The most common compostable shopping bag formats include T-shirt bags, die-cut handle bags, and other custom handle styles.

T-shirt compostable shopping bag

T-shirt bags are practical for supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and takeaway applications because they are quick to open, easy to carry, and can be produced in high volumes.

Die-cut compostable shopping bag

Die-cut handle bags provide a cleaner retail appearance and are often used by clothing stores, specialty retailers, gift shops, and brands that want more space for printed graphics.

These answers determine the required film thickness, bag dimensions, handle design, and sealing structure.

Compostable shopping bags can be produced in different thicknesses depending on their intended use. Torise currently supports shopping bag thicknesses such as 20–60 μm, with customized specifications available.

A thinner film may work well for lightweight purchases, while heavier grocery loads require a stronger structure and appropriate thickness.

But thickness alone does not tell you whether a bag is suitable.

For example, if a supermarket expects customers to carry several kilograms of groceries, simply specifying “50 μm compostable film” is incomplete. The manufacturer should confirm that the finished bag structure has been designed and tested for the required load.

This is one of the most important points when purchasing compostable carrier bags.

Industrial compostability and home compostability are not the same claim.

For the European market, EN 13432 is a key standard for industrially compostable packaging. In the US, ASTM D6400 is commonly used for compostable plastic products and is associated with certification programs such as BPI. Torise supports certification requirements for different markets, including EN 13432/DIN CERTCO, ASTM D6400/BPI, AS 4736 and AS 5810, depending on the product and configuration.

If a bag is intended to be marketed as home compostable, the applicable certification should be verified separately rather than inferred from an industrial compostability certificate.

For retailers and private-label buyers, compostable shopping bags are often part of the customer-facing brand experience.

For a quotation, sending the manufacturer only a logo is usually not enough. A more useful RFQ should include the bag type, finished dimensions, thickness or target load, color, printing requirements, estimated quantity, packing method, and destination market .

That allows the supplier to recommend a realistic structure instead of quoting a generic bag.

Before placing a large order, ask for three things:

• Physical samples. Check the bag dimensions, appearance, handle comfort, seal quality, odor, and actual load performance.
• Certification or test documentation. Make sure the document applies to the relevant product and material configuration rather than assuming that a company-level certificate covers every bag.
• A production specification. The approved sample should be linked to measurable specifications so that future bulk orders can be checked against the same requirements.

This is particularly important for distributors and private-label customers, where thousands or millions of bags may be ordered over multiple production runs.

A practical B2B specification can be as simple as:

That is much more useful to a manufacturer than simply requesting “eco-friendly shopping bags.”

Torise manufactures custom compostable shopping bags and compostable grocery bags for retailers, supermarkets, wholesalers, distributors, and private-label programs. Available formats include T-shirt, handle, die-cut and other customized bag structures, with material, dimensions, thickness, printing and certification requirements developed according to the intended market and application.

If you already have a bag drawing or an existing PE bag sample, the easiest way to start is to send the size, thickness, application, expected load, quantity and target market . The manufacturer can then evaluate the required compostable structure and provide a more specific quotation and sample plan.