You know the look: the arched eyebrow, the crossed arms. What your cashier really means is, “I mean, come on, do you really need a bag? Or are you just needlessly destroying the environment, you horrible, selfish person, you?”
Time to face the music: Plastic bags are so totally out. As of Earth Day (Tuesday, April 22 – duh!), Whole Foods will only offer paper bags or 99-cent recycled plastic bags. So you’d better stock up now on bags to bring with you on your next trip to the store. Otherwise, you might get a major guilt trip with that.
Saving Zee Planet Is Easy, No?
Sometimes it’s just easier to do what the French do. No need to reinvent the wheel, or in this case, the shopping bag: Parisians have been toting string bags like these natural cotton tote & long handle string bags (1)($7) to market for centuries now. Since string bags are collapsible, you can stuff several in a fab Chanel handbag on your way to the store. Eco, c’est chic!
Rice-A-Rama
Think of all the starving children in the world! They might have eaten rice out of these very bags! Gecko Trader Market Bags (2)($27) uses colorful recycled rice bags from Vietnam to fashion these totes, which are very fashionable indeed.
Sails for Sale
If you want to work the nautical trend and feel greener-than-thou at the same time, say ahoy to Recycled Sail Totes (3)($98). We love the big bright numbers, not to mention the fact that sails are wind- and water-resistant. Perfect for containing miniature eco-disasters inside your shopping bag.
What Really Happened to Those Newport Billboards Proving that there’s almost nothing you can’t recycle, the Revinylized “Julia” Beach/Market Bag (4)($40) is made from recycled billboards. No word yet on whether there’ll be a Marlboro man edition.
Be Still My Bleeding Heart
If you absolutely must accessorize with hemp or burlap, please do it tastefully. The Rejavanate Grower’s Bag (5)($10), made out of recycled burlap coffee bags, does not wreak havoc on the aesthetic sensibilities of those around you.
I Am Not a Douche Bag So maybe you weren’t one of the lucky ones getting trampled in China while clawing your way towards Anya Hindmarch’s “I Am Not a Plastic Bag” bag. No need to feel bad about being left out. Fashion Indie’s I Am Not a Douche Bag tote (6)($19.99) lets the whole world know what you knew already.
An “Aha!” Moment
Here’s an idea: Instead of buying a new designer eco bag, why not reuse plastic bags you already have? Eureka! But no one likes having a landfill’s worth of plastic bags blowing loose through the house. Store them in IKEA’s Rationell Variera (7) plastic bag dispenser ($1.99), then put a few in the stylish Euro-Bone Pick-Up Kit (8)($9.99-12.99), and head off to market.
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