Plastic bags

Buy crystal clear polypropylene display bags to make any product or retail display sparkle.

Buy best value plastic bags including carrier bags, glossy display bags, mailing bags and other retail bags now.

Plastic bags are, in the simplest terms, bags made out of polythene. But to describe the polythene bag as simple is to do it a great disservice, as the functions that a polythene bag can serves are many and varied. We use plastic bags for carrying, storing, protecting, packing, sealing and mailing items, to name just a few of the many uses of the simple bag that is an integral part of our everyday lives. In the retail sector alone, carrier bags, mailing bags, packing bags and glossy display bags are all essential polythene bags used by retailers everywhere.

Retail bags are…

• Any bags used within the retail sector, including...
• Shopping bags, carrier bags, display bags, produce bags, packing bags and mailing bags
• Available in a range of styles, shapes, sizes and thicknesses to suit the job in hand
• Used to support every aspect of a retail business, from displaying products (display bags) to packing food or other items (packing bags) and allowing customers to collect produce (produce bags) to helping them carry their shopping home (carrier bags)
• Usually made from polythene, although some retail bags are made from other materials
• Often available in a biodegradable alternative to polythene (e.g. biodegradable carrier bags), thus helping to show your customers that you care about the environment
• Also made from paper (e.g. brown or white paper bags, take away carriers, high end flexiloop shopping bags)

The term ‘retail bags’ is used to describe a wide variety of bags used within the retail sector to cover a range of tasks from storing to carrying products and making life easier for both the retailer and the consumer alike.

Retail bags actually included a number of other ranges of bags that have their own specific name - including but not limited to carrier bags, produce bags, packing bags, mailing bags and others - and are a standalone type of bag in their own right. They are grouped together under the broad term ‘retail bags’ as they are all used within the retail environment.

Retail bags and polythene

The vast majority of retail bags are made from polyethylene, more widely known as polythene, in a range of thicknesses to suit the task in hand. The thickness of the polythene - also known as the gauge or density - varies from very thin, as with thin counter bags - at just 9 microns thick - to thick, as with premium quality carrier bags such as clip-close carrier bags - at 75 microns (300 gauge) thick.

Not all retail bags are made from polyethylene, or polythene, however. Some retail bags, like takeaway bags for example, are made from paper, while others, like gift bags, are made from cardboard.

But as this website is all about retail bags and the most common form as retail bags are polythene bags, this website will be focussing on polythene bags in these pages.

Carrier bags - the number one retail bag

By far and away the most popular form of retail bag, carrier bags are employed by retailers in every corner of the globe, making them the big daddy of the retail trade as far as polythene bags are concerned.

Carrier bags are designed to allow the customer to carry purchased products from the shop to their homes or businesses in an ergonomic manner. The bags come with different types of handle styles to allow the customer to carry the bag. Many types of handle give the bag its name, with some of the popular styles including: vest carriers, patch handle carriers and patch handle carriers.

Other popular types of carrier bag, not named after their handle, include varigauge carriers - so named because the thickness, or gauge, of the polythene is twice as thick at the top of the bag as at the top - and premium carriers, popular in the top-end fashion outlets or department stores.

Whatever type of business you own, there is a carrier bag out there for you. Whether you need cheap and cheerful or reassuringly expensive, you can always find the carrier bag to get the job done, but you can also use them to send a message to your customers about your business too.

Other popular types of retail bag

Whilst carrier bags are comfortably the most commonly used bag by the retail sector, there are many other forms of bag that perform an important role for retail businesses everywhere. These include:

Produce bags - Used by food retailers from mega-size supermarkets to small local butchers, thin light produce bags are an essential item for any food retailer. Available either on the roll or served loose from a packet, food bags can be used both from behind the counter - e.g. a butcher bagging up a pound of mince - or at front of house, as with the tear-off bags used in supermarkets to collect loose fruit.

Display bags - Employed by retailers who want to display their products in the best possible light, crystal clear display bags make products sparkle. Manufactured from high clarity polypropylene - similar to cellophane but clearer, thicker, stronger and cheaper - these bags are used for presenting a range of products, including greetings cards, magazines and sweets. Also available in sleeve form, as used with flowers and CDs to make them shine.

Mailing or postage bags - These polythene mailers, complete with integral sealing strip, are the perfect way to deliver products to your customers. Lightweight and waterproof, poly mailers are a great alternative to traditional envelopes. They are available in a range of styles and in plain or coloured polythene. You can also get your mailing bags printed with your very own company logo, branding or slogan, so that they really stand out from the crowd and make your business the most memorable one in any batch of mail.

Gift bags - The most popular retail bag that isn’t made of polythene, gift bags are a great way to present a gift to friends, loved ones or colleagues without having to even wrap it! No need to wrapping paper, scissors, cellotape or minutes of your life wasted trying to make a gift look nice. Just place your present in you shiny gift bag - complete with a smart cord handle and your gift will look just fantastic. Available in standard shape for regular everyday presents like books, CDs or jewellery, or in bottle gift bags - the perfect way to present any bottled gift from champagne to a fine Scotch whiskey.

Where to buy retail bags

Retail bag manufacturers and suppliers include:

Paper Bags
The website that caters for all of your paper bag needs, Paper Bags is the ideal online destination for anyone buying paper take away carriers, shopping bags or other paper bags. Also a very useful resource on biodegradable packaging.
www.paperbags.co

Display Bags
If you want to buy or find out more information on high clarity polypropylene display bags, then this is the website for you. A firm favourite with retailers who wants to make their products sparkle!
www.displaybags.org.uk

Plastic Food Bags
A fantastic website for anyone looking to buy plastic food bags or produce bags at discount prices. Contains tonnes of information and details of where to buy polythene food bags - the best way to keep your food fresh and help customers handle fresh food from the shelf.
www.discountfoodbags.co.uk

Polythene Bags
A website dedicated to polythene bags used in the retail sector, including food bags, display bags, carrier bags, printed carrier bags and mailing bags. If you work in the UK's retail sector and need polythene bags, this is the website for you!
www.ukpolythenebags.co.uk

Gift Bags
A useful source of information on gift bags and retail display bags - used to enhance product displays for everything from greetings cards to flowers and clothes to sweets. Featuring a handy display bag size guide, news on display bags and eco-friendly alternatives.
www.giftbagsdirect.co.uk

Retail Bags
The home of retail bags and shopping bags online. If you're looking for bags to your shop or retail outlet, from plain or printed carrier bags to display bags, then take a look at this very handy website.
www.retailbags.co.uk

Kraft Bags
Kraft Bags is a website specialising in kraft bags and other paper bags - a fantastic environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional polythene shopping bags.
www.kraftbags.org

Carrier Bags
Work in the retail sector? Looking for carrier bags or other retail bags for your shop? This website has it covered, with tonnes of information and details of where to buy a range of carrier bags and other retail bags, including food bags and glossy display bags.
www.retailbags.org

Research & Resources

For plenty more information on the broad range of retail bags available, including how they are manufactured and how they benefit the retail sector, please visit:

PlasticBags.uk.com: Popular polythene packaging directory listing a large selection of specialist retail bags websites and allowing retailers to product listings for free.

Goldstork: This 'best-of-the-web' free directory features a range of specialist websites on display bags and other retail bags, plus hand-picked information and carefully selected features.

PackagingKnowledge: The UK's premier plastic packaging knowledge website features loads of in-depth articles and detailed information on a huge range of retail bags, including carrier bags, mailing bags and display bags.

Printed carrier bags - the ultimate retail bag

If carrier bags are the number one retail bag, then printed carrier bags take them one step further and make them kings of the retail bag world.

The choice of carrier bags you choose for your retail outlet can say a lot about your business, even when you’re using off-the-shelf plain carriers. But if you take that carrier and the print your very own personalised message or design on the side of the bag, then you’ve got the ultimate way to send a message about your business.

Create your very own custom-made design, complete with company logo, advertising slogan or bespoke design - including seasonal designs like those employed during sales or at Christmas - and you can get just the message you want out there not just to your own customers picking up the bags, but to every other potential customer that sees them walking around with your professional, personalised, printed carrier bag.

Turn your customers into walking adverts for your retail outlet with your very own printed carrier bag. The difference between having a forgettable bag and an instantly memorable one could be the difference between your shop or store making it in the cut-throat world of retail.

Biodegradable retail bags

A number retail bags manufactured from traditional polythene - as listed elsewhere on this page - are also available made from biodegradable materials so that, when they need to be disposed of, they don’t contribute to landfill. The biodegradable material from which these bags are made will degrade 100% on prolonged contact with compost or soil, meaning that you make less of an impact on the environment.

What’s more, courtesy of a small green logo placed on all of the bags, your customers will know that you care about the environment too.

The following retail bags are available in biodegradable alternatives: biodegradable carrier bags, biodegradable mailing bags, biodegradable clear bags (for presenting your products) and eco-friendly bin liners (for keeping your shop clean).

Trending results for retail bags

Tesco drops oxo biodegradable bags

The withdrawal of oxo-degradable carrier formats has been read across the packaging trade less as a symbolic gesture than as a correction to material science that not ever sat adequately with modern waste handling. In practical terms, fragmentable polythene suppliers may satisfy a superficial brief by embrittling below heat and light, yet that same oxidative pathway leaves converters, MRF operatours and reprocessours dealing with inconsistent flake, uncertain melt-flow consistency and a residue stream that behaves badly in normal recycling runs. Biodegradable bags, where they are specified with any seriousness, require a far tighter alignment between polymer architecture, wall-thickness gauging and stop-of-life route; there is small merit in a film that sees serviceable at the select face nevertheless collapses the moment stock rotation, pallet stability or secondary bagging imposes proper warehouse stress. The engineering question is not whether a bag disappears, nevertheless below what conditions, above what timeframe, and with what effect on tare weight, volumetric efficiency and pollution risk in the wider consignment chain. Mono-material recovery still carries the cleaner arithmetic where assortment systems can maintain stream quality, whereas bio-derived or compostable film only earns its retain when feedstock provenance, surface performance and disposal infrastructure are calibrated to one another rather than treated as interchangeable claims.

Tag: Eco-friendly bags

Eco-friendly bags, in the industrial sense, are less about vague green claims and more about how the sack behaves across filling, handling and stop-of-life recovery. A well-specified polythene suppliers format can reduce tare weight without compromising pallet stability; that matters on dense consignments, where a few grammes stripped from each unit alters volumetric efficiency across a full trailer and trims the wasted energy amortised into transport. The technical earns sit in the film architecture: high-density polymer chains for stiffness, controlled melt-flow consistency for proper sealing, and micron-specific gauging so the bag is not above-engineered simply to survive a rough select-face. Where static, tearing or inconsistency in secondary bagging become operational friction, the reply is normally not thicker material nevertheless tighter process disciplinesurface resistivity tuned to the product, seal parameters matched to throughput, and a mono-material structure that facilitates straightforward recyclability once the stock has cleared the warehouse. That is the contrast between a bag marketed as sustainable and one designed with feedstock restraint, handling reality and recovery pathways built into the specification.

Reusable bin liners: Right for your waste?

A short trial of six reusable bin liners is enough to expose the awkward engineering trade-off that sits behind the tidy sustainability claim. In practice, a liner is not merely a sack with handles; it is a containment system that has to tolerate wet-load puncture, repeated flex-crack fatigue and the abrasive drag that comes from being cinched, lifted and stripped from a bin rim several times a day. That immediately shifts the specification away from disposable polythene suppliers film with tightly controlled micron gauging and towards heavier buildingsoften woven or high-density polymer formatswhose tare weight starts to matter once the estate is scaled across hundreds of receptacles. On the warehouse floor, that additional mass affects pallet stability and consignment cube, while any reduction in flat-pack volumetric efficiency complicates stockholding and replenishment at select-face level. The circular-economy case is equally less tidy than it first appears: a reusable liner may amortise its production energy across multiple turns, nevertheless only if wash cycles, returns handling and secondary bagging do not erode the earn, and only if the article remains materially coherent enough for mono-material recyclability at stop of life. Static attraction, odour retention and seam creep also become proper points of friction rather than side notes, particularly where melt-flow consistency amid manufacture has been tuned for durability rather than easy film recovery. That does not rule reusable liners out; it simply means suitability rests on service life, pollution profile and handling disciplinenot on the assumption that replacing a thin-gauge polythene suppliers bag is a simple one-for-one substitution.

Bin bags sit at an awkward intersection of materials science and warehouse pragmatism: they are expected to tolerate puncture from strange waste streams, recover from high transient loads at the rim, and still dash cleanly through high-speed conversion without gauge drift or split seals. That pushes specifiers towards disciplined control of polymer architecture rather than blunt thickness alone; high-density and linear-low-density blends are often balanced to maintain tensile strength while retaining enough elongation to cope with sharp-edged waste, and the contrast between an acceptable sack and a troublesome one is frequently buried in melt-flow consistency, dart impact performance and the integrity of the bottom weld. On the floor, those details translate directly into less burst units amid secondary bagging, better select-face efficiency because cases grasp shape instead of slumping, and tighter pallet stability because the packs transport lower tare weight for a given duty rating. There is a circular-economy dimension as well, though it is rarely as tidy as brochure language recommends: mono-material polythene suppliers formats simplify reprocessing, downgauging can reduce amortised energy per consignment, and recycled content can be introduced where the variability in feedstock does not compromise seal reliability or surface resistivity to the point that sacks cling, block or misfeed in packing operations.

Purchase of green waste sacks

Waste sacks sit at an awkward intersection of municipal logistics, polymer engineering and public-facing distribution; the shopping detail is almost incidental beside the operational arithmetic that governs specification and supply. In practice, a small roll format suits controlled issue because it tempers casual overconsumption, retains tare weight low in transit and improves volumetric efficiency across mixed consignments to libraries, depots and other assortment points where back-room space is small. The sack itself is rarely a trivial article: if the gauging is also light, damp grass clippings and thorny prunings exploit weak dart-impact resistance and split rates rise amid secondary bagging or kerbside handling; also heavy, and the authority inherits unnecessary resin use, impaired pallet yield and a poorer recovery profile. The more competent designs so rely on high-density polythene suppliers blends with stable melt-flow consistency, giving acceptable puncture resistance without surrendering foldability on the roll, while surface stop and slip behaviour are tuned so sacks can be opened on the select-face without excessive blocking. From a circular-economy standpoint, mono-material building still does most of the heavy lifting, because it facilitates cleaner mail-use sorting than laminated alternatives, although pollution from biological residue remains the familiar friction. Restricting sale to residents and tying fulfilment to nominated assortment outlets is not merely bureaucratic housekeeping; it assists align stock movement with local waste-treatment capacity, reduces speculative purchasing, and maintains a tighter correspondence between issued sack volumes and the proper throughput of the garden waste stream.

Canister Vacuum Bags

Vacuum bags specified for older canister platforms and the 5055 pattern sit in a rather unforgiving corner of consumables engineering: tolerances are tight, airflow penalties display up immediately at the floor head, and any inconsistency in collar fit or seam integrity tends to expose itself as dust bypass rather than a tidy laboratory failure. The better buildings rely on high-density polymer fibres laid into a graded filter web, with micron-specific gauging tuned to grasp fine household particulate without choking the motour's pressure curve also early in the bag-occupy cycle; that balance matters, because a bag that filters impeccably on day one nevertheless loads unevenly will undermine select-up and accelerate thermal stress in the fan unit. On the warehouse side, the item sees simple until secondary bagging, carton cube and pallet stability are examined properlycompressed packs improve volumetric efficiency and reduce tare weight impact across a consignment, yet above-compression can distort mounting flanges and compromise select-face efficiency when stock is handled at speed. There is also a quiet shift in materials practice: mono-material polythene suppliers outers and cleaner fibre separation make mail-use sorting less obstructive, while consistent melt-flow behaviour in the collar substrate facilitates repeatable die-cutting and reduces trim waste amid conversion. In practical terms, the competent bag is not merely a dust receptacle; it is a filtration component, a logistics unit and, increasingly, a modest circular-economy problem solved by better material discipline rather than by big claims.

Packing bags intended for travel and wardrobe control sit in an awkward space between soft products and pure transit packaging; acquire the specification gross and the result is simply secondary bagging that traps moisture, adds tare weight and collapses below repeated handling. The better sets are built around stable polythene suppliers or similarly slick mono-material films with controlled gauge tolerance, so the pouch retains its shape in a suitcase yet still folds flat when the consignment is broken down at the destination. That sounds mundane, nevertheless on the warehouse floor and in domestic use alike, volumetric efficiency matters: compressible garments, blankets and laundry need segregation without creating dead space, and a well-cut cube or pouch format improves stack discipline, select-face efficiency and pallet stability long before the product reaches the stop user. There is also the less glamorous issue of surface behaviourpoorly finished film can attract lint, generate static and snag on zip tapes, whereas a cleaner extrusion with consistent melt-flow and sensible seam geometry mitigates those irritations while extending service life. From a circular-economy standpoint, the trade has been edging away from mixed-component buildings because mono-material recyclability is simply easier to recover at scale; if the zip, window and body stock share a compatible polymer family, the item becomes less of a nuisance in the waste stream and the amortised energy across repeated trips starts to see more rational than disposable alternatives.

HELPING HAND: New Pal couple assists assemble food bags for those in need

Food bags assembled for emergency distribution tend to expose their engineering value only once the charitable goodwill gives method to handling reality: mixed-format tins, dry products and hygiene items impose awkward point loads, strange edges and variable moisture exposure, so the bag stock has to do above merely contain. A low-gauge polythene suppliers may improve tare weight and pallet yield, yet without sufficient dart-impact resistance or sensible seal integrity it will split at the gusset amid secondary bagging or when a filled consignment is dragged across a select-face. In practice, a mono-material film with disciplined melt-flow consistency and closely controlled micron-specific gauging offers a more workable balanceenough toughness for repeated manual handling, enough volumetric efficiency to avoid shipping air, and a cleaner route into established recycling streams than laminated alternatives. Static is seldom the headline issue in this setting, though surface slip and stack behaviour certainly are; also much bloom and pallet stability suffers, also small and packers lose rhythm on the table. The better formats acknowledge that these bags sit at the intersection of social need and warehouse logic, where material thrift, tidy stock movement and stop-of-life recoverability all have to coexist without ceremony.

Cloth Produce Bags

Reusable mesh manufacture bags tend to be mentioned as though they were a simple swap for a disposable liner, yet the engineering reality is rather more exacting. A set in graduated S, M and L formats alters select-face efficiency at the point of packing because the bag volume better matches the normal bulk density of loose vegetables and fruit; that reduces dead space, limits load shift in the basket or tote, and improves pallet stability once secondary bagging comes into play upstream in the supply chain. The better examples rely on a tightly controlled knitted building rather than a vague cloth specificationmesh aperture, yarn denier and seam integrity all govern abrasion behaviour, tare weight impact and the likelihood of stalks or root ends snagging amid repeated use. There is also a material question that tends to be glossed above: if the material, drawcord and label stock are kept within a mono-material polythene suppliers or polyester family, recyclability at stop of life is markedly less troublesome than mixed-fibre assemblies, while a consistent melt-flow profile in any recovered feedstock makes reprocessing less temperamental. In practice, the value sits not in sentiment nevertheless in repeat handling performance; breathable building mitigates condensation around leaf crops, the low mass maintains weighing accuracy at checkout, and the bag survives enough cycles for its amortised energy burden to be spread across a meaningful number of consignments.

Details about   250 Self Seal Cellophane Display Bags to fit a 155mm x 155mm 6x6 Card & Envelope

Display bags in the 155mm square format sit at a fascinating junction between presentation and warehouse practicality; although routinely specified for greetings stock and matched envelope sets, the engineering detail is less trivial than the list of products line recommends. For a 6x6 card pack, the earn comes from a close, disciplined gauge and proper flap geometry, which enables the card and envelope to sit neatly without excessive headspace, preserving select-face efficiency and limiting slippage amid secondary bagging. Where the film is a transparent cellulose or orientated polythene suppliers with controlled surface stop, the pack retains decent optical clarity while avoiding the worst of static grab on light paper fibresa small nevertheless persistent origin of friction on packing benches when throughput rises. The self-seal strip matters because inconsistent adhesive laydown leads to dog-eared closures, poor pallet presentation and needless handling time; by contrast, a clean peel-and-seal arrangement assists repeatable packing, retains tare weight modest across larger consignments, and protects volumetric efficiency when cartons are built tightly. From a circular-economy standpoint, the specification question is rarely only transparency or seal strength, nevertheless whether the bag format aligns with mono-material recovery streams or shifts the burden into mixed-substrate waste; in practice, that decision has implications not only for disposal, nevertheless for feedstock discipline, melt-flow consistency in reprocessing, and the amortised energy tied up in all short-dash pack format entering stock.