It was inevitable. Causing a tidal wave in countries overseas earlier this year, Fashion Designer Anya Hindmarch’s I’m Not a Plastic Bag is officially on sale @ $15/each (3 per person limit) at Whole Foods in NYC as of 8a this morning. At Houston Street & Bowery, Anya (Pictured above, right) will be on hand to dole out some of these riot-inducing, canvas totes. Hurray for reusable bags. I just wish they were made of a sustainable fabric. As seen in today’s NY Times and cnnMoney.
Why do I have a feeling we won’t be seeing many groceries in this bag?
At this point in time, the bag has a starting bid of $100 @ ebay.com, and the last one I saw, sold for $250.
For a glimpse back on the Anya mayhem:
Eco Friendly Resusable Bags: March 26, 2007
AltCon 1:50 video update on Plastic Bags
RSS
For a woman like me who used cloth bags for grocery shopping for many years and has of late been a guilty back-slider, this is news indeed. Are we finally at a place where environmentalism is cool!? If so, what is next? Recycling Festivals? Solar Salons? Hybrid Humvees?
Of course, there are always detractors. Several blog sites complain:
the bag doesn’t even support a cause.
This bag doesn’t support a cause?! Of course, it does: the environment. For thirty years we tree-huggers have been trying to get shoppers to bring their own bags to the store rather than take home and throw away dozens of plastic ones. Our landfills and landscapes are full of these noxious flags of commerce!
Pleading and explaining and complaining have not worked, so why not a new tactic? While I mourn our inability to do the right thing unless it involves shopping, kudos to Whole Foods for sensing the global shift (hybrid fuels, Al Gore, Inconvenient Truth, Live Earth, green advertising) and finding a way to use the world’s retail-addiction to foster change! Let’s all say, I’m not plastic!
See my post on the topic at InSpiritry.com/wordpress!
This craze amazes me. Its like the green community threw out their ideals for something stupid. I don’t get it. It runs counter to everything. I am amazed at the whole thing. Plus the bag is made of conventional cotton. Its like all the people that complain about these issues day in and day out decided to give this bag a pass.
Seems this little bag is not without controversy. Just read the post and comments over on The Alternative Consumer. (Feel free to wander around the “related posts” for the full back story, and then find your way to their recommendations for where to get truly eco-friendly bags. What a fantastic site!)
I’m all for creating awareness about wasteful habits, but I can’t believe no one mentioned the ultimate irony of this US release. If you were patient and waited in line yesterday in NYC, you were handed your three bags in…drumroll, please…A PLASTIC BAG! Raining or not, there had to be a better solution.
Thanks for all the comments…
Rider — the manufacturing of the bag has always been an issue for us at The Alternative Consumer. The fact that it’s not made of a sustainable material, or organic cotton, as you mentioned, is ridiculous. Why has it been given “a pass?” Good question. Perhaps because it quickly turned into a “mainstream, limited supply, fashion-oriented” item, rather than being a serious solution to our planet’s plastic bag dilemma.
Dori — The irony of putting the 3 “I’m Not A Plastic Bag” bags into a plastic bag is really the icing on the cake. In my bopping around town today, I’ve not seen one I’m Not a Plastic Bag — perhaps they’re all on e-bay.
Anne — it’s great that the slogan has shed media light on the scourge of plastic bags, yet it’s so frustrating and disappointing to see that the “execution” of the bag is so shortsighted. A sign of the times…there’s so much work to be done in “enlightening” all.
We can continue to do our own part — lead and show by example. Before shopping, grab your reusable bags; re-use any plastic bags that you come into contact with. And support politicians, initiatives and organizations that are truly working to make a difference.
where can i buy this bag?