Ninedays Blog

I've been seeing these reusable canvas grocery bags for a while now and I kind-of support the idea. Though the ones you can purchase at the store are ugly and quite hideous.
When I hit the market I usually only end up with two or three bags of groceries since I am only shopping for myself, so I really ought to have some eco-friendly bags that I could re-use.

I've seen plenty of places to buy these bags online and there's quite a variety to the styles. So while perusing the internet I wanted to check out the apparent pros and cons as well as the price point (for my wallet) of this eco-friendly trend.

After looking at all the different bags I have to say that my pick is the Baggu. It's not a huge bag and will fit comfortably over my shoulder. They're simple and no frills which is what I am always looking for.

Comparison of Popular Reusable Bag Brands

• BYOB Bring Your Own Bag
  • Price: $29.99ea or $44.99ea for the designer series
  • Style: 100% Cotton & Organic Cotton bags. Screen printed.
  • Size: 17x16x4", double enforced 2" straps and 5x5 interior pocket.
  • Notes: Some of these bags are obviously out to make the political statement of "I'm green, why aren't you" which I'm not so into, but the graphics on some of the bags are quite lovely.
    Also, they are big on having their brand right in your face on the bags.
    
• My Own Bag
  • Price: $49ea - $69ea, a few are on special as low as $38
  • Style: Unknown material, most appear to have quilted texture
  • Size: 27x17.5" holds over 25lbs in groceries
  • Notes: Not a big fan of these bags. They're simple and have almost a "designer" quality about them, mostly with the choice of fabrics and style. very neat that they fold into their own carry pouch though.
• Sea Bags
  • Price: $95ea - $145ea
  • Style: Made from recycled sails (from ships) and the style has a very nautical quality to it.
  • Size: 3 sizes, approximately 9x12", 14x14" or 14x18"
  • Notes: Love the idea and the look really makes me want to be walking along the boardwalk in a touristy beach community. I don't think they'd be my pick for that price though. The rope straps look like they might dig into your shoulder if you had a large bag full of groceries.
• Envirosax
  • Price: $8.50ea - $24.95ea depending on style and number of bags
  • Style: Graphic bags as well as organic bags. You can buy 5 bags and get a pouch to carry them in.
  • Size: 19.5x16.5"
  • Notes: I like the 5 pack idea with a convenient pouch especially since most people will go to the grocery store to buy well more than one bag of groceries.
    Handles appear to be intended for hand-held carrying, not over the shoulder.
• Baggu
  • Price: $6.33 - $8ea depending on quantity
  • Style: 100% rip stop nylon
  • Size: 14x24x5" holds up to 25lbs
  • Notes: These are simple bags at a good price. No fuss, no frills, no problem.

Variety of Reusable bags to Choose From!

• Reusable Bags.com - Loads of different sizes, shapes and styles from many different brands and manufacturers at good prices. There's definitely a bag to fit your needs here.
• Eco Bags - Lots of different sizes and styles all at very affordable prices.
• Envirotote - So many bags in different shapes and styles. Bags available for many different uses like totes, lunch bags and backpacks. They will even screen print artwork on there for you!

Then again there's always heading down to my local craft store and grabbing a few canvas bags and dolling them up, maybe by applying a DIY homemade screen print. Not to mention you can screen print almost any of the bags above too!