String bag

A string bag is an open netted bag. It is one common type of reusable shopping bags, as well as a type of packaging.

Bags of net-like material have been used by many cultures in history. For example, Japanese divers have used string bags to collect items to bring to the surface.

In Czechoslovakia, the production of string bags dates back to 1920s to the town of Žďár nad Sázavou/Saar in former Czechoslovakia, present day Czech Republic, when a salesman Vavřín Krčil, representing Jaro J. Rousek company, began to produce string bags under the trademark Saarense (EKV) at the local chateau Ždár. They formerly made hair nets, which had become obsolete due to shorter hairstyles coming into fashion. This led to years of prosperity for the company. The hand made shopping bags were made of artificial silk yarn, woven by women working at home (this was often their second job) or by using child labour, the finished bags were then given to Vavřín Krčil. The bags quickly became very popular due to their low price, light weight, and compactness. Krčil soon extended the range of designs, including bags to be carried at the elbow or on the shoulder, and bags for sporting equipment. In the late 1920s string bags were being produced in Switzerland and Italy, and were distributed around the world. Krčil himself exported the bags to Canada, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and North African countries.

The classic East German Einkaufsnetz (shopping net) has leather handles and multicoloured netting made from Eisengarn, a strong, starched and waxed cotton thread.

Due to shortages of many types of raw materials in the GDR, recycling and reusing were the norm; plastic one-use shopping bags were rarely available in shops.

The bags took up very little space when not in use and therefore could be carried around in case you serendipitiously came across something useful for sale.

...
Wikipedia