What materials can be used to make reusable shopping bags?

There are many materials that a shopping bag can be made from, with new materials being developed in the near future. The more you enjoy your bags the more that you will know how to reuse them. To determine what kinds of shopping bags are perfect for you, it depends on the material, price, handles, and how many you need. Here are some materials that can be made into reusable bags.

1. Nonwoven polypropylene

Nonwoven polypropylene bags are the most common choice of material used to make bags used by retail stores. The material is a form of plastic shopping bag that resembles cloth in both look and feel. This bag is popular due to it being the most economical option. These bags are hefty, durable, and lay flat when you want to store them. Some nonwoven polypropylene bags even fold into small pouches as well. These bags show off vibrant, noticeable colors and you can process print logos and other designs on them up to four colors. A company logo looks great with this material.

These bags require hand washing using either a sink or a spray bottle of water or another cleaning product. Nonwoven polypropylene bags are either made of virgin materials or recycled materials, but it ultimately depends on the bag manufacturer.

2. Laminated polypropylene

Laminated bags are easy to clean and have a really professional appearance. Laminated bags are another type of plastic shopping bag, and can either be woven or nonwoven. Woven and nonwoven bags will look the same from the outside, but they will both look differently and have a different textured feel on the inside. Laminated bags can either have a matte finish or glossy finish, which has to do with the sheen of the lamination used. Glossy bags are shinier, while matte bags show off the bag's solid color and texture better.

Some laminated polypropylene bags are made of post consumer material, so ask your bag manufacturer to know whether or not the bag they are making for you are "post consumer" bags.

3. Cotton

Cotton is more known for being used to make clothing and bedding for its soft, warm material. If you love to easily leave cleaning your clothes to a washing machine, then you will love shopping bags that are made of cotton. However, if you want to display a screen printed logo, only cold water washing will preserve it. Organic cotton costs more, but is more environmentally friendly. Recycled cotton is a cheaper alternative. Cotton bags are nice for displaying logos behind vintage looking textures.

4. Natural Material

Some natural materials that can also be used, to make shopping bags will include bamboo, hemp, and jute. These care harder to find and therefore are more expensive than your typical plastic shopping bags, but environmentalists just love having them. Bamboo, jute, and hemp plants don't require pesticides and other chemicals in order to grow to an abnormal size to extract a lot of fiber. Jute, bamboo, and hemp are also used in conjunction with cotton or non woven polypropylene so that the bags are durable and can be used again and again. These materials have a grainy look and feel to them, so your brand will look very natural when displayed on them.

To push your environmental message further, you can print an eco-friendly version of your company logo on your bags in place of an ordinary one. Eco-friendly logos use up to 33% less ink, and your logo is left with a cool, timeless looking outline that reduces the environmental footprint in ink processing printers.