It seems like everyone is doing an environmental shopping bag these days. This one from Stella McCartney is due out this June for $495 and is made of organic cotton. Hermes is also coming out with one, the Silky Pop reusable bag for $960. It collapses
and folds up to a wallet size calfskin pouch. There is also a grocery tote from designer Consuelo Castiglioni of Marni for $843. I am all for being environmental and using less plastic bags – of course I love a fabulous bag even if it is for grocery shopping but there is something amiss with spending this amount of money for leaking poultry and juicy strawberries. In Europe everyone carries one of these 
around for stopping by the bakery or picking up oranges on the way home but in the US we just don’t shop that way. I need at least 3 bags for a week’s worth of groceries. I mean, at those prices it makes more sense to “reuse” my own has-been bags in my closet, like all my dozens of nylon Prada totes. Or why not buy any one of the hundreds of giant bags out there, like the Chanel patent Cabas garbage bag for $1000. It is really giant so you can fit a gallon of milk, an 8 pound chicken and 3 boxes of cereal with room to spare. And the patent leather makes it easy to clean for meaty spills. Or more realistically, get a Le Pliage from Longchamp for $115. I feel like economy should come into play when you’re trying to be environmental because there are resources being used that could go to something more worthy (like a nice bag you can use for a lifetime instead of one that will get trashed in a few months) . At some point, it just doesn’t make any sense.
Not to mention that for every extra bag produced, more energy is consumed.
Anya’s bag campaign has a clear message, to out-do plastic bags. We don’t all have to own a copy of her bag to achieve that. The important thing to get her message. We bag lovers surely have lots of bags that we no longer use that’s being put away in the closet. Just pick an old canvas tote and use it for shopping, I’d say.
More grocery stores are starting to sell recycled/reusable bags for like $1.00 and they are really cute. Why would anyone spend this kind of money when s/he can achieve the same purpose for much less?
Not to mention, as the type of person who prefers reusable bags to disposable ones, I am also the type of person who’s taken aback, to say the least, by the use of calfskin as a material. Am I speaking alone here?
Well I sketch handbags and I don’t think these is a very good way to proceed with the environmental case since these is just a trend , I can make a cheap looking bags like those by going to your local second hand store and making a tote myself I can even give you the patterns and sew it yourself then get some paint and put I am not a plastic bag . by the way my handbag company is coming a long
I think it’s a great idea and a matter of choice .. And bag snob Kelly, yes you should use your old nylon prada bags as shopping totes !!! That would be fab. And as a New-Yorker I am a huge fan of the european style of grocer shopping . … So the whole haute grocer bag trend is wonderful and makes total sense in my opinion. Key words “my opinion”
. I think its here to stay !
The key here is toooo reuse … and not to waste… Its just another form of being green . I might not be the greenist…LOL.. but I try .. and plastic bags are a no no..
Some might say that spending 5k on a handbag is insane and just does not make “sense” … But that is their opinion… My opinion is dif that’s why it’s mine.. My cut off is 19K .. after that it does not make “sense” to “ME” any more…LOL.. but that might not be the case for some of the uber bag snobbers.. the sky might be the limit for them…nothing wrong with that !
I love this blog and I think you ladies are wonderful.
“I feel like economy should come into play when you’re trying to be environmental because there are resources being used that could go to something more worthy (like a nice bag you can use for a lifetime instead of one that will get trashed in a few months) . At some point, it just doesn’t make any sense.”
Who said the bags are not made for lifetime use … and who said they are ugly…? The Hermes Folder bag is very cute .. and it can be used for grocer or shopping shopping … Its not just about grocer shopping ..
its’s about not using un nec bags ( paper or plastic) . Fashion is not known for being dark green…lolol.. But at least an effort is being made..
Again ..just my small little humble opinion..
P.S. The Hermes fold up bag is my fav. that bad boy will last forever.!
I’m suprised that you bag snobs care about the enviroment. I love your taste in bags (although not all the time) and this website, but your enviromental issues – please! You post ANIMAL skin bags (not very enviromental when they have to be shipped from the exotic countries they came from, not to mention the horrible conditions they live in and that they have to be killed!), and when a new store opens the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, you don’t hesitate to fly there, (ummm, does anyone else know that 1 long haul flight is equivalent to leaving your fridge open for 7 YEARS!!!). So do me a favour, and stop pretending to care. Or even better, begin to actually care.
that chanel cabas bag is amazing in the leather, its like a dark grey and itg great for travel, i wear it all the time
I actually saw a girl wearing the Chanel Cabas bag. It looked like a large garbage bag…with the Chanel logo on it. Up close, though it looked great on her because she was 6ft tall and the proportions were okay. On short little me, I’d look like I was carrying a, well, garbage bag.
A friend of mine (she is an a attorney, so she can afford it) has the Chanel Cabas [trashbag]. It actually looked really good on her beside the fact that she is short. It was super shiny and very large. At the time(last year), I had no idea how she got it, because there was a waiting list for them (here on the east side), I guess she used her power of persuasion at Chanel. ☺
At Whole Foods, with the purchase of groceries (or whatever you buy), they were handing out environmentally friendly shopping bags for free. Once I used one of my large Louis Vuitton handbags as a grocery bag (its pretty old)
I totally agrees with you on the subject of being enviromentally or animal friendly. Vegan friends that I know lead a simple lifestyle without indulging in luxury at all. Most of them actually uses 100% cotton made bags. I personally prefer the Longchamp Le Pliage or Lesportsac as they are also more economical. There is no need to go for limited editions either. Especially in Asia, logo is a big thing for designer bags. The more & bigger is better as this symbolizes status. Even celebrities, they may say that they support the environment or are vegans but they purchase expensive products that are not made with leather which actually defeats the purpose. If you are a celebrity, don’t be a hypocrite. Just stay away from the limelight & live your life simply.
best shopping bag