Carrier bags packaging guide
Types of carrier bags | Paper carrier bags | - Paper carrier bags are low cost, made from strong kraft paper and available in brown/white paper.
- These carrier bags come with a stylish twisted paper cord handle which makes it easy to carry without cutting into your hand.
- Brown paper bags are cheap, recyclable and degradable.
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| Patch handle carrier bags | - The classic shopping bag for high street stores.
- Patch handle carriers are made from thicker polythene and have a reinforced patch handle.
- They are available in white or clear polythene.
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| Vest carrier bags | - Vest carrier are commonly used carrier bags.
- They are popular with supermarkets, grocery stores and market traders.
- Vest carriers are made from high density polythene which has acrinkly feel.
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Paper used in paper carrier bags | Kraft paper | - A high quality paper in terms of strength.
- Made from paper pulp that has long individual fibres which give a resistance to tearing.
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| Art card | - A highly processed pulp which has shorter fibres than kraft.
- The paper has more bulk to compensate and is more economical than kraft.
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| Coated paper | - Papers have a coating on the surface to make them smoother.
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Plastic used in carrier bags | LDPE | - Low density polyethylene is recognisable by the soft feel of the polythene and its stretchiness.
- LDPE is excellent for carrier bags because of its stretch and resistance to puncturing and tearing.
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| HDPE | - High density polyethylene has a more crinkly, paper-like feel than LDPE.
- HDPE is immensely strong but tends to give way without warning.
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| LDPE/HDPE | - LDPE/HDPE is referred to as frosted film.
- It is a mixture of HDPE and LDPE.
- The stretchiness of LDPE and the texture and toughness of HDPE.
- The frosted semi translucent look is the natural colour of the material without any additional pigment added.
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| Natural polythene | - A mineral oil based polythene made with no additives and is recyclable and combustible with no toxicity.
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| Degradable polythene | - A mineral oil based polythene has an additive to accelerate fragmentation and degradation over a specified period.
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Carrier bags packaging guide last updated: Nov-2021