Stiched handles, and plastic bag bans

Two thoughts on cloth-versus-plastic, when it comes to bags:

1.  Stitched handles

As much as I try to keep my possessions to the only-what-I-need-or-love level, I still seem to be swimming in a large collection of reusable shopping bags.  The handles on one such bag ripped out when I was carrying something very heavy, and I guess the normal thing to do would have been to toss the bag, but I lavished some 45 seconds of repair time on it nonetheless.  Once I had the sewing machine out for another project, it was a simple thing to sew the handles back to the bag.

Et voila.

When cities or counties ban plastic bags, they actually make the problem worse if they're not careful about what goes into the place of those bags: merely saying "reusable bags" encourages stores to give out heavier plastic bags, pretending that those are multi-use.  It seems like the magic words for effectiveness are "stitched handles": that tends to actually lead to reduced plastic use, reduced litter, etc.

2. Economic differences of bag bans

I'm in a neighborhood group that is urging our city council to adopt a plastic bag ban: I've been helping to write draft language and to argue for why our city needs such a thing.  One of the criticisms we often get from people opposed to such bans is that bag bans are hardest on the poorest in our communities.  Surprise/not-surprise, these arguments usually come from white, affluent people who don't normally go around worrying about brown, non-affluent people.  

I was glad, therefore, for this article on the changes to the Philadelphia bag ban: it addressed a lot of the concerns about implementing bag bans, charging for bags and the effect on communities:   

https://cleanwater.org/2026/01/06/philadelphias-bring-your-own-bag-bill-how-we-got-here-and-why-it-matters

An example of a key takeaway:

While the memo suggests exemptions or free reusable bags for low-income shoppers, evidence shows that broad exemptions increase food costs and litter in underserved communities unless reusable bags are widely available at no cost.

Three key findings support this:

1. Eliminating bag fees at discount grocery stores increases food prices.
2. Corner stores, common in low-income neighborhoods, bear the greatest burden when bags are free.
3. Urban neighborhoods adopt reusable bags faster than suburban areas.

So there's that.  We'll keep plugging away with the council, and maybe someday I'll have neighbors using cloth bags instead of plastic . . . I certainly have a few I could share with them!