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Plastic carrier bags → a tote you keep using
Worth doing, but lower priority than you might think: bags don't touch your food, and a new tote must be reused many times to pay off.
Swap Priority
38/100
Lower priority
Swap Priority 38 out of 100: Lower priority- Plastic avoided
- ≈ 400 g a year
- Typical cost
- Free – £10
- Swap from
- Plastic carrier bags
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
How strong is the evidence?
How the dials work- Exposure evidenceHow strong is the evidence that the plastic version exposes you to microplastics or plastic chemicals?
- Weak · 1/4
- Environmental evidenceHow strong is the evidence that this swap cuts environmental harm over the product's whole life?
- Weak or mixed · 1/4
- Claim verificationHow well has the alternative's plastic-free claim been verified?
- No product yet
Why swap
Carrier bags are visible plastic waste, but they rarely touch food or skin. Life-cycle studies show a new cotton bag needs many uses to beat a single-use bag on climate impact, so use bags you already have.
What to look for
- Bags you already own — any material
- Sturdy bags you'll use hundreds of times
Watch out for
- Don't buy lots of new totes — that makes things worse
- "Bags for life" are thicker plastic