Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press

Patti Steele takes advantage of the discount she receives at Price Chopper for using their green bags.

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It used to be that Patti Steele would collect 15 to 20 plastic bags a week from her shopping trips. Now she only has six bags, all canvas, that she uses for groceries.

“I think you get more groceries in the (canvas) bags,” the St. Joseph resident said, “and it’s easier to carry.”

It’s no longer a case of deciding between paper or plastic at the grocery stores. Canvas grocery bags are becoming more and more mainstream.

“It’s not just a certain kind of guest that’s buying them,” said Eli Brooks, store team leader at Target. “It’s across the board.”

Target, Price Chopper, Wal-Mart and Hy-Vee all offer canvas shopping bags. Brad McAnally, store director of Hy-Vee, said Hy-Vee has offered canvas bags for several years but has seen a noticeable spike in sales in the past year.

“They’re catching steam and going quickly,” he said.

Mr. McAnally estimates the store sells about 100 canvas bags a week and has sold 3,000 since the beginning of the year.

Target debuted its line of canvas bags in February. Mr. Brooks said the store has had a hard time keeping them in stock, selling out several times. He figures the store has sold 400 to 500 bags since they were introduced.

“They’re selling really well right now,” he said. “We’re seeing people go out the door with them and come in with them.”

Target also came out with another type of bag, one made from recycled Target bags. The bags have been heat-pressed together and made into a “stronger, more permanent bag,” Mr. Brooks said.

Canvas bags at Price Chopper sell for 99 cents. Hy-Vee bags are 99 cents for smaller bags and $1.25 for larger ones. The canvas and recycled plastic bags at Target go for $5.99. Both Hy-Vee and Price Chopper offer customers a nickel refund each time they use the bags.

The protest against plastic bags, which take years to break down in landfills, is national. Whole Foods stores, with three locations in Kansas City, stopped offering plastic bags nationwide on April 21. Customers can now choose between free paper bags or purchasing canvas or recycled plastic bags.

And San Francisco passed a bill in March to ban all plastic bags at major grocery and drug stores. The ban will begin to go into effect in about six months, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. NPR reported that other cities, including Boston and Phoenix, are considering doing the same.

Neither Mr. McAnally nor Mr. Brooks said they foresee a similar ban in St. Joseph, but they agreed the use of canvas grocery bags is more than just a passing trend.

“I really think (using canvas is) going to become the norm,” Mr. Brooks said. “I think overall our society is becoming a lot more environmentally conscious.”

Lifestyles reporter Lacey Storer can be reached at lstorer@npgco.com.