My Reusable Bags Review: Organic Cotton Eco-Bag
June 18, 2008 by Peggy
Jennifer reviewed her reusable bags at the beginning of the month. Considering I’ve had mine for around a year, it’s about time I did a review.
I choose three organic cotton canvas Eco-Bags. They’re plain, soft and lovable. Well, I didn’t name them or anything, but I do like them a lot. I paid around $8 a bag at reusablebags.com, but I don’t think they carry this exact bag anymore. You can still purchase them at Eco-Bags.
What do I love about my Eco-Bags?
• Nice long handles fit over my shoulder with ease. I sling one or two over each shoulder, then carry another dual-handled tote like Jennifer’s in my hands with the short handles.
• They machine wash right up as good as new. They also haven’t stained at all, even though some raspberries got a little juicy in one of them. Since I put these bags in the cart, and they get handled a lot in general, it’s so nice to be able to wash them for real, no wiping with a damp cloth.
•These are some durable dears. I haven’t noticed any wear on my bags yet. The handles are still very firmly attached, and there’s no sign of becoming threadbare. I use them on average two times a week.
• Hold it Suzy! Well, if Suzy were the bagger I’d tell her not to fill them quite so full. These bags hold a lot, a little more than I like carrying on one shoulder. This is one reason I bought a fourth bag to discourage the heavy packing. It hasn’t worked as the bagger usually hands me an empty bag at the end! (Hmm, does this one belong in the “love” or “change” section? I do like the slightly smaller size of the dual-handled tote.)
• Sometimes plain is beautiful. I’ve gotten several compliments on my bags and requests to know where I got them.
Some things I’d perhaps change
• Since I’ve had the dual-handled tote, I must admit it’s rather handy. These bags would be a tad more versatile if they came with shorter handles as well.
• As I discussed in Reusable Bags with a Message, some baggers don’t yet get the reusable bag habit. For these times, it would be nice if the bags had an earth-friendly message. On the plus side though, I can customize them however I want.
•They don’t have a flat, gusset bottom. It doesn’t bother me, but I think the baggers would enjoy them more if they stood up a bit.
If I had it to do over, I’d still get these bags. They are affordable, organic, fair wage, practical and actually rather soothing to look at – very natural.
If you’ve been using your bags for several months, how are they holding up?
Photo by me.
I like the plain bags. Mine have large store logos on them. My husband says that I can’t take them with me into our traditional grocery store, but I beg to differ. Just let someone try to tell me to take it out of the store.
I have a big mouth and will give them a lecture on the evils of plastic!
Julie! That’s so funny. I do have two of the store logo bags I bought for .99 cents. I had one Kroger bagger make fun of me for having Schnucks bags. Then another bagger said, “Well, way I figure it is that you’re in here shopping with us.”
I needed some extra recycling sorters for cardboard, so I don’t use them as bags anymore. But, I agree, you can take them anywhere you want.
I was a good girl today, I actually did not forget to take my bags! I took both of them, thinking I’d need the space, but one was large enough to handle everything for lunch, dinner, cat, and laundry.
I love my ALDI bags!
Plus reading through the blog this morning helped me remember to take mine, so you guys are really helpful!
I take my walmart bags everywhere, Safeway, Fry’s, Salley’s, everywhere. No one has ever said anything to me except to see if I wanted everything in one bag, lol. I love my bags. I haven’t washed them yet but the bag I got from Safeway ripped just having other bags in it. I think I used it for groceries twice.
I keep a bag in the front seat of my car so I remember to take it with me whenever and wherever. And yes, sometimes I still forget it.
When I do forget my bags, I have the things put back in the cart and pack them myself at the car. I never take paper or plastic.