Did you know Americans throw away around 365 plastic bags every year? In addition to the harmful exposure that plastic has on our health, as well as the waste that one plastic bag per day across millions of people creates in landfills and even oceans, single-use bags are also a waste of money. 

With plastic sandwich bags in particular, we're tossing money in the trash after every use. It's a lose-lose-lose scenario — and one company has decided to fight back with a new, surprisingly easy way to live with less plastic.

Enter: Stasher bags. And bowls. And stretch lids. 

They're all designed to be so durable they can replace hundreds of single-use plastic bags and rolls of plastic cling wrap, saving you money every time you don't toss a sandwich bag in the trash after lunch. And unlike regular baggies, you can put them in the microwave, dishwasher, freezer, and even the oven without worrying about tons of plastic leaching into your food.

"If you use our products, you will use less plastic, and that is what we can confidently promise our consumers," said Hilary McGuigan, who runs Stasher's marketing team. And beyond use, it means less plastic touching your food, too. "That is a win worth celebrating."

In a recent conversation with The Cool Down, she and her colleague Angelo Carpinelli, the mastermind behind Stasher's design and product development, walked us through why a simple swap to reusable bags can be a total game-changer for you and your family.

The cash savings from using reusable bags

All those tossed plastic bags can add up quickly. But with reusable bags, McGuigan told us, you're no longer throwing away money. 

"If you threw away pennies every single time that you threw away a Ziploc bag, you would act very differently," she said.

The upfront math may look daunting at first (a single Stasher sandwich bag retails for a little under $14), but when you factor in the hundreds of plastic bags you no longer have to purchase, the savings become clear. 

"Our bags are literally designed to last, to be reused forever and ever, and the durability is unmatched," McGuigan said. "Over time, you save money. And that act of not throwing away money (and therefore waste), is emotionally rewarding."

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Additionally, there are huge savings when it comes to being able to keep the food fresh for longer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average family of four loses nearly $3,000 every year on wasted food. With a better way to keep food from spoiling, you can recoup some of that cost.

That's one of the reasons Carpinelli likes the gallon Stasher bag so much. He told us it's his favorite product because it keeps food fresh so much more effectively than the plastic baggies and containers that food is typically packaged in at the grocery store. 

"I immediately take my spinach out, and I put it in a gallon bag, stick it in my veggie keeper, and it stays crisp two more weeks longer than it would in that container they give you."

"I've always found, what's really beneficial for Stashers is that, if you are a foodie or if you want to marinate vegetables or whatever, you need a big container for that. [The gallon bag is] easy to clean, and it does an appropriate job to save you money and time," he said.

The health benefits from ditching plastic

Finding ways to reduce harmful exposure to plastic products can often feel impossible, especially considering new research illustrating that plastic food and drink containers (like bottles, containers, and packaging) can leach microplastics that we then ingest.

This is where Stasher bags come into play as an easy alternative. Stasher bags are made from food-grade silicone, which is a synthetic material primarily made up of silica and oxygen molecules ("basically sand and oxygen," as Carpinelli put it, while others have dubbed it "soft glass"). This allows the bags, bowls, and lids to be stretchy and extremely temperature-resistant, while helping users reduce the amount of plastic in their daily lives.

Plus, Stasher reports that all their products are free from BPS, BPA, lead, latex, and phthalates, while still meeting safety standards for food products from the FDA and EU regulators.

"I would never stick a plastic bag in the microwave and heat it up if I had to warm up or defrost something, because of the risks that are involved with any kind of microplastic or any other type of chemical," Carpinelli said. "What we've come to learn and understand about the silicone [in Stasher bags] … it makes it equivalent to, and I say this loosely, glass — where I have no concerns about putting something in … Pyrex and warming it up in the oven."

For Carpinelli, "knowing that it's a safer product that's in the house" is a game-changer, especially when you're "just trying to make better choices for your family and your food storage as well as your reheating options." 

"You can't put a plastic bag in the oven and heat it to 425 without a big, goopy mess, right?" he said.

This all sounds great. So what's the catch?

Stasher bags are dishwasher-safe, microwave-safe, oven-safe, and the company even says they're safe for sous vide cooking. In a world where we're increasingly looking to reduce the amount of plastic in our lives, the simplicity of a Stasher bag can almost seem like it's too good to be true. So we asked the team if there was ever any user skepticism.

Carpinelli told us a lot of Stasher's popularity comes down to showing people what Stasher bags are made of and what they can do. Having people test samples to see solutions in action can be a huge help.

Interestingly, one of the double-edged swords of a product that's so durable and reusable is what to do with a bag if it ever gets damaged (think: your dog chews on one or perhaps a kitchen knife punctures the seal). 

McGuigan said Stasher partners with the innovative recycling brand TerraCycle to ensure bags are recycled responsibly, but she also noted that for the majority of customers, they'd rather just find a new purpose for the bag.

"Our consumer is innately trying to waste less and is taking it upon themselves to not throw away something that might not be in perfect condition, and find a different use for it [instead], which is awesome," she said. So a damaged sandwich bag might become a bag for tech cords, and a gallon bag might find a second life as a hold-all for colored pencils and markers. 

How to clean Stasher bags (and where to buy them)

Like any reusable item, you're going to want to clean it regularly. For Stasher bags and lids, hand-washing them with warm, soapy water works great, as does popping them in the dishwasher (although note that the lids are top rack only).

And for tough stains like from pasta sauce, here's a neat trick: After washing the bag, place it in the sunlight for a few hours. Carpinelli explained the UV rays will actually bleach away spots naturally.

"You put it out in the sun, you go do your errands, and you come back, and it's like magic," McGuigan added about the stain removal process.

And as for where to find Stasher bags, you can find bestsellers at retailers and Whole Foods nationwide, but for the best deals, McGuigan recommended going directly to Stasher's website or Amazon.

Big wins and favorite products

McGuigan didn't hesitate with this question. "My favorite products are [the stretch] lids," she said, which act like the reusable version of plastic cling wrap. (In fact, Stasher reports that one reusable stretch lid can replace up to 10 rolls of single-use plastic wrap every year.)

"I have a young family. I'm constantly meal-prepping — and the product experience is by far superior than traditional single-use plastic," she said.

"The versatility and being able to cover a casserole pan to put in the oven after a long day's work or take over a platter of fruits and veggies for a family dinner with our neighbors, just makes it super easy and convenient to use."

Having a quick, safe solution that keeps food fresh can make a world of difference after a long day. And while one Stasher bag isn't going to change the world singlehandedly, it's a start. Or, as McGuigan put it, "While the world can feel really overwhelming and the problems feel huge to tackle, we really take pride in providing products that are small changes with big impacts."

Case in point: Stasher reports that when you add up all the numbers, its community has so far prevented over 1 billion single-use plastic bags from entering landfills.

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