Discarded plastic bags are becoming a real problem
Many people are not aware about how much damage discarded plastic bags are doing to our planet. I mentioned in a recent post that when I was in Africa, I learned the countries like Tanzania have even outlawed the importation and use of plastic bags entirely.
Part of the problem is that our chemists are just too good these days. Plastic bags can seemingly last almost forever and take a very long time to break down and decompose. So if they are discarded improperly they blow around in the wind, get into the rivers and eventually flow into the oceans where they float around for years and years.
Plastic bags pollute our lands.
Many animals like sea turtles, whales, and dolphins mistake these floating bags for food and eat them. The animals often choke and die as their systems simply can't cope.
Plastic bags pollute our oceans.
So what can be done, you might ask? You can start using reusable shopping bags like the ones listed below.
Here's one of our own ideas:
This was the project I was working on while I was learning so much about how much plastic bags are hurting our global environment. If you're looking for a simple but elegant reusable shopping bag pattern, please give our own burlap shopping bag pattern a try.
Reusable Shopping Bag Patterns Roundup
Hover over the picture to show the title, click to open, or right-click and open in a new tab to keep this page open too. And don’t forget to pin so everyone can enjoy!
Reusable Shopping Bag
Handy Folded Shopping Bag
Fat Quarter Reusable Grocery Bag
Fat Sack
Child Sized Reusable Shopping Bag
Strawberry Reusable Grocery Bag
Reusable Grocery Bag
Fold Up Market Tote
Folding Grocery Tote
Chicken Feed Sack Tote
Reusable Grocery Bag DIY
Soft Fabric Shopping Bag
Eco Friendly Tote Bag
Shopping Bags from Bedding
Market Bag
Grocery Tote
Vintage Pillowcase to Bag
Mesh Panel Produce Bag
Grocery Bag Holders
10 Minute Grocery Bag
Pillowcase Shopping Bag
Grocery Bag Holder
Re usable Grocery Bags
Easy Grocery Bag Shopping Tote
Foldaway Market Tote
Easiest Grocery Bag
Reusable Eco Bag
Shopper Bag
Grocery Bag
Bag from a Man Shirt
Reusable Grocery Bags
Perfect Reusable Bags
Market Tote Trio
Folding Reusable Shopping Bag
Reusable Grocery Bag
Reusable Grocery Tote
Insulated Picnic Tote
Reversible Shopping Bag
Simple Cloth Grocery Bag
Burlap Shopping Bag
Reusable Shopping Bag
Farmers Market Tote
Reversible Lined Tote Bag
Lined Foldable Market Bag
Fabric Produce Bag
Reusable Produce Bags
Market tote
Fancy Reusable Market Tote Bag
Fabric Shopping Bag
Insulated Shopping Tote
Vintage Pillowcase Grocery Tote
Fold up Tote
Roomy Shopping Bag
Thank you!
My pleasure!
Just what I’m looking for, THANK YOU! My husband has quite a number of old shirts and I’m going to use a few to make reversible carriers, just a little project for our up and coming lock down, I’ve got lots of ideas now, thanks!
“First off I want to say awesome blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to
ask if you don’t mind. I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear
your head before writing. I’ve had a hard time clearing my
thoughts in getting my thoughts out. I do take pleasure in writing but it just
seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally
lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or tips?
Appreciate it!”
What about crochet, knit and felted bags ?
I have volunteered to be the host for the quilt camp for my quilting guild and this has given me a great idea to sew shopping bags for each attendee rather than just a small cloth bag. The bag will be more functional and probably actually get used more than once! Thanks for the ideas.
Great list also existing plastic can be turned into “plarn” I use bags from my cat litter (wood pellets that turn to sawdust and are composted or used on wood burning fire in winter) to waterproof fabric bags. These are made from jeans, dresses or tee shirts. So recycled and more planet saving
use of plastic is very harmful for human being, so everyone should avoid the use of plastic, It is very harmful for human body and it makes the food and everything toxicated, So it is better to use cotton or other cloth bags instead of these use and throw bags.
These are great!!! I love these bags! These are this year’s Christmas gifts. My friends and family are all worrying about our footprints specifically and man kinds in general. What an impact this would have if we as a nation would ban plastic bags. I am going to do my part, thanks again for the idea and the super patterns.
What a fantastic list and good for the planet too! Thanks sew much.