Earth and Body Friendly

Increasingly, there are more and more options out there for reusable shopping bags. I’ve personally tried four different types, but in my search for the perfect bag, Envirosax makes it to the top of my list.

I already own at least a dozen Envirosax bags, including one for kids (or perhaps the young-at-heart) which I bought for Riley, but when I saw the new range, Candy, in their graphic series I wanted to add more to my collection. I was fortunate enough to receive one of the Candy series for review from Envirosax. The one I was sent is Candy Bag 2 featuring large blocks of purple, checks in black and varying shades of beige. It’s bright and bold and immediately brings the 70s to mind. It seemed that in the past, some green products had a bit of reputation of being kind of daggy or hippy, but there is absolutely nothing daggy about this bag, or any of the new Candy series.

Small enough to carry with you

Rolled up, it fits neatly in my (rather small) fist and since there are no hard bits—except for one tiny, flat, button—they flatten easily so that I can quite happily carry one in my jeans pocket. I have come across bags which fold down into an even smaller package, but then those bags also open up to a smaller size.

I find Envirosax bags to be the perfect size. Envirosax claims that each bag holds the equivalent of two supermarket bags and I’d agree with that. In fact, when I take them grocery shopping (keeping in mind that I usually only have to buy enough for myself and a small child), I rarely need more than two bags. Mind you, that’s no reason to limit yourself to just two. The patterns are so gorgeous that whichever style you love, you’ll want to get the whole series in a 5-in-1 pouch. And why not, since they have many uses.

More than just groceries

They’re perfect as overnight bags. The bag Riley and I refer to as his ‘cartoon bag’ (Baa Maa & Paa) is always packed and ready to go with him for his weekly sleep over at his Nanna and Poppy’s house or when he goes to visit his Dad overnight. I have several of my bags filled with balls of yarn, waiting for the day when I start to crochet again. I always carry one or two bags in my hand bag when I’m out with Riley, for when I end up carrying the things he insisted he would carry himself.

Long handles are useful

One of the things I particularly love about Envirosax bags is that the handles are long enough to fit over your shoulder. Since they’re built strong enough to put quite a load in them, having an option other than to dangle heavy things from your elbows is a good thing. The length of the handles means that you can tie the top of the bags together to stop things falling out when they’re rolling around in the back of your car, yet they’re wide enough to not dig into your arm or shoulder when you’re carrying a fair bit of weight.

Not so sweet on ..

There are only two things that I wish could be done slightly differently:

1. The plastic tie. As environmentally focussed as Envirosax are, I wonder why they use a plastic tie to attach the swing tag, especially since the plastic tie is then attached to a piece of string which is tied around the bag. Why is the swing tag not attached directly to the string?
2. The length of the two little straps that clip together. I find that the straps that hold it all into a neat little bundle are a touch long, making them hold the bag together too loosely. But then that could be because I tend to roll up the bag quite tightly.

Neither of these things bother me terribly much.

Over all

I love Envirosax bags. They produce a quality product that looks fantastic and performs really well.

Visit: Envirosax
RRP: AUD $9.95 (please note that the prices at the links above are in USD)

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