Bag Industry

A bag is used for packaging and/or carrying items. For the latter a bag may have one or two handles; a shoulder bag has a strap to carry it on the shoulder (the bag is either carried on the side of the shoulder carrying it, or the other side). A rucksack has straps to carry it on the back. There is also be a string bag, with two strings which go over the shoulder and can be used as the fastening as well.

Bags vary from small ones, like purses (e.g. as an alternative to putting small objects in pockets of clothing) to large ones for use in traveling like a suitcase. Cheap disposable paper bags and plastic shopping bags are very common in the retail trade as a convenience for shoppers, and are often supplied by the shop for free or for a small fee. Customers may also take their own shopping bags to the shop.

The first recorded historical reference to grocery paper bags was made in 1630 but the use of sacks only really started to take off during the Industrial Revolution between 1700 and 1800. Margaret Knight (1838-1914) was an employee in a paper bag factory when she invented a new machine part to make square bottoms for paper bags. Knight can be considered the mother of the grocery bag, she founded the Eastern Paper Bag Company in 1870. On February 20, 1972, Luther Crowell also patented a machine that manufactured paper bags.

Open bags with carrying handles are used in large numbers worldwide. Stores often provide them as a convenience to shoppers. Some stores charge a nominal fee for a bag. Heavy duty multiple-use shopping bags are often considered environmentally better than single-use paper or plastic shopping bags. When possible, single-use bags should be recycled or reused as trash bags, storage bags, etc. Responsible solid waste usage is encouraged. Used bags should not be littered: this can be unsightly and damage wildlife, and sea life.