Going green's in the bag

In June of last year, buyers all over the world were paying more than 25 times retail price for the season’s hottest bag. The bag was made in limited quantities and sold out within a few hours of being released in London. In New York City, only 800 of the bags were available; they sold out in 29 minutes and there were rumors of catfights on the street outside the store. The bag was even chosen as the coveted goodie bag for everyone who was anyone at Vanity Fair’s legendary Oscar after-party. All in all, only 200,000 of the bags were made, so they quickly began to show up on the Internet for inflated prices.

Today, you can probably pick up one of Anya Hindmarch’s “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” canvas totes from eBay for around $40 – still considerably more than the $15 original retail price, but less than the $400 the bag fetched just a few months ago. The reusable shopping bag was produced in partnership with We Are What We Do, a campaign that encourages people to change the world in small steps.

And while the Hindmarch bag has received its fair share of criticism – unlike other reusable totes on the market, the bags, produced in China, aren’t made of organic or recycled materials and are not fair trade – they do bring to the forefront a movement toward reusable shopping bags and away from plastic bags, which account for one of the most common types of litter found in coastal clean ups and take longer to biodegrade than paper bags. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans use 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wrappers each year.

From grocery stores to online retailers, reusable bags are popping up everywhere. And while the interest may be new, the industry is not. Retailers such as Green Bag and websites like Reusablebags.com have been selling reusable, eco-friendly bags for years.

In fact, many grocery stores, including Whole Foods and Publix, have always had reusable totes available for purchase, but haven’t offered customers any incentives to use them.

Whole Foods announced this year that it plans to eliminate plastic shopping bags by Earth Day, April 22. The store has asked customers to bring their plastic bags from home to be recycled, offering 10 cents for each bag; customers who bring in 10 plastic bags receive the 99-cent reusable Whole Foods Better Bag. (Through the end of April, the Whole Foods at Cahaba Village is asking customers to donate the 10 cents they receive back from their plastic bags to the Alabama Rivers Alliance.)

Basic reusable totes are available at Publix, Target and even Wal-Mart for around $1. On April 19, Wal-Mart will give away one million of its reusable totes, made from 85 percent recycled materials, including water bottles. Target recently encouraged Newsweek readers to reuse the magazine’s cover as an envelope to send in as many of the store’s plastic bags that would fit inside; in return, customers receive a Retote Bag made from the recycled plastic bags. Tria Market sells oversized reussable totes for $3.99 at its Homewood and Liberty Park locations; Customers receive the bag for free with a $50 purchase.

But if a more unique and/or stylish bag is desired, there are plenty of options locally and online. Sojourns, located at 217 20th St. North downtown, carries Basura tote bags handmade from used juice boxes by a women’s cooperative in the Phillipines. The bags retail for $15-$16. Earth Creations, an earth-friendly manufacturer based in Bessemer, Ala., offers a canvas tote with the phrase, “Paper or plastic? Choose neither” for $18. The bag is made from 55 percent hemp and 45 percent organic woven cotton. Purchase the bag online at www.earthcreations.net.

The website Reusablebags.com offers a comprehensive selection of reusable bags from stylish to simple – including the ACME brand, made from 100 percent recycled cotton. The site also features totes made from recycled rice bags by Gecko Traders, a cooperative of disadvantaged Cambodian women; and Alchemy Goods bags, made from recycled outdoor ad banners, along with a variety of bags made using other recycled materials such as PET, or plastic soda bottles.

Another option is the Envirosax brand, reusable bags that come in a variety of colors and patterns and are also available in pouches of five. The company claims that the bags have the strength of two plastic bags, and while they are produced in China, the company says the manufacturer has met all fair trade guidelines. The company also offers a recycling program for its bags, giving customers who send in the old bags $1 off their next purchase.

But shoppers don’t have to purchase a special tote to jump on the reusable bag bandwagon; the most cost-effective way to join the movement is to repurpose a bag from home or snag a few free tote bags here and there, such as the ones frequently given out at conferences, trade shows and festivals. The Internet also offers a slew of instructions on how to make a tote bag at home using everything from plastic grocery bags to blue jeans.

How’s that for resourceful?