Reusable Shopping Bags at Fresh St. Market

Let’s Talk About Shopping Bags

At Fresh St. Market, we’re focused on encouraging everyone to make the move to reusable bags, and we’ve made it easier for you.

While no perfect solution exists, conscious choices can minimize environmental impacts.

Let’s have a look at the two main choices available since single-use plastic bags were banned.

*Note: This is a store initiative only.

Paper Bags

Paper Bags: A Closer Look

Paper bags are often considered a greener alternative because they are biodegradable and easily recycled. However, the production of paper bags involves cutting down millions of trees and consuming vast amounts of water and energy. This leads to higher carbon emissions and environmental degradation.

Pros:

Made from renewable resources.
Biodegradable and recyclable, reducing long-term environmental impact if adequately managed.
Decompose faster than plastic bags in natural environments.

Cons:

Require more energy and water to produce than single-use plastic bags. For instance, producing 1,000 paper bags uses 23.2 kg of fossil fuels and 1,004 gallons of water.
Generate more greenhouse gas emissions during production than single-use plastic bags. Producing 1,000 paper bags emits 0.08 tons of CO2.
Heavier and bulkier, leading to higher transportation emissions.
Less durable, often not suitable for multiple uses. However, a paper bag must be reused three times to match the carbon footprint of a single-use plastic bag to offset its initial environmental impact.

Fun Fact:

Single-use plastic bags were invented in 1959 by Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin to combat the deforestation occurring at that time for paper bag production. It takes an entire 15-20-year-old tree to make only 700 paper bags. Based on our calculations, over 200 trees are harvested per month to supply paper bags for our stores alone—that’s more than 2,400 trees a year.

Reusable Bags

Reusable Bags: A Sustainable Choice?

Reusable bags, most commonly made from cotton or polypropylene, are designed for long-term use, meaning they can significantly reduce waste if used consistently. The key benefit of reusable bags lies in their repeated use, which helps lower their overall environmental footprint over time.

Pros:

Designed for multiple uses, reducing the need for single-use bags.
Cotton bags are biodegradable and can be recycled.
Polypropylene bags are durable and require fewer reuses to offset their production impact than cotton bags.

Cons:

Cotton bags require substantial water, pesticides, and fertilizers for production, leading to a high environmental footprint.
Polypropylene bags are made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource that contributes to global warming and has environmental impacts via extraction.
Cotton bags need to be reused 50-150 times, while polypropylene bags need to be reused 11 times to break even with plastic bags. However, the environmental impact decreases with each reuse.

But There Is a Third Option...

Borrow A Bag

A Smarter Way to Shop Sustainably

It’s clear that reusable bags are the better choice for the environment, but many people still opt for single-use paper bags when shopping. This can be due to:

Forgetting to bring reusable bags and not wanting to purchase more, adding to the pile of reusable bags at home.
Not fully understanding the environmental impact of single-use paper bags.

We know our customers want to do the right thing when it comes to shopping sustainably and saving money, which is why we are proud to launch Canada’s first-ever Borrow a Bag program at IGA and Fresh St. Market stores in British Columbia.

This program encourages the use of reusable bags and reduces reliance on single-use paper bags.

Customers at most IGA and Fresh St. Market stores in British Columbia will be able to borrow a reusable bag for a refundable deposit of $2.99. When finished with the bag, they can return it to get their deposit back. Each bag is laundered and reintroduced into the store for continued customer use as part of this circular reusable bag system.

If you forget to bring them back and end up with a stockpile at home, don’t worry—you can return them all at any time to get your deposits back.