Bag Lady: Reusable Grocery Bags Make a Pretty Statement

I’m obsessed with bags lately. Not the chi-chi designer totes peddled at the department stores. Nope, I’m on the hunt for something cheap, chic and reusable that I can cram with milk, eggs and chardonnay on my grocery store excursions. I won’t preach. You can find the stats. The bottom line is that plastic and paper don’t have to be our only options in a world increasingly aware of the damage we as consumers are causing to our own planet.

In fact, I’m giving everyone on my list a grocery sack in lieu of a Christmas stockings and stuffing them with health and beauty goodies. My favs so far are the floral and retro designs from Envirosax. They hold the equivalent of about two grocery store plastic bags and run $8 each or $35 for a pouch of five.

Others in the running:

• The hefty, inconspicuous and durable ChicoBag, which comes in a rainbow of colors and costs just $5. Get retailers at www.chicobag.com.
• The simple, build-your-own color and size Baggu bags, which start at $8 each. At www.baggubag.com.
• The cloth grocery bags from Eco-Logics with soft-impact statements like Green Spirited and Neither, starting at $12. At www.green-kits.com.
• Finally (and yes, there are tons more), the FEED bags that support the U.N. World Food Programme. The $60 price of one bag feeds one child in school for one year. Learn more at www.feedprojects.org.

For more green ideas, pick up a copy of The Green Book (also a great gift!).