Last year, Anya Hindmarch’s limited edition “I am not a plastic bag” caused such a fashionista frenzy, the bag which originally sold for around 5 pounds in the UK was by the end of the last summer fetching prices in the hundreds on Ebay!
Now the market for eco-friendly shoppers bag has exploded, as designers and stores are discovering consumers are willing to forgo their choice of “paper or plastic”- and bring their stylish own.
And as is usual in the case of buying a trendy bag- how much you are willing to spend to save the Earth is up to you.
Luckily, in some cases you’ll feel doubly good about your purchase- as some bags ‘give back’ just as much as they ‘give’.
More than just eco conscience and super cute, the Feed Bag was designed by Lauren Bush for a collaboration between Amazon.com and the United Nation’s World Food Programe. The profits from each bag ( the bag retails through Amazon for $59.95) provides an entire school year of lunches for a child in an empoverished area of the world. Now that’s money well spent!
The Carrot Bag from SKN with it’s graphic design, will please the ‘modernist’ in us all. Plus with every purchase ( $24.95 each), SKN will use the profits to plant a tree. The bags come in 4 other designs and colors to choose from ( blueberry, asparagus, tomato, lemon ). Can’t choose a favorite? No worries, all five can be purchased at once for $99.95.
This sturdy bag is said to hold up enough contents to fill 4-5 regular shopping bags, and it’s light weight and can be wiped clean! A portion of it’s $4.95 price tag will be donated to The Green Ambassadors, a high school eco-ed program. Available through DoSomething.org.
Friends of Al Eco Tote, from Hayden-Harnett Handbags is a canvas tote that features both interior pockets and a hidden magnetic closure- making it a great ‘day of shopping’ bag . For every bag purchased ( $55.00 ) the company will give $25 to global warming charities and plant 10 trees!
Even if you go for a non-charity bag ( after all there are so many out there to love ) you can still feel good knowing that “byob-ing” at the market can save the planet from hundreds of plastic bags per shopper every year!
shopper totes from Anthropologie, Baggu reusable totes and Marc by Marc Jacobs
Target, Neiman Marcus and DVF ‘go green’ from Intermix
beau Soleil ego bag ( pix taken from Bag Snob.com ), Green Concept reusable bag, Hero Bags San Francisco
Let me know if you have found a great bag that satisfies your eco-loving appetite.
In San Francisco I see people using these bags as their everyday purses. My brother bought the 99 cent lime green bag from Whole Foods – made from recycled plastic bags. They are actually eliminating plastic bags in the city now because of the litter so looks like everyone will soon have to choose a favorite.