In 1852, Francis Wolle received a patent for a machine that made a paper bag.1 The paper bag introduced the concept of cheap, disposable packaging. It was the birth of the disposable bag. Nearly a century later, inventors would apply the same idea to plastic. Two Canadians invented the plastic garbage bag in their kitchen. These green bags were used in Winnipeg General Hospital to help reduce the spread of polio and became a standard household product in the 1960s.
Disposable plastic garbage bags have quietly become one of the most useful pieces of outdoor equipment ever invented. Plastic bags are inescapable for the outdoor recreator. Nearly as soon as they became widely available, backpackers and outdoor enthusiasts adopted them.
By the late 1960s, plastic bags had become so useful that Colin Fletcher included them in The Complete Walker, one of the earliest backpacking guidebooks.7 They can be used to package food, keep clothing and gear clean and dry, double as an emergency poncho, hold your trash, or simply keep your gear organized. Modern backpackers spend hundreds of dollars on ultralight equipment, yet some of the most useful items in their packs still cost only a few cents.
Two brothers, Max and Edgar Austin, saw promise in the idea to make a resealable plastic bag using a zipper closure. In the mid-1960s Dow Chemical approached the brothers for exclusive rights to make the product. The famous Ziploc was born.4,5 Ziploc advertised directly to campers and backpackers until the product became ubiquitous. For many hikers, a Ziploc quickly became less of a kitchen product and more of a piece of outdoor gear.
Ziploc Ad From May 1986 Issue of Backpacker Magazine
Today, plastic bags are inseparable from outdoor pursuits. Few pieces of outdoor gear are as versatile as a plastic bag. Most hikers carry several without ever thinking of them as gear. Backpackers will passionately debate backpacks, tents, and stoves while quietly relying on a collection of humble plastic bags.
Plastic bags are designed to be discarded. Most are durable enough to survive several multi-day trips despite being designed to be thrown away after one use. Reusing them has the added advantage of lowering excess waste. This modern convenience is a result of over 100 years innovation and precision manufacturing. Disposable bags rarely appear in gear reviews or lists of essential camping equipment. Yet few inventions have done more to keep gear dry, food organized, and campsites clean. For such a simple invention, the humble plastic bag has earned a permanent place in the modern backpacker's kit.
By David F. Garner
Sources:
1. https://www.thecut.com/2013/12/bag-envy.html
2. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4024908
3. https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/plastic-bag-1950s-hot-new-thing
4. https://www.whoinvent.com/who-invented-ziploc-bags/
5. https://www.impakcorporation.com/history-of-ziplock-resealable-bags
6. https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/blog/the-history-of-plastic-bags/
7. Colin Fletcher, The Complete Walker, 1968, p. 271, print.