Plastic shopping bag
A German plastic shopping bag with the phrase Obst macht fit! (Fruit makes you fit!). Before use (left) and after use (right), 2011 | |
A Channel Islands Co-operative Society plastic bag from 1999. | |
| Classification | Plastic bag |
|---|---|
| Uses | Container |
| Inventor | Sten Gustaf Thulin |
In use by consumers worldwide since the 1960s, shopping bags made from various kinds of plastic, are variously called plastic shopping bags, carrier bags, or plastic grocery bags. They are sometimes referred to as single-use bags—referring to carrying items from a store to a home—although, it is rare for bags to be worn out after single use, and in the past some retailers (like Tesco and Sainsbury's in the UK) incentivised customers to reuse 'single use' bags by offering loyalty points to those doing so. Even after they are no longer used for shopping, reuse of these bags for storage or trash is common, and modern plastic shopping bags are increasingly recyclable or compostable - at the Co-op for example. In recent decades, numerous countries have introduced legislation restricting the provision of plastic bags, in a bid to reduce littering and plastic pollution.
Some reusable shopping bags are made of plastic film, fibers, or fabric.