Cherie's Sewing Corner: Eco Friendly Market Bags

Hot Pepper Market Bag

With the bans, taxes and charges being put on plastic bags now, paper bags and biodegradable bags make more sense than ever. And it makes even better sense to have market bags that we can use over and over!
Current research estimates that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide (that’s about 1 million bags a minute!). When you consider the fact that every square mile of ocean has about 46,000 pieces of plastic waste floating in it, and a single plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years to degrade, it’s easy to see that these wasteful (and unnecessary) shopping aids have to go.

Reversible Market Bag with Pockets

Although there are many campaigns to remind and encourage people to bring their own reusable bags with them on shopping trips, some cities have decided that it’s time to put more serious policies into action.

Peace Reversible Market Bag

In 2007, the City by the Bay became the first municipality in the U.S. to ban plastic bags. The decision drew attention from all over the country and the world. Under the ordinance, supermarkets and drug stores are only allowed to offer customers bags made of paper that can be recycled, compostable plastic or reusable cloth. Since the law went into effect, the city reports using 5 million fewer plastic bags every month.
Here are some of the bags I have made that work great for taking to the market