Something as small as switching to reusable snacks bags can feel inconsequential when you’re looking at the global picture of waste and pollution but did you know that on average you’re using nearly 500 single-use snack bags a year. That’s a lot of zippy single-use plastic!
Even if you’re looking at it from a solely economical angle, buying things you know you’ll immediately throw away is just a bad financial decision. It’s no surprise that plastic zipper snack bags caught on the way they did. From the 50s to 70s, nearly everything was being made out of miracle plastic and marketed at homemakers as an easy no-clean way of saving them some precious time. In 1973 Vogue told its readers that there was ”No end of uses for those great Ziploc bags...From holding games to keep the young occupied on the long drive to the mountains, to safe storage places for cosmetics, first-aid supplies and food. Even your wig will be happier in a Ziploc.” Now, we have yet to test storing wigs in our reusable snack bags (never say never!) but when it comes to making road trips easier and storing household items, we’ve got you covered.
So why spend your money, only to throw it away? Let's save those 500 plastic snack bags from heading the the landfill or ocean with this simple zero-waste swap.
What To Store in Your Reusable Food Bags:
Think Outside the Bag
Have you ever tried to store salad greens or herbs in a plastic bag? You’d quickly find yourself with a nice bag of green sludge. Plastic does a good job of keeping oxygen out, but that’s not always a good thing and a lot of foods really want to breathe. Try storing any delicate leafy greens in a breathable reusable food bag and you’ll be very pleasantly surprised by how much more life you get out of them. Next time you’re in charge of bringing the salad to a dinner party show up with a big bag of greens and leave your favorite bowl at home. You’ll be the environmental toast of the party!
Get That Bread
Ideally, you’re getting bread from the bakery without a bag, or even making it yourself (who’s got the time?!) but even if your bread originally came in a single-use plastic bag, store it in a breathable reusable bag is the way to keep it fresh. If you do find the time to make your own bread with no preservatives, you often need to eat it all up right away so it doesn’t get rock hard but stored in a wax wrap or bag, your delicious bread will last for days...if it doesn’t get gobbled up first.
Lighten Your Load
Realistically, one of the more inconvenient parts of reducing waste in your life is lugging a big bag of empty mason jars and containers to the bulk store. While glass jars are awesome long-term storage for your dry goods, throw a pile of light reusable bags into your tote next time you go shopping and your back will thank you. Once home, you can absolutely store your dry goods in your bags, or transfer them to jars if you prefer a transparent easy-to-identify container.
Child’s Play
Like Vogue mentioned, a portable, resealable bag is a handy thing to have with kids around. Luckily, our coated bags, like our wraps, stick to themselves. This makes them even easier than a plastic zipper, for little hands to open and close. From obvious snacks to crayons and small toys, reusable snack bags are the perfect catchall for the small bits and pieces that always seem to follow kids around.
More Than a Sandwich
While sandwiches are the namesake of those disposable plastic bags, you can put much more than a BLT in your reusable bags. Asides from soup, you can pack your whole dang lunch in our bags. From cut fruit and veg to crackers and cheese, there’s a reusable snack bag for every sized snack.
If you can put it in a bag, you can put it in a reusable bag. So what are you waiting for? Stop throwing your money and those plastic bags in the trash and invest in something the whole family can use over and over again. Sometimes making an environmental impact really is that easy!