With thin plastic disposable shopping bags starting to be phased out in some places (South Australia started its bag ban at the beginning of this month), many more of us are looking to reusable bags for our shopping.

But you don't necessarily need a bag - how about a box that you can also use for general storage purposes? Sure, boxes are generally bulky; but not this one - the KlappBox. It's a collapsible plastic crate.

I haven't mentioned these before as I thought they were a common sight around the world. I've had a collapsible plastic crate for many years; so long I can't even remember how I obtained it. It seems they are very common in Europe, but still somewhat a rarity in the USA according to Edie from KlappBox.


The animation above show  how the boxes work.. and it really is that easy. You're probably thinking that they wouldn't be all that sturdy and the hinging system would fail after a relatively short time, but the one I have is incredibly strong - I once had mine full of heavy car parts and it lived to tell the tale. I've never used the box for groceries, but just about everything else - it's been very much used and abused :).

The Klappbox is made of plastic, but Edie tells me it's constructed from 30% recycled material, polypropylene and is 100% recyclable. Even if you don't use them for shopping, the boxes are a robust and handy general storage solution that occupies little space when not in use. If you'd prefer a collapsible crate with handles, they'll also be available from KlappBox  soon.

Learn more about the KlappBox.