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Bags & Carry

Cotton totes, mesh produce bags, bulk-food bags and packable daypacks to end single-use plastic on every unplanned shop.

Bags & Carry tested by The Reusable Edit
How to reuse

Care, cleaning & longevity for bags & carry

Tote bags are the poster child for good intentions and bad maths. A canvas tote needs ~130 uses to beat a plastic bag on carbon — actually use them.

Everyday care

  • Wipe out crumbs and spills weekly — most totes are unstructured and forgotten produce liquefies at the bottom.
  • Rotate through a fleet of 3-5 rather than owning 20 you never wash.
  • Keep one folded in every jacket, bag and glovebox — the tote you use is the sustainable one.

Deep clean

  • Cotton canvas: cold machine wash inside a laundry bag, air-dry — heat will shrink hems and warp printing.
  • Recycled polyester (rPET) totes: 30°C wash, low tumble; avoid fabric softener (it clogs the fibres).
  • Leather-handled totes: hand-wash the body only, condition handles with beeswax or leather balm quarterly.

Longevity tips

  • Re-stitch a stressed seam the first time it puckers — a five-minute needle-and-thread job vs a landfilled bag.
  • Iron out fold creases occasionally; permanent creases become tear lines.
  • Rescue a stained tote by dyeing it a darker colour rather than replacing it.
When to replace

The base seam has failed at multiple points, or the fabric has thinned to translucent at the bottom (a sign it will tear next full load).