One of the distinctives of the Aldi shopping experience is that shoppers bag their own groceries. Aldi does this to cut down on costs and keep things moving quickly. Part of that is that Aldi doesn’t provide bags … at least not for free. If you want your own storage options for packages, you either need to 1) do without bags, 2) bring your own, 3) grab one of the empty cardboard packages you sometimes find in-store, or 4) buy one from Aldi.
Aldi sells a few varieties of bags. For example, you can get disposable paper and plastic bags in the checkout aisle for cheap: in our store the paper runs about 7 cents a bag and the plastic about 10 cents a bag. Aldi occasionally sells deluxe bags as an ALDI Find, too.
But Aldi also sells a Regular Buy reusable bag.
The Aldi Eco Friendly Reusable Bag is available in stores all the time. It can usually be found near the checkout aisles, and at the time of this post it cost $1.99 a bag. Unlike most Aldi products, it doesn’t have any particular private label — it’s just an Aldi bag.
By our measurements, the bag is about 17 5/8 inches wide, about 14 1/2 inches tall, and about 7.5 inches deep. The outside says it’s made of 50% recycled materials, and the attached tag says it’s a product of Vietnam. The interior tag says its distributed by TDC USA, a Hong Kong-based global trading company.
We’re not exactly sure what the bag is made of. It might be a combination of paper or plastic. It’s thin and plastic-like, and it feels like it might be water resistant. It’s held together with sewn seams, which also connect it to fabric handles.
The interior tag contains a few cautions. It should not be bleached, tumble dried, or ironed, and it should be sponge cleaned only. In other words, do not put this in your washer or dryer, and do not iron it.
The interior tag. (Click to enlarge.)
The exterior tag adds that this bag is good for “at least 125 uses.” After that, customers are encouraged to “return it to a participating store for recycling.”
The size is generous enough. I was able to put in several items — a couple of cereal boxes, a bag of chicken tenders, some soup cans, other miscellaneous stuff — without too many issues, and the handles supported the weight without too much trouble.
With stuff inside. (Click to enlarge.)
The Verdict:
Aldi shoppers have plenty of bag options in and out of the store, and this is one of them. For $1.99, you can get an Aldi-branded bag that looks kind of cool and has a decent amount of space. The materials aren’t top-grade so we’re not sure how long it will last, but if you need something more than a simple disposable bag, this is Aldi’s primary option.
