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Self-check-out lanes, mobile apps, home delivery – it seems every aspect of grocery shopping has become more modern and convenient. Just look at the evolution of the grocery bag. From the brown paper bag to the widespread adoption and subsequent backlash of single-use plastic, the history of grocery bags continues today with an innovative zero-waste solution that doesn't skimp on convenience, style or performance.
Keep reading to learn more about the history of bags and discover the latest grocery bag design, PackIt's Freezable Grocery Tote.
With mentions throughout the documented history of all civilizations, it's impossible to know who invented bags.
However, the invention of burlap bags can be traced to 1793 India, where fibers from the native jute plant were woven together to create burlap fabric. And until the mid-19th century, this is how bags were made – by hand, using natural materials.
Mass-produced paper bags were invented in 1852, with one major drawback – they didn't have bottoms. At this point, you're probably wondering: Is a bag without a bottom…a bag?
"Large, not terribly useful paper envelopes" more accurately describes the output of this new machine, but no matter – it was a 19th-century disruption. A machine-made, disposable carrier unlike anything seen before? It's no surprise their inventor was able to call them whatever he liked.
Margaret Knight, a worker at a paper bag company, invented a mechanism to automate the process of making paper bags with a flat, square bottom, which revolutionized the industry and made square-bottom paper bags the norm. Despite the eventual dominance of plastic bags in the market, the design of the functional grocery bag has remained popular over time, with modern paper bags still using updates of Knight's patented machine, and new bags made from modern materials still maintaining the classic square-bottom shape.
For instance, PackIt's Freezable Grocery Tote has the shape of a block bottom bag but with advanced materials that provide structural integrity, a comfortable carry and cooling capabilities that paper could never deliver.
In 1912, a St. Paul, Minnesota grocer invented a reinforced, handled shopping bag after seeing his customers struggle to carry brown grocery bags. On behalf of all shoppers everywhere, thank you, Walter Deubener.
This part of paper bag history is as enduring as the square-bottom bag. The best modern grocery bag designs include reinforced seams and handles or straps to carry more, farther.
America's plastic bag history started in 1979, and by the 1990s, plastic bags had taken over the world.
The obvious advantage for retailers was that they were much cheaper than paper bags. Shoppers preferred them because durable and weather-resistant plastic proved relatively easier to carry.
The Swedish engineer who invented the one-piece, high-density polyethylene grocery bag in 1965 thought it was better for the environment because it was reusable and saved trees. However, plastic bags are so cheap to make and easy to use that they have become a single-use product due to convenience, with serious environmental consequences.
The original breast milk cooler includes a clear pocket for a name and date card. Plus, you get your pick of fun styles like polka dots.
Eight states have banned single-use plastic bags, and some of the nation's largest retailers, like Walmart and Kroger, are planning a nationwide ban or pilot-testing bagless stores. Similar efforts have been made all over the world.
Although the history of bags has a dark side, today's policymakers and consumers are wiser to the realities of plastic pollution, and many people are choosing alternatives for getting their purchases home. The demand has created new styles of grocery bags that are better than ever, and transporting fresh food has never been easier.
We all love a good bag, but have you ever stopped to think about the environmental impact of your bag choice? Here are some mind-blowing stats that might just make you rethink your go-to carry-all:
These stats show that our bag choices can have a big impact on the environment. Let's all make conscious choices and help protect our planet!
The 90s saw what a plastic bag habit can do to a planet, and the modern reusable tote was born.
Over the years, improved materials like insulation have been incorporated into reusable grocery bag designs. Perishable foods can go without refrigeration for one to two hours, and insulation helps make the most of that time – but only by adding ice or ice packs can you keep foods safe for longer than two hours.
PackIt is the bag that's an ice pack, with the features of a traditional reusable tote plus the functionality of a cooler. None of the many different types of grocery bags, with or without insulation, have PackIt's built-in cooling capabilities.
The evolution of the grocery bag has brought us to an eco-friendly fridge on the go that's stylish and functional.
You can use PackIt's grocery tote as-is or fold it up and put it in the freezer overnight to turn it into a portable cooler. Patented EcoFreeze® Technology turns the bag's interior gel lining frozen, completely surrounding whatever is placed inside the bag. There are no ice packs in the carrying space to pack, arrange or keep track of.
PackIt has taken the best features of each iteration in the evolution of the grocery bag and created a grocery tote for the ages.
PackIt carries it all – groceries, school lunches, baby bottles, medicines and much more. Whether you need a mini cooler to protect your phone and makeup from the heat or bento containers customizable to any meal, let PackIt's technology and design help you keep things cool and organized.
Find the next evolution of the grocery bag at PackIt today!
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Plastic bags were invented to save the planet, according to the son of Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin who created them in 1959.
The bags were developed as an alternative to paper bags, which were considered bad for the environment because they resulted in forests being chopped down.
They were significantly stronger than paper bags, which meant – in theory – they could be used over and over again.
However, single-use plastic took off and now our consumption of this polluting material is one of the biggest threats facing the world’s seas, with marine plastic set to outweigh fish by 2050.
Raoul Thulin, son of Sten, told the BBC: “To my dad, the idea that people would simply throw these away would be bizarre.
“He always carried [a plastic bag] in his pocket folded up. You know what we’re all being encouraged to do today, which is to take your bags back to the shop, he was doing back in the Seventies and Eighties, just naturally, because, well, why wouldn’t you?”
Sea creatures seen tangled in plasticShow all 8
1
/ 8Sea creatures seen tangled in plastic
This turtle was caught in a plastic six-pack ring when young and became deformed as it grew while still trapped in the ring
Missouri Department of Conservation
Sharks and turtles caught in a discarded plastic net
PA
A shortfin mako shark tangled in fishing rope. The rope has caused scoliosis of the back in the shark
PA
A hermit crab uses a plastic toy as a shell
Alamy
Found in September 2017, a grey seal dubbed Mrs Frisbee was the first in a series of seals to be found off the Norfolk coast with frisbees around their necks
Friends of Horsey Seals
The third in a series of three grey seals found on a Norfolk beach with frisbees embedded in their necks
PA
The injury to the seal was so severe that it had to remain in the care of the RSPCA for three months
PA
A turtle found wrapped in plastic netting in Tenerife, Canary Islands
Eduardo Acevedo/UPY 2019
Mr Thulin’s bags were patented by a company called Celloplast and by the mid-1960s they were replacing paper and cloth alternatives in Europe. By 1979, plastic bags accounted for 80 per cent of Europe’s bag market.
In 1982, two of the biggest supermarket chains in the US – Safeway and Kroger – switched to plastic bags and by the end of the decade they almost replaced paper bags around the whole world.
Plastic bags are now produced at a rate of one trillion a year, according to the UN.
While animals have been documented consuming or becoming entangled in plastics, the toxic effects the man-made substances have when they break down and end up inside marine organisms are still not clear.
Increasingly countries are looking to ban the bags.
In 2002, Bangladesh became the first country in the world to do so and now more than two dozen countries have followed suit.
However, alternatives to plastic bags are not necessarily the greener option. Although opting for paper or cotton bags would reduce litter and waste, they have other significant environmental effects.
According to the UK Environment Agency, a paper bag has to be used three times to be as environmentally friendly as a plastic bag that is recycled.
Making paper bags uses more energy and water and they are also heavier, which makes them more expensive to transport.
Bags made of cotton – a crop which requires huge amounts of water to grow – need to be used at least 131 times to be as good as a recycled plastic bag.
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Currently, the majority of plastic bags are not recycled and end up in landfill or polluting the environment where they take up to 1,000 years to degrade.
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