I’ve noticed that every product I’ve bought in the past year with a zip-lock seal is destroyed with common use. I actually think the zip-lock itself has gotten stronger. The bag rips before the seal opens on half the bags now and whenever I try to opens bags I had no issues with before, I find myself stretching/warping the plastic before the seal eventually opens.
It’s pretty frustrating and I am seeing it across many products. Cheese bags, storage bags, snacks etc…
I don’t think the zip-lock got stronger, I think the bags got thinner and weaker. But either way, they do tear more than they used to.
Which… might be ok, if the object is to reduce plastic consumption and pollution.
It’s not. It’s to make more money. Everything will continue to get slightly worse - year after year - for as long as this current economic ideology continues.
The point is… before you could reuse the bags MUCH more often, now I’m blowing out gallon ziplocks after 2-3 deli bought and home diced vegetables uses. The zipper is stronger like OP says, but the sides are tearing more easily.
Then get rid of the non-functional ziplock part altogether. That’d save way more plastic.
Otherwise known as shrinkflation. Selling a product for the same (or higher) price, but adding less of the product. By cutting small, barely noticeable portions out a little at a time, the company saves money in materials, but continues charging the same price. Basically, min-maxing profits.
shrinkflation
nah it’s just corporate greed. Calling this ‘shrinkflation’ gives these greedy price gougers some form of excuse by linking it to inflation even though they’re doing this to us simply because they can.
There is actually a trick to open them. Just slide the two halfs of the zip along each other and (between your fingers) the ends will pop open. This is a trick I use in my retail job almost every day.
Hope I explained that well enough.
“Retail” ;)
When you think you finished your sandwich, cut the corner off the bag to find even more breadcrumbs.
That works a couple times, but then the side seams of the zipper part will start to tear.
Does it work on commercial products with ziplock ? That always tears for me
It works pretty well. You’re applying opposite sideways forces to the zipper itself rather than pulling on the plastic film of the bag.
Edit: if you want to be sure you don’t blow out the corner of the bag, pinch it with your other hand before sliding your thumb towards it
I sometimes get fresh tortillas from the grocery store bakery, and the bags they use are the absolute worst. The zip-locks are fine, but the plastic the bag is made of is so thin that it can’t withstand the pressure needed to open the zipper, inevitably tearing the bag open and defeating the entire purpose of the zip-lock.
Put your thumbnail in between the middle of the ziplock and pry it open from the middle.
I’ve noticed this on zip top food packaging; it’s as if the zipper is a separate piece of plastic that is very weakly glued to the bag itself and it doesn’t extend to the outer lips where you pull it open, so you end up separating one side of the bag from the zipper.
Yeah I keep buying bags of cheese where the zip just rips off the bag when I pull the zip open. Really annoying.
I tried to open a zip locked bag of trail mix and degloved my hand
I switched to the store brand. Ziplock name brand bags got too hard to open.
I’ve noticed a lot of Zip-Lock bags i use at home tear at the seams sometimes, and the resealable bags from store bought food generally just sucks. Some bags of cheese or “deli meat” bags have a hard time resealing properly, and i find i have to keep opening and resealing before i feel every part of it snap together.
But honestly it all just generates more trash to toss out.
Yeah this is just noticeable because most products weren’t even resealable, they just expected you to seal em yourself with a clip, twist em, put em in a container, etc.
Now they are adding cheap resealable zips to the bag, which is nice in theory but the bag material has to be strong enough to support it.
Actual ziplock baggies themselves are made of thick plastic that can take a bit of abuse.
But cheap paper plastic hybrid materials a chip bag us made of can’t handle that sort of load, so it becomes the fail point.
You r still in tha matrix neo
I rage nearly every day when a bag either rips beside the seal, or has such garbage perforations that you have to use scissors on it regardless of their presence.
I exclusively use Hefty brand (because they have the best zippers) freezer bags (because the bags are stronger). I’d suggest trying those.
It’s part of inflation - in this case the cost may stay the same (or even go up a bit) but you receive a cheaper product in return for that similar cost than the past.
The important thing is that people will continue to purchase the product regardless, not knowing any better, and thus the manufacturer pockets the profits. Always remember that the goal of any corporation is to produce short-term value for its shareholders, and… no, that’s it, period.
Are you using the name brand bags? Ziploc is one of the few products where buying the actual name brand makes a big difference.
Yes. I have a mix of those and the target / smart & final bags. The issue is appearing in all of them, and also in random foods that use that style of seal as well.
I have not experienced the problem that you are experiencing. But I’m still using bags that I bought last year since we buy in bulk at Costco. Perhaps they cheapened the build quality in the last year.
This question seems to be about things packaged in bags you buy not bags you buy to package your own things.
I noticed the bags my underware came in were bad quality over a decade ago. I didn’t care then as I don’t know why I want my underware in a stay fresh bag. Those cheap bags are coming to places I care though.
Ooh, well in that case, yes, it’s all junk. But I’m just going to throw that away anyways, so I don’t care.
For undeware I don’t care. However I expect to reseal my cheese a few times.
I buy thick reusable and washable ziploc-like bags like these instead.
I still have a couple of disposable ones in case I need to give it to someone and don’t expect to get it back.
