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I bought five cloth bags (strong canvas) at my food co-op in 1992. Still using them now, 28 years and many washes and many many shopping trips later. I agree t

I bought five cloth bags (strong canvas) at my food co-op in 1992. Still using them now, 28 years and many washes and many many shopping trips later. I agree that some of the lighter weight ‘cloth-like’ bags made today would not be able to stand that duty cycle.

alistairSH 5y ago
I also use fabric bags, most of which were acquired at no-extra-cost when purchasing other things. Some are quite HD and I expect they'll last a decade or more. But, some are quite flimsy and not something I would purchase on its own. I suspect that HD hemp bags (or some other blend of material) are the best option, but finding a definitive answer isn't easy. It appears the lighter cotton bags need to be used for two decades to account for the cost of farming the cotton - and many won't last that long before they begin to fail.
maxerickson 5y ago
Washing them increases their impact. Might be better overall still, but that's the direction it goes in.
- peapicker 5y ago
  True. I wash them once or twice a year with a load already being run for jeans.
- genewitch 5y ago
  Wait, what? I use soapberries, have a well, and have a sewage treatment plant here. My electricity is hydroelectric. How is me washing anything affecting the planet negatively in the slightest bit? After the sewage gets treated it goes into a field with wild vegetation which is home to all kinds of living, breathing, and pollen[ating] things.
miniatureape 5y ago
https://theconversation.com/heres-how-many-times-you-actually-need-to-reuse-your-shopping-bags-101097 https://theconversation.com/heres-how-many-times-you-actuall... Links to two studies which place the number of times you must reuse a cotton bag between 130-7100 times.
- peapicker 5y ago
  I’m approaching 1500 uses per bag by my estimates. Hope to get another 20 years out of them. At least they are fully biodegradable, and don’t produce microbead plastics throughout the environment.
- alistairSH 5y ago
  The Danish study assumes that plastic bags are incinerated. How likely is that in reality? I have no idea if my trash is incinerated in bulk, sorted with part incinerated, or 100% dumped in a landfill.

alistairSH 5y ago

I also use fabric bags, most of which were acquired at no-extra-cost when purchasing other things. Some are quite HD and I expect they'll last a decade or more. But, some are quite flimsy and not something I would purchase on its own. I suspect that HD hemp bags (or some other blend of material) are the best option, but finding a definitive answer isn't easy. It appears the lighter cotton bags need to be used for two decades to account for the cost of farming the cotton - and many won't last that long before they begin to fail.

maxerickson 5y ago

Washing them increases their impact. Might be better overall still, but that's the direction it goes in.

peapicker 5y ago
True. I wash them once or twice a year with a load already being run for jeans.
genewitch 5y ago
Wait, what? I use soapberries, have a well, and have a sewage treatment plant here. My electricity is hydroelectric. How is me washing anything affecting the planet negatively in the slightest bit? After the sewage gets treated it goes into a field with wild vegetation which is home to all kinds of living, breathing, and pollen[ating] things.

miniatureape 5y ago

https://theconversation.com/heres-how-many-times-you-actually-need-to-reuse-your-shopping-bags-101097 https://theconversation.com/heres-how-many-times-you-actuall... Links to two studies which place the number of times you must reuse a cotton bag between 130-7100 times.

peapicker 5y ago
I’m approaching 1500 uses per bag by my estimates. Hope to get another 20 years out of them. At least they are fully biodegradable, and don’t produce microbead plastics throughout the environment.
alistairSH 5y ago
The Danish study assumes that plastic bags are incinerated. How likely is that in reality? I have no idea if my trash is incinerated in bulk, sorted with part incinerated, or 100% dumped in a landfill.