The Best Reusable Produce Bags

If you’re interested in the best bags for storing food, check out our review of reusable and single-use food storage bags.

Looking to minimize your consumption of single-use plastic goods? Consult our reviews of food storage containers, reusable food wraps, silicone food covers, water bottles, and eco-friendly multipurpose cleaners.

Reusable produce bags are designed to contain and transport produce from the grocery store or farmers’ market. Meant for frequent, repeated use, these bag sets are intended to help consumers reduce their reliance on the flimsy, single-use plastic produce bags available in supermarket produce sections. They’re also useful for carrying bulk-bin items such as nuts, seeds, or dried fruit, replacing the single-use plastic storage containers in most bulk-bin aisles. There are dozens of reusable sets on the market, many of them seemingly identical; most sets contain between five and 12 bags of varying sizes. We sought durable bags sold in multiple sizes that were easy to use and clean.

There is significant debate about whether replacing single-use plastic bags with reusable bags provides a net environmental benefit. It’s true that more people foregoing disposable plastic bags will reduce consumer waste and plastic pollution in our environment, providing benefits to aquatic ecosystems and human health. But textile manufacturing is notoriously wasteful and pollutive, causing a significant initial environmental impact stemming from these bags’ production. Your best bet for offsetting that impact and contributing a net environmental benefit is to buy a durable reusable bag set and commit to using it over the long term; the more single-use plastic bags you avoid, the better.

We tested bags made from nylon, polyester, and cotton. Each material has pros and cons, and the type of fabric you choose ultimately comes down to your material preferences and how you intend to use the bags.

Nylon and polyester are both forms of plastic. They absorb less liquid than cotton; as a result, bags made from these synthetic fabrics stained less and were easier to rinse clean. The nylon bags we tested all ripped during our durability tests, whereas some of the polyester bags tore open and some held strong. Because nylon is generally a stronger material than polyester, we think these differences in durability were due to how thick the fabrics were, whether their stitches were reinforced, or other reasons related to construction—as opposed to the material itself. Our favorite synthetic bags were made of durable polyester that held strong throughout testing. And since polyester bags didn’t stretch (but nylon and cotton both did), we preferred polyester sets that included larger bags, which could hold lots of food without needing to expand.

If you’re hoping to use as little plastic as possible, cotton bags are your best option. They have natural stretch; they often expanded to fit large and heavy items such as squash without issue. However, cotton bags stained and usually took more washes to become fully clean in our tests. Cotton can also shrink in the wash if you’re not careful; make sure to follow manufacturer’s washing instructions to avoid this.

• Durable Fabric and Stitching: The best bag sets were made from sturdy fabric, either polyester or cotton. Their seams were also reinforced with multiple layers of stitching rather than single lines of stitching, as seen in some weaker bags. The combination of durable fabric and heavy-duty stitching helped these bags hold strong throughout testing and contain even the heaviest produce with ease. 

• Mesh Fabrics: Regardless of material (nylon, polyester, or cotton), most of the bags we tested were made out of mesh fabric. Mesh bags are more porous than solid fabric bags, allowing for more airflow and better visibility of their contents. They can be made from either fine, tightly woven fabric with small gaps between the threads or loosely woven fabric with larger holes. We found bags of both types to be durable, capacious, and easy to use; our polyester winner has very fine mesh, and our favorite cotton set’s mesh is looser. Which set you choose comes down to whether you’re avoiding plastic altogether—in this case, opt for cotton—but also whether you plan to carry bulk-bin items such as rice and grits in your bags. Looser mesh will allow these items to spill out, so choose our polyester winner if containing them is important to you.

• Smooth Drawstrings: All the bags we tested had drawstrings that we pulled to cinch the bags closed. Our favorite bags had smooth drawstrings that glided fluidly when we opened or cinched the bags, which made these sets easier and faster to use overall.

• Well-Designed Closure Beads: Some sets included closure beads, which slid along and clasped the bags’ drawstrings to secure them. Top-performing bags had beads with strong springs that applied ample pressure to clamp down on the drawstrings tightly and hold fast; these beads were the most effective at keeping the bags closed.

• Large Capacities: We prized sets that included at least two large-size bags that were spacious enough to contain bulky produce items. Top performers were at least 12 inches wide and 17 inches long—big enough to hold three sizable butternut squash or a large bunch of kale.

• Labels with Tare Weights: We liked bag sets that were tagged with convenient, color-coded labels listing tare weights for cashiers to cancel out when weighing produce.

• Fragile Construction: Many bags were made from flimsier fabric and used single lines of stitching at their seams. These bags ripped when we carried and jostled bulky potatoes and spiny pineapples, and we can’t fully recommend them.

• Solid Fabrics: Bags made from solid fabric (rather than mesh) are opaque, making it difficult to see what is inside them; this lack of visibility made them less convenient during shopping and transport.  

• Rough or Overly Thick Drawstrings: The drawstrings or drawstring sleeves of a few bags were roughly textured or bulky, and they bunched or blocked the closure beads’ paths, so we had to wrench them open and struggled to close them too.

• Weak or Ineffective Closures: Some bags’ closure beads were unable to clasp their drawstrings tightly, allowing bags to slide open as we jostled them around. Other sets had no closure beads at all, forcing us to tie knots in the drawstrings to keep the bags closed, which made them less convenient to use.