Ziploc Bag

It is clear plastic, but looking through it makes everything appear dingy and smoky. Boldly printed in white letters is its name: “Ziploc Fresh Shield.” Its thick plastic gives it solidity, its blue and purple zipper give it flair. Snap! It is closed. Rip! It is open.

Ziploc bags have a variety of uses. Caring mothers pack use it to pack away their children’s perfectly prepared sandwiches, complete with white bread, American cheese, and a slice of ham or turkey. Drug dealers use it to pack away crack, marijuana, and other contraband that is perhaps more carefully prepared than the sandwhiches.

Ziploc bags are made from polyethylene plastic. The plastic is heated and melted, then poured into a thin mold in the shape of a bag. Polyethylene plastic is controversial: to environmentalists, it is an evil environment-killing machine. But, to companies such as Exxon-Mobile (the original manufacturer of plastic baggies) and the Dow Chemical Corporation (the current manufacturer), they mean juicy profits.

Gladware containers are threatening to take over the cheap plastic containers market. They offer the cheapness of Ziploc and the sturdiness of Tupperware. However, Ziplocs are still ahead in sales. Ziplocs can’t die, they are an icon.