Can Paper Bags Compete With Plastic Bags?

Can Paper Bags Compete With Plastic Bags?
The period ranging from the 1850s all the way till the present time has been seen as the years when retail shopping as we know it has become very prevalent. There has simply been an explosion of retail supermarkets and this not just in the US but in the rest of the world as well. In the times preceding that shops were small and mainly consisted of an attendant or a "shopkeeper" who usually stood behind a counter and presided over a few rows of merchandise. But come the 1850s all the way to the 1900s and large supermarket chains began to appear. These were superbly large and consisted of rows and rows of different foods and other household merchandise. One could either carry a basket or even better, push a trolley which they filled with the items they intend to buy as they go. At the cash register, the cashier usually had an attendant who helped them pack these items into a plastic or paper bags.