The paper-versus-reusable argument is usually had in slogans. It is actually an arithmetic problem, and the answer depends entirely on how many times the bag gets used.
Paper: low impact per bag, low trip count
A kraft bag is cheap to make, recycles in ordinary streams, and breaks down if it escapes. What it does not do is survive many trips — a handful at best, and one if it rains.
That makes paper the right answer for purchases people carry home once, which is most retail. Handing a customer a heavyweight reusable for a single greetings card is not the greener choice, whatever it looks like.
Non-woven: the middle option, and the weight trap
Non-woven polypropylene is inexpensive, folds flat and carries far more than paper. At 100 to 120gsm it genuinely survives dozens of trips, which is where its footprint pays back.
At 70 to 80gsm it does not. It stretches out of shape on the second heavy load and ends up binned, at which point you have distributed a plastic item for one use. If you are buying non-woven, buy the weight that gets reused or do not buy it at all.
Cotton: the highest cost per bag, the highest ceiling
A cotton tote has a substantial footprint to produce — it needs a lot of trips before it beats paper on any measure. But it is the only bag on this list that becomes a personal object, and people carry good ones for years.
The determining factor is weight and finish. An 8 oz giveaway tote gets used a few times; a 10 to 12 oz canvas with cross-stitched webbing and a decent print gets carried to work. Spend the money there or choose a different material.
Match the material to the purchase
Single low-value purchase, carried home once: kraft paper. Weekly grocery shop: non-woven at 100gsm or above. Premium purchase the customer wants to be seen carrying: laminated euro tote. Merchandise or a brand people opt into: cotton canvas.
Most shops need two of these, not one, and the split is usually a cheap everyday carrier plus one good bag for larger purchases.
The claim you can actually make
If you want to say something on the bag, say the specific true thing. ‘FSC recycled kraft’, ‘made with 80% post-consumer waste’, ‘certified compostable’ with the standard printed. Those survive a customer question and a regulator.
‘Eco friendly’ and ‘biodegradable’ do not, and increasingly people know it. A vague claim on a bag is worse than no claim, because it invites the question.
What we would recommend
For most independent retail: 150gsm natural kraft with a reinforced turnover as the everyday bag, plus a matte laminated euro tote for larger purchases. For grocery: 100gsm gusseted non-woven. For merchandise: 10 oz cotton, printed once, sold not given.