After the success of our Wheat Fields Bread Bags, earlier this year we began designing a set of Mesh Grocery Bags - a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic bags (of which 1.1 billion were sold in 2018/2019).
After testing other grocery bags found at supermarket checkouts and local farm shops, we found a few disappointing commonalities:
Made from unsustainable materials
Poor quality mesh bags stretched over time so fruit and vegetables began falling out
Lack of choice between sizes and shapes
Packaged in plastic
So on our path to design an alternative, we quickly had a distinct list of necessities:
Materials
Individuality
Breathability
Functionality
Packaging
🪴 Materials
We wanted our mesh bags to make a difference, not just to how you transport and store your groceries, but to the planet too. So our bags are made from both Fairtrade and GOTS certified organic cotton.
Every one of our grocery bags bought supports:
Organic Cotton Production: Grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers, organic cotton emits up to 46% less greenhouse gas than non-organic. It’s also grown under rain-fed conditions rather than extracting water from the ground which can put pressure on water supplies for local communities.
Fairtrade: Striving for better prices and working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world, Fairtrade notoriously costs more to address the injustices of conventional trade. Poorer and weaker produces are traditionally discriminated against, so Fairtrade enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.
🍀 Individuality
We teamed up with the same talented artist who designed the illustration for our Wheat Fields Bread Bags in 2020, this time designing us a handful of beautiful fruit and vegetable prints.
The prints are transferred to the individual bags by hand, using a traditional screen-printing technique. The ink used is eco-friendly, water-based and even complies with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
🍃 Breathability
When storing vegetables, most require dark conditions with constant airflow so they can breathe, stay cool and not rot.
The mesh on our cotton bags are spaced wide enough apart to allow airflow but also keep your groceries safe in transport. So after bringing your groceries home from the allotment or local greengrocers, you can store them directly in the mesh bags in the fridge / freezer / cupboard / shed!
🌻 Functionality
We wanted our mesh grocery bags to be as functional as possible which is why they come in two different sizes, have a drawstring closure, are washable and have a sturdy cotton base.
The drawstring closure keeps your fruit and vegetables secure in transport and means you can store the smaller bags safely inside the larger ones when you’re not using them.
The cotton base is perfect to keep kitchen surfaces, car seats or bicycle baskets free of mud and dirt. When you’re finished using the bags, turn them inside out to empty out any dried mud or fallen onion peel, then pop them in the washing machine on a cold cycle before hanging to dry!
📦 Packaging
All our products arrive at your door in biodegradable, compostable and recyclable packaging. Even the parcel tape is made from vegan materials and can be recycled!
Shop our range of Fairtrade and GOTS Certified Organic Mesh Cotton Grocery Bags here.
