What is Calico?
In the UK and other countries, Calico is a fabric made from unbleached cotton. The cotton is typically not fully processed. In the US, this is the same fabric that is referred to as muslin.
In the US, calico usually refers to a printed cotton fabric with an over pattern.
Calico is sometimes used as an eco friendly alternative for products typically made from other sources. In particular, calico bags are often used as a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bags.
For example in 2004, as part of World Environment Day, the Sydney city council ran a “Bag the Bag” campaign to encourage people to use calico bags instead of their plastic shopping bags. The idea behind the campaign was that residents would exchange 20 plastic bags for 1 calico bag. Over the 2 months, residents exchanged over 15,000 plastic bags for calico bags.
To see what calico bags can look like, Cottonbags, an Australian company, displays some calico bags on their website.
Tags: calico, eco friendly bags, plastic bags, reusable grocery bags, Sustainability
