or hand washing since they’re all safe for your machine washer. Just throw them in when they’re dirty and let your washer do the rest.Depending on your dryer, it might be better for you to air dry instead, so test out one bag (in the dryer) just to be sure before throwing them all in. The bag’s interiors are all reinforced, allowing them to stand up straight when you’re ready to fill with groceries. If a carabiner breaks after a while, don’t be surprised because they’re not built to last very long. If storage and hooks aren’t a big part of your criteria for picking a reusable grocery bag, then this BeeGreen product should suffice for most shoppers.- The fabric is designed to prevent rips from happening (rip-resistant)
- A hook (carabiner) is on each bag that’s useful for hoisting additional bags, if needed
- Safe for machine washing
- Reinforced seams make it easy to bag when checking out groceries
- Carabiners are cheaply made and may break if too much force or weight is applied to them
- Ahyuan Ecology Reusable Cotton Mesh Grocery Bags – Best for Machine Washing
The Ahyuan Ecology Reusable Cotton Mesh Grocery Bags are shaped a little bit different from the others shown so far. It consists entirely of mesh and manufactured completely from cotton. At first glance, the material resembles something you might have seen on a hammock (although much smaller, honestly!). If you like products that have the appearance of being hand-made or crochet, then you’ll love the look and feel of this. And because you’re only dealing with cotton, it’s entirely safe to clean them by hand or in a washing machine.Try to go easy on them in the washer, however; you don’t want to thin out or tear the mesh with other clothing. Don’t overload your washer or dryer with other items that could break the bag’s fabric. When you’re ready to take them out for your grocery shopping, you’ll like how each bag expands in size. They’ll accommodate a gallon’s worth of volume each, forming an ergonomic shape to whatever you place inside. The one-gallon maximum is much smaller than your average reusable grocery bags, so keep this in mind if you like to shop in bulk quantities. But in the end, you won’t be disappointed with this Ahyuan Ecology product.- The mesh material allows users to carry items with pointed edges without tearing apart
- Manufactured from cotton only; safe to wash by hand or machine
- The material is stretchy and conforms ergonomically to the items being carried
- Although the bag can stretch, the overall capacity is smaller than ordinary grocery tote bags
Buyer’s Guide
Choosing the Right Reusable Grocery Bag
You don’t have to overcomplicate things when looking for reusable bags. Try to focus your search on the products that conform the most to your style of shopping. For instance, if you tend to purchase items in bulk, then a reusable bag that’s wide and large would be the best fit for you. But if you’re more of a small “express lane” type of shopper, then the smaller varieties should suffice. How did you shop when you used plastic bags in the past? Did you drape them over the shopping cart? or separate meats and other perishable items from those that are non-perishable? Bags with plastic pouches in them could come in handy if you live to divide up items based on food type.
The Bag’s Strength
This is very important, and strength can vary with each bag you see. To get an idea of just how strong a bag of interest is, look at what materials it consists of. Polypropylene and nylon are some of the strongest bag materials you’ll find, and they will also prevent your food items from getting wet when the weather outside is poor. But cotton can also be strong and tends to be easier to machine wash.
Capacity and Weight
A reusable bag’s capacity is usually determined by the number of gallons that it can hold. Most average around four or five gallons, although some might hold less. But this is a measurement of volume only, and weight could be vastly different between two brands that have a five-gallon capacity but are made with contrasting materials. For example, a five-gallon cotton bag might be weaker than an all-nylon one. The nylon comparison could probably hold a combined weight of 50 pounds, whereas the cotton would max out at 40 or less.
Summary/Conclusion
If you’re ready to decide which reusable bag is best for your shopping style, take a moment to glance over any of the sections (or items) that you may have missed. The Buyers Guide will brief you on helpful pointers to consider before you check out, along with the comparison table above. But the best products overall are the first two choices from the reviews. BagPodz and EarthWise Reusable Grocery Bags have everything that you’ll need to get over the habit or dependence on plastic at the grocery counter. And when you use them, feel proud of doing your part to reduce the scale of ongoing pollution and the harm it brings to so many animals on Earth, including humans. Show them to your strangers and friends to raise awareness about the changes that can be taken to save our planet!
The BeeGreen bags are so adorable. I carry a really small purse and I have never tried to use reusable bags before because they were always too big and wouldn’t fit in my bag. Now I can just throw them in my purse and not worry about it.
My favorite bag on this list is the Household Essentials. It can fit so much that most of the time I only have to use one bag for each store trip. It makes it so much easier to bring everything in from the car when it’s just one bag.
I just got my Earth Wise bags a few weeks ago and I can only imagine how many plastic bags I have saved since then. I go to the store to purchase food for a family of five about three times a week.
I have never heard of the Bag Podz! I always forget to bring my bags into the store because I put them in my trunk because they take up too much space in front of my car. Maybe with these, I can actually remember!