The collection consists of over one hundred shopping bags, primarily produced by Bloomingdale's department store and acquired by Cory Benett, a Bloomingdale's employee, for his personal enjoyment. The mostly paper bags feature art and design work by major designers, artists, and photographers of the late 1970s through the early 1990s. The collection also contains a small number of bags from other retailers.

Interior designer and Parsons School of Design alumna Henriette Granville Suhr (1917-2015) specialized in merchandising and display design. This collection represents her work for such manufacturers, retailers, and designers as Baker Furniture, Bloomingdale's, and T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings.