Recently in Eco-chic Category

Guest Blog by Julia DiNardo of Fashion Pulse


As if you didn't know it was cool to care, Rihanna is certainly showing her eco-allegiance via the reusable tote, My Bag Cares. Instead of going for an uber-expensive "it" bag, Rihanna opted for this $25 washable linen tote meant to deter frequent plastic and paper bag use. The best part? For each bag purchased, a tree is planted.

Other celeb-sightings with this particular bag have occurred, including Kelly Ripa, Rosanna Arquette, and Shannon Elizabeth. We do adore this bag and love the chic "tree hugger" concept, but also got to thinking about what other cool eco-friendly totes and bags on a mission are out there!

No need to go exclusively plastic being a vegan fashionista, this Ports 1961 hickory clutch is certainly a more stylish alternative.  It is in the shape of an oyster, how is that for sexy?  I really can't imagine a plastic or nylon clutch being anywhere near acceptable (I suppose satin is ok) but even if you love animals when they're dead, this novelty piece can be a good segue to turn a conversation about saving gas and being green to fashion.   Tia Cibani always uses different types of wood each season for her bags.  This one was bought by MoMA for their holiday catalogue.  We will have to wait until then but seeing how time flies, it will be no time before we are decorating with tinsel.  The Ports wood bags are a favorite among celebs, I wouldn't be surprised to see this grace the hands of Natalie Portman.

I have done my part by purchasing almost every 'Green' bag out there and I use them dutifully at stores, but I have never found one that was truly "chic". Eco-- yes, chic-- no. Most look like potato sacks and though we feel good and smug about ourselves when we carry one (as we sneer at those still using plastic bags), we don't feel stylish. But finally, someone has done it right! Kooba's green tote is the BEST eco-chic bag EVER! Not only is it made of organic cotton canvas, it has a very cool recycled metallic cork trim which gives the unbleached cotton just the touch of glam it so needs. How creative is that!?!? This giant tote is 14" x 18" x 6.5", perfect for my beach vacations and for stuffing it full of groceries. Available in Natural and Pale Olive. Exclusively for Barneys Green for $245, okay so it's not $35 like the rest of them but hey, you get what you pay for and this is absolutely Snob worthy!!!

What do you think of Eco Chic bags? Snob or Slob?

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

I am back from my wonderful vacation in Hawaii! The one thing I brought back with me is the renewed appreciation of nature and our environment. Well, Jack Johnson helped me get there. I went to the Kokua Festival, a charity concert put together by Jack Johnson to benefit his Kokua Foundation that supports environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaii. They teach the 3 Rs, like his song: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

This bag has slightly different Rs--Reduce, Recycle, Renew, but the message is the same (renew sounds a bit more ambitious than reuse, but we do need to be more determined about saving our planet). Plus, this bag is super cute and chic! I love the cotton canvas with the contrasting charcoal, big-rope handle. This bag is big enough to use as a beach bag, which is totally appropriate, as I have just experienced. Beaches are only enjoyable and nice, if they are not polluted and filled with trash. Keep in mind: it's not just plastic bags at the market. When you go to your favorite boutique, why not bring along a bag like this or a shopping bag you already have from previous shopping excursions? I have a drawer full of bags that I reuse again and again (of course it's super easy to keep and reuse the really nice ones!) Beau Soleil shopping bag at Coco's Shoppe for $44.

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than to give our planet some needed loving! We are spreading the love by reminding people to use reusable bags at the grocery store (almost one trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year, can you imagine what like looks like in our landfills?) and are giving away 20 totally adorable Valentine's shopping bags from Envirosax. All you have to do is answer our question correctly. We will select 20 random winners from all the correct answers. Please put your answers in comments by 11:59 PM tonight. One entry per person please!

Green is officially the new black! In a leather dominated market, those of you who take the vegetarian/vegan stance have been long awaiting the newest thing to tread down the red carpet, vegan shoes. What environmentally conscious, Hollywood actress has started her own line of vegan shoes? Bonus points if you know the name of the collection (you don't actually get anything for knowing other than to gloat in your knowledge)!

Thank you ENVIROSAX for sponsoring this giveaway and for making cute bags that we love to use for more than one reason. If you do not win, or just want to purchase these anyway, they are $8.50 each or $37.95 for a set of 5 at Envirosax.

The first thing anyone ever says about Stella McCartney bags is that they are expensive for being non-leather. So to start off I want to say, you pay for style and you pay for design. Target sells real leather bags and they are cheap, but as they say, you get what you pay for. So, for those who do not care for leather or just those who care more about style, Stella McCartney is fabulous and we love her. And to further appeal to the skeptics, this bag is well priced, at $1095 (although last week is was $995, our falling dollar is screwing us) it is also our Cheap Thrills pick of the week. At 17" x 12.5" it is big enough to fit my MacBook and certainly big enough for those tech snobs with the MacAir, so this can be your work / school bag and is most definitely appropriate for dinner and cocktails. If you're the one bag kind of girl, this one will keep your ever growing contents organized, the interior has compartments and pockets galore. But the subtle yet intricate details are what makes this bag a joy to behold. Everything blends in for an overall slick and sharp look, the hardware, buckles, pleats and stitching are all part of a well designed thought process. Which is what we always want but like everything, it is easier said than done. I even love the little coin purse, perfect to keep all your quarters for the parking meter (or laundry machine, city girls), which reminds me, I have to pay my stupid parking ticket. I sat right in front of my car sipping away happily on my latte while a metermaid on a bicycle wrote a ticket. The barbaric part of me wanted to throw my scone at him, but my husband was with me and he kept me tame. $35 could make up for the falling dollar on all my Net a Porter purchases this week, which is where you can get this bag.

I am loving these cute, eco-friendly and practical shopping bags. They are unstructured and roll up to fit in a handy pouch (only 9" x 6") so you can always have all 5 of these in the car. I always forget my I'm Not a Plastic bags and they take up too much room in the car so I don't want to keep them there. The bags itself are 19.5" x 16.5" so definitely big enough for all your groceries and the set comes with 5 so unless you have a huge family and only shop once a month, it is more than enough for one trip to the market. My favorite part is that they're easily washable so I can go ahead and throw drippy meats and free flowing fruits and veggies from the farmers' market right in there without fear. My current system is a little backwards, I still use plastic vegetable bags for meats and fruit that has a risk of smooching (strawberries, cherries, etc.). These were on backorder during the holidays or else they would have made perfect gifts, but I am still ordering them for gifts for birthdays. The floral Asian inspired design is super cute but if you have boys who are averse to anything colorful and cute, the black and white is very zen-like and fits the eviro-friendly theme. At Neiman Marcus for $40.

This is the best eco-fab tote I have seen! Henry Cuir's leather tote (tanned without harmful chemicals) has a small etched design and French message "I am the earth. I love myself and I respect myself." So it won't please animal activists but environmentalists should be happy to see that designers are attempting to make an effort at reducing harmful chemicals in the environment. Eco-fab or not though, this is a great tote. No fuss and structurally clean, it is a huge tote best used as a shopper, travel or work bag. And how cute is that leather button closure?

Did I mention this is a Barney's Exclusive? It's also reasonably priced at $850 considering its size and multi-functionality. With the holiday shopping madness fast approaching, do yourself a favor and grab a tote you can feel good about! Imagine all the shopping bags you can refuse and all the goodies you can stuff in it! At Barneys New York.