Though I had witnessed New York eco-fashionistas at ungodly hours snaking around the Whole Foods on Bowery, I decided Anya Hindmarch’s bag was not for me. Fortunately, I stumbled across the perfect paper-versus-plastic-bag-alternative, Envirosax, at Flight 001. Rocking the female lifestyle means I end up swapping my handbag daily to match my itinerary. With Envirosax, you can choose a multi-pack of five to roll down from the sack’s two-grocery-bag size to a small pouch, great for fitting into several handbags or coat pockets.
Aside from fitting into an international movement to discourage the use of plastic bags, the bag’s benefits include being waterproof, strong, and portable. Envirosax extends beyond a commitment to producing an eco-friendly product to ensuring fair labor conditions and supporting sustainability education in its business model–a true triple bottom line company.
I have decreased my plastic bag contribution to landfills, since I snagged my set. My only complaint is that it sometimes unravels out of its pouch-like mode. Dealing with this annoyance gave me another portable, and nearly free, idea based on the Envirosax product.
- Take a canvas tote (I’ve been getting these free as promos from events)
- Roll it from left to right (or right to left, for the lefties) into a strip
- Roll that strip from bottom to top
- Secure with a large safety pin
When you need to use the tote, just unhook and unravel, attaching the safety pin to the inside of the sack.
Did you try this or the Envirosax? If so, lemme know.
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:37 am
I’m glad you are promoting new ways to define the rear-end of the shopping experience! A frequent shopper of Union Square’s Trader Joe’s, I’m thrilled when I see storewide opportunities to do good by the environment. On the bag front, they sell several reusable bag options for as little as 1.99.
For those of us with crap memories, it’s as easy as $2 to save the landfill from my forgetfulness.
That said, I’m always appalled to see hipsters, eco-folks and soccer moms alike gleefully walking away with piles of food in paper and plastic bags. We have a disconnect, Houston.
Here’s another option: in my local hardware store on 29th and 3rd they sell these cool reusable bags that fold up into tiny packages that you can pop into any purse or bag. They are super sturdy, come in a variety of colors and are cheap, as well ($4-8, depending on size).
I mean, seriously. How much easier does it have to be to convince people that consuming 500 billion plastic bags A YEAR is not ok?
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Thanks for sharing the tip on your local hardware store’s reusable bags–I’ll have to check them out!