Carrier bags

Buy from a massive range of best value carrier bags now, including clear, coloured, biodegradable and printed carriers.

Carrier bags are...

• Polythene bags used to carry items, usually shopping
• Also known as carriers, shopping bags or plastic bags
• Provided (or sold) by retailers everywhere, from charity shops to high-end departments stores and corner shops to supermarkets
• Carried by billions of customers across the planet
• An ergonomic solution to carrying shopping
• Designed to be easy to carry, with convenient carry handles, allowing the shopper to carry more than one bag with each hand
• Available in a wide range of sizes to cater for small or large products
• Available in a range of thicknesses, from lightweight supermarket shopping bags to deluxe glossy luxury carriers
• Available in a range of coloured polythene, either plain or printed
• A great way for a retailer to increase publicity - add your logo to the side of a carrier bag for ready-made mobile advertising!
• An integral part of any retailer’s branding and advertising strategy
• An invaluable aid in carrying shopping from store to home
• Suitable to use and reuse for numerous shopping trips, time after time
• Multi-purpose bags - can be used for many and varied purposes, aside from shopping

Carrier bags - take your pick

Carrier bags come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with a bag available to suit any retailer. Here are some of the most popular styles of carrier bags used today:

Vest - The best known carrier bag in the UK and beyond, traditionally used by supermarkets, smaller food stores, general stores and market traders. Made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and available in a variety of colours, plain or printed, these bags are lightweight but strong. Handles are attached to each side of the bag make it look like a vest from the front, hence the name. Provided they are not over-filled, these bags are capable of handling regular shopping with ease.

Patch handle - A more glossy and sturdy carrier bag, commonly used by high street stores to impress their customers. Made from thicker polythene than vest carriers to provide extra strength, these rectangular bags have a handle punched out of the top, reinforced by an extra patch of polythene, which gives the bags its name. Available in clear or coloured polythene and the perfect bag on which to print a design or logo to advertise the retailer, hence the popularity with high street retailers.

Varigauge - Similar in appearance to its patch handle cousin, the varigauge carrier bag is rectangular in shape with a handle punched out. However, the clever use of a varied gauge - or thickness - of polythene, which is twice as thick at the top of the bag than it is at the bottom, means that the need to reinforce the handle with a patch is avoided. Available in a variety of colours, these strong bags with extra room thanks to a bottom gusset, are very popular with retailers keen to make a good impression with customers.

Clip close - These strong rectangular bags have an integral white clip attached right across the top of the bag that clip closes shut, giving the bag its name. Made from thick clear polythene with a side gusset, these bags allow retailers to display their products, whilst not compromising on bag strength or quality. The sturdy clip also allows you to hang up the bag - and contents - to really show it off.

Flexiloop - These luxury carriers take their name from the flexiloop handle that is attached - by heat-welding - to the inside of the bag on both sides. Popular with supermarkets who sell them as ‘Bags for life’ - encouraging customers to reuse the bag - flexiloop carriers are made from thicker polythene than regular carriers, which makes them more expensive to produce. Paper versions of the flexiloop carrier bag are popular with boutique shops or fancy high street retailers.

Duffle - A sturdy polythene bag featuring a cord threaded around the top opening and down the sides of the bag. Pull the cord to close the bag tight and loosen to open. Useful for carrying bulky or weighty items and handy to carry, so often used by sportspeople as a kit bag. Also popular with sports shoe retailers.

Drawstring - Less sturdy than the duffle bag, so not suitable for similarly bulky contents, but operate on a similar principle. Drawstring bags feature two strings looped around the opening of the bag, with the ends of the drawstring appearing through separate openings adjacent to each other. When pulled at the same time, the strings tighten together and the bag closes. Typically made from clear polythene, these bags are a popular way of displaying products in a shop.

Grip Seal - A cross between a carrier bag and a grip seal bag, these bags contain an integral grip seal that runs across the width of the bag just below the cut-out handle. Simply squeeze the grip seal between forefinger and thumb to seal the bag shut, providing protection from rain or other external contaminants, then gently pull apart to open and repeat as many times as you wish. With a clear polythene front, a handle for hanging and a glossy finish, these bags are a great way to display your products.

Show off your business with printed carriers

Printed carrier bags are an ideal way for businesses to advertise directly into their local community. Take a plain patch handle carrier and turn it from the smart, sturdy carrier bag it normally is into a walking advert for your business.

Businesses have to provide carrier bags to their customers anyway, so why not pay a little more for them and get something back from the carrier bags once they have left your shop.

By adding your company logo or design to one or both sides of your carrier bags, you not only make your business look more professional and more eye-catching, but you let your customers act as mobile advertisers, when they leave your store and walk around others in the area with your company branding there for all to see.

You can even add a slogan or advertising message to tell your potential customers exactly what they need to know about your store. All this, carried straight out into the heart of your target market and the hundreds or thousands of other potential customers out there.

Not only do printed carriers help attract new customers, but they also reinforce the message to existing customers that you are a professional, reliable and smart retailer. So next time they go to their cupboard or car boot and see your carrier bag, they see your bag, that initial good impression is reinforced and they move that step closer to being a return customer.

So why bother with plain carrier bags? Go one step further and design your own printed carriers, complete with your company branding, to take your business to the next level.

Where to buy carrier bags

Carrier bag manufacturers and suppliers include:

Carrier Bags
Discount Carrier Bags provides customers with an instant quote on a range of printed carrier bags. Get your very own design or logo printed on one or both sides of a quality thick carrier for as little as 4p a bag. Get a quote in 60 seconds, any time of day, 24/7!
www.discountcarrierbags.co.uk

Personalised Carrier Bags
With instant real-time quotes on personalised printed carrier bags, Discount Printed Carrier Bags is the place to go for bespoke carrier bags at terrific discount prices. Get your design printed on strong, smooth, high quality polythene bags in a range of sizes, from just 4p a bag and with free delivery in the UK.
www.discountprintedcarrierbags.co.uk

Printed Carrier Bags
The home of printed carrier bags online - offering high quality 55-micron thick carrier bags printed with your very own design. With a free instant quote, the lowest prices online - starting at just 4p a bag - and free UK delivery, this website is the place to go for printed carriers - the best way to advertise your business.
www.printedcarrierbags.com

Carrier Bag
If you need a carrier bag of any style, size or colour, then Carrier Bags is the website for you. They provide customers with a huge range of polythene carrier bags, from varigauge carriers to vest carriers and with a selection of biodegradable alternatives.
www.carrierbags.co

Buy Carrier Bags
A useful resource for anyone looking to buy carrier bags. Featuring lots of information of different types of carriers - including bespoke printed carrier bags - and where you can buy them, this website will definitely help you find the right carrier bag for you.
www.buy-carrier-bags.co.uk

Printed Carriers
Find out more about printed carrier bags and a range of other plastic carriers at this useful website, including details of each type of bag and the best place to buy discount printed carrier bags online.
www.discountprintedcarrierbags.com

Printed Bags
Printed Bags Direct offers customers information and details on where to buy a wide range of stock carrier bags and bespoke printed carrier bags, so you can find out everything you need in one handy website.
www.printedbagsdirect.co.uk

Carrier Bag Printing
An excellent resource on printed carrier bags and stock carrier bags, with detailed descriptions on a range of carrier bag categories.
www.printedcarrierbags2u.com

Coloured Carrier Bags
Coloured Bags Direct is a website dedicated to printed carrier bags. A division of industry-leading manufacturer Polybags, they offer customers colour printing on a range of polythene carrier bags.
www.colouredbagsdirect.co.uk

Patch Handle Carrier Bags
Are you looking for printed carrier bags, patch handle carrier bags or any other style from a wide range of plastic carriers? This website is the site you need to help you make that all-important decision and find the right carrier bag for you.
www.printedcarrierbagsdirect.co.uk

Coloured Plastic Bags
Coloured Bags offer colour printing of carrier bags to help you advertise your business. Get a free quotation on your own design printed carrier bags, or choose from a wide range of stock carriers.
www.colouredbags.com

Plastic Carrier Bags
This handy website offers a useful resource on plastic carriers and printed carrier bags, including details of the types of bags available - from clip close carriers to patch handle carriers - and where to buy them.
www.printedcarrierbagsdirect.com

Research & Resources

For more information on carrier bags, the wide range of polythene and biodegradable carriers available, their many uses and how to recycle them, please visit:

Goldstork: A free online 'best-of-the-web' directory listing specially selected information on a wide range of plain and printed carrier bags.

PackagingKnowledge: The UK's premier polythene packaging knowledge website, containing loads of useful information and in-depth articles on carrier bags, as read by those in the industry.

PlasticBags.uk.com: List products for free as a manufacturer or, if you're shopper, simply browse a massive selection of carrier bags websites on this unrivalled polythene packaging directory.

Single-use carriers? No such thing!

The carrier bag is often portrayed in the media as the single biggest cause of pollution and litter on the planet.

Most commonly, the high density polythene (HDPE) carrier bag used by supermarkets is singled out as the biggest culprit. These bags, which are subject to a government levy in many countries - meaning customer have to pay a few pence or cents for each bag they use - are often referred to as “single-use carriers”, which is a term that is not only misleading but also irresponsible.

Carrier bags should be reused as often as possible and by calling them “single-use carriers” - including in newspaper articles widely criticising the use of such bags - the implication is there that the bags should be thrown away.

This is giving entirely the wrong message to customers and does not represent the facts. 82% of UK households reuse over half of all carrier bags they use, with 59% reusing all of them (Waste Resources Action Programme report, 2005).

There are so many things you can do with a carrier bag once you’ve used it to carry your shopping home. The most obvious is to take it back to the shop and use it again for its original purpose - to carry shopping! But you can also use carrier bags for wrapping your packed lunch, or as a portable laundry bag when you go on holiday, or wrapping shoes in a suitcase to keep your clothes clean. There are loads of things you can use it for if you put your mind to it, so use your carriers again and again.

Even when your carrier has seen better days and you’re ready to throw it out, you can give it one final hurrah and use it as a rubbish bag before throwing it in the bin. There’s no such thing as a single use carrier bag - at least there shouldn’t be!

Trending results for carrier bags

Plain carrier bags are often the cheapest short-term selection, nevertheless they miss a simple chance to retain the name in front of the public after the sale has finished. A printed bag turns a routine transport-out into a moving reminder of where the products came from, and that matters because packaging is handled in view of other shoppers, not only in the store. A plain bag does the job of carrying, yet it adds none to recognition or trust. Even a modest amount of print can change how the bag is treated, making it less like disposable wrapping and more like a useful bit of secondary packaging. That is a better return on materials that would otherwise vanish the moment the client acquires home.

Printed carrier bags in paper stock retain a firm place in foodservice and counter trade not because the format is somehow broadly benign, nevertheless because its structural behaviour suits fast-occupy environments: the block-bottom geometry will stand open on the bench, grasps a square profile amid loading and reduces the fumble factour at the select face when staff are working through short dwell-time orders. That matters in bakeries, deli counters and takeaway lines, where secondary bagging slows throughput and undermines pallet stability downstream if packs leave the premises poorly balanced. The print process itself is normally constrained to single-colour work at modest dash lengths because substrate absorbency, fibre lift and rub resistance all have a bearing on line clarity; ink laydown has to be matched to the sheet's porosity or the branding muddies once the bag is exposed to grease, condensation or repeated handling. Paper's appeal in circular-economy terms rests largely on straightforward fibre recovery and a broadly understood waste stream, yet the engineering reality is less sentimental: strengthened seams, handle fixings and any barrier treatment can complicate mono-material recyclability, while basis weight and tare weight still dictate how efficiently a consignment cubes out in storage and transport. In practice, the better-specification printed carrier bags are the ones that balance puncture resistance, fold memory and print registration with the rather less glamorous requirements of stockholding, occupy speed and stop-of-life sorting.

The trade shorthand poly carriers often obscures a fairly involved part of product engineering; in infant load-bearing applications, the proper determinant of serviceability is not the headline fibre blend nevertheless the method polyester and cotton are balanced to manage tensile stability, moisture uptake and seam fatigue across repeated loading cycles. A front-transport format rated from low infant mass through to roughly toddler weight necessitates disciplined panel buildinghigh-density polymer yarns grasp dimensional stability below strain, while the cotton content tempers surface slip and mitigates the clammy hand associated with wholly synthetic assemblies. On the warehouse floor, that translates into less issues at products-in and returns triage: boxed presentation protects buckles and webbing from transit abrasion, improves pallet stability in mixed consignments and maintains select-face efficiency where soft products are shelved in volume. The circularity question is less tidy; blended textile structures complicate mono-material recyclability, particularly once foam inserts, stitched labels and packaging supplierstal fittings enter the bill of materials, so the practical sustainability earn tends to sit in longevity and re-commerce rather than straightforward reprocessing. Condition matters for the same reasonlight prior use may be commercially acceptable, nevertheless any assessment worth taking seriously sees past cosmetic wear to stitch-line integrity, buckle creep, material distortion and load-path consistency, because in this type the contrast between viable stock and secondary bagging clearance is normally found in the details that not ever appear on the outer carton.

polythene suppliers carriers occupy an awkward nevertheless persistent niche in shopping logistics: lightweight enough to retain tare weight down at the till, yet visible for long enough in the wider circulation of a consignment stream to function as a roaming part of emblem stock. The engineering interest lies less in the print area than in the substrate itself gauge control, dart impact performance and melt-flow consistency determine whether a bag survives the trip from select-face to doorstep without splitting below point load from boxed products or awkward accessories. That is why better operatours have moved beyond indiscriminate multi-layer buildings and towards mono-material polythene suppliers formats with tighter micron-specific tolerances; they remain easier to recover in established waste channels, while downgauging if done without sacrificing seal integrity or puncture resistance improves volumetric efficiency and pallet yield in storage. Where environmental claims are manufactured with any seriousness, the discussion is not about vague virtue nevertheless about feedstock provenance, surface print compatibility with recycling, and whether secondary bagging can be eliminated altogether. Even the smaller carrier styles used for discs, cables or compact accessories have their possess warehouse-floor logic: a stable opening property assists packing cadence, controlled slip mitigates handling irritation, and sensible surface resistivity reduces static-related cling that can slow throughput on busy benches.

Onbuhimo Baby Carriers

A carrier built for a child who can sit up unaided requirements to be judged first on assist and fit, not on sees. This type is normally chosen for back carrying, so the panel must grasp the body neatly without forcing the hips or leaving the child loose in the seat. Adjustable width matters because it lets one model suit alternative builds, which is useful in stock control and reduces the risk of carrying the gross size for also long. Wrap-converted building also matters, as it gives a softer, more flexible feel than a rigid frame. A tested safety normal then gives buyers confidence that the design has been checked against recognised practice, which is the sort of reassurance that retains returns and misuse down.

Carrier bags with loop handles earn their retain when a shop requirements speed at the till and decent carrying comfort in the hand. The loop gives a firmer grip than a simple cut-out, so heavier purchases sit better and the bag is less likely to twist or split at the handle amid the walk home. That shape also suits stacked packing on the checkout, where the bag opens well and can be filled fast without fuss. Choice of gauge, seal quality and film tension still matters, though, because a poor bag will still let products swing, stretch or fail below load. A well-manufactured loop-handle bag makes busy handling easier and cuts avoidable complaints.

Flexiloop carriers occupy a fascinating middle ground in the polythene suppliers conversion trade: they are sold as a straightforward shopping format, yet the engineering below the handle splice is anything nevertheless casual. The performance envelope is largely set by the film architectureLDPE lends compliance and seal integrity, HDPE brings stiffness and reduced gauge potential, while co-extruded structures enable the converter to tune dart impact, opacity and melt-flow consistency without surrendering printability on the outer web. That matters once the bag reaches the warehouse floor; a carrier that stands poorly at the select-face, collapses below secondary bagging, or shifts on the pallet because the bottom gusset has been below-specified fast turns into a handling nuisance. The flexiloop itself mitigates the stress concentration associated with die-cut apertures, nevertheless only if the weld profile, patch distribution and film orientation are matched properly to the intended tare weight and occupy patternotherwise creep at the handle seat becomes evident long before nominal load limits are reached. There is also a quieter circular-economy argument in favour of the format when executed with discipline: a mono-material polythene suppliers build, adhesive use kept in check, and micron-specific gauging aligned to proper duty can improve recyclability while reducing excess resin and the amortised energy tied up in transport, storage and wasted stock. In practice, the better examples are not merely decorative shopper bags; they are volumetrically efficient, mechanically coherent carrying systems designed around conversion reality rather than brochure language.

Vest carriers need to be judged on how they behave in daily use, not on how they see in a product listing. A superb carrier has to grasp its shape, spread weight evenly, and avoid rubbing or sagging when loaded with panels, pouches, or other kit. If the cut is poor or the stitching is weak, the garment twists, the load shifts and the wearer feels it fast. Material selection matters also, because a cloth that is also light can wear through, while one that is also stiff can trap heat and restrict movement. A sensible specification balances comfort, durability and easy adjustment, which makes the carrier more proper amid long shifts and rough handling.

Patch handle carriers give shops a cheaper method to offer a robust promotional bag without moving up to a clip-close format. The bag body is normally manufactured from heavy gauge polythene suppliers, which gives it a bit more body and assists it cope with repeated lifting without feeling flimsy in the hand. The handle is heat welded on rather than simply attached, so the connect does the hard work instead of the film itself. That matters at the till and again on the walk home, because weak handle fixings are where plenty carrier bags fail first. A well-manufactured patch handle bag retains its shape, carries display value, and reduces complaints about split handles.

Coloured carrier bags are useful well beyond the checkout because their robust pigment and light polythene suppliers make them useful for simple event makes and weatherproof craft items. The material can be cut, tied and twisted without adding much weight, so volunteers or shop-floor teams often turn spare bags into bunting, covers and decoration with very small waste. That sort of re-use relies on the bag holding its colour and not splitting also easily, which is why gauge and film quality matter even in a short-life product. When handled well, a carrier bag transports from shopping packaging to practical secondary use instead of becoming immediate litter.