Who knew going to the market could be so fashionable? Not me. I’m the mom at the market schlepping around a diaper bag or industrial-sized purse staring at the put-together female shoppers (yes, apparently there are some women who actually wear make up to the market) toting their environmentally friendly reusable shopping bags.
Those canvas shopping bags have long been associated with “crunchy-granola”-types, who as it turns out, were way ahead of the times. Now, it’s hip to be environmentally aware and the reusable shopping bags are commonplace (even among the preppy-with-pearls set).
But, now, brace yourself ladies, the market may soon be the site of a fashion revolution. Top fashion designers including Hermes, Stella McCartney and Consuelo Castiglioni of Marni are now offering reusable shopping bags that are hip, hot… and pricey.
If you have always wanted an alternative to paper and plastic, but couldn’t imagine lugging around a canvas or burlap reusable shopping bag, your designer wishes have been granted.
Next month, the Silky Pop Hermes bag will go on sale in the U.S. with a price tag of $960. It may cost the same amount of money as 6 months worth of groceries—but at least you’ll look good carrying it. The bag is made of hand-wrought silk and it collapses into a wallet-size pouch of calfskin. (Can you really deny its versatility?) If that version is too pricey for you, consider picking up Castiglioni’s foldable nylon bag, which retails for $843. Or, if you are on a budget, the Stella McCartney organic canvas shopper sells for a mere $495.
The designers are no fools–they are know that reusable shopping bags are no longer being used exclusively in health food stores. In fact, in some cities, which are considering banning the use of certain plastic bags—reusable sacks are becoming a store staple. San Francisco, for example, just became the first major U.S. city to ban the use of nonbiodegradable plastic grocery bags. In the months since, cities from Boston to Berkeley have taken up similar proposals.
So it seems as though it is just a matter of time before reusable totes become standard grocery shopping accessories. But, let’s face it, not all of us can afford designer grocery bags. (Just like not all of us can muster the energy to apply make up before we go to the market.) That’s where these cheaper options come in: Trader Joe’s sells a $1.99 acid blue-and-neon green print polypropylene sack. There’s also the “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” by British handbag designer Anya Hindmarch, which retails for $15.
Fashionistas at the market… don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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