As a nation, we’ve pretty much turned our back on single-use plastic shopping bags. A wide range of more eco-friendly bagging options have been introduced to take their place, with bags made from anything from polypropylene to paper to cotton. We’ve also started to see canvas shopping bags become more popular, and here are just four reasons why.
- Outstanding Strength-to-Weight Ratio
Pick up a canvas bag and the first thing you’ll notice is how light it is. Of course, lightness is nothing new in shopping bags – what marks out canvas is its incredible strength-to-weight ratio. Despite being very light, canvas bags are strong enough to hold very heavy loads. This is partly down to the material and partly down to the weave technique. While other bags might start to give at the seams when you jam them full of heavier supermarket items, canvas should hold up.
- Long Distance Durability
One of the main problems with single-use plastic bags was that they were, well … only used a single time. You can only ever expect to use a single-use plastic bag a few times before it starts to sag and come apart. In contrast, canvas is incredibly durable. If you buy one today, you can use it for years to come without worrying about wear and tear.
- Easy to Wash
Of course, the problem with items you keep using for years is that they tend to look a little shabby and smell a little funky after a while. With canvas bags, that isn’t an issue since they are very easy to wash. You’ll generally be able to throw them in the washing machine every couple of months to get the fabric clean without causing damage. Even heavy stains can be worked out using a brush and some liquid detergent.
- Easy to Afford
Finally, canvas bags are extremely affordable. Sure, they might cost more than the old single-use plastic bags, but canvas is still very economical to produce. That’s one reason why canvas bags are often given away free for promotional purposes.
