ColumnThanks, I brought my hands.

Hi, I’m Sara, and I don’t use bags. Oh, sometimes I use my bags, I just don’t use yours. San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Dallas, everywhere I go, I’m not bagging it. Today’s message comes to you from Cape Cod, where I’m embedded with EcoSalon’s DuFault unit, also not-a-bagger. Here, we’ve been eyed suspiciously for buying not one but four avocados and plopping them into a roomy handbag instead of a plastic sack. We’ve bought and returned a sweater without a bag, picked up new earbuds without a bag, even bought a battery – all without a bag.

Sometimes there’s no escaping the bag, even when you bring your own. Social mores ensure that the bottle of wine picked up on the way to the dinner party be brown-bagged inside your bag. At least they don’t try to bag the housewarming orchids at most stores. But on those inevitable days where I forget my Envirosax or my swag of bag from the latest green event, and I’m not in the mood to go fetch it, I simply go bag free. I endure the social ostracism in the name of toned upper arms in addition to my environmental sensitivity.

This concerns people, who, it turns out, really believe in bagging things. I’ve learned even picking up truffles sans-sack warrants a stare, never mind that the chocolate comes in a bag already. Walking down the aisles holding my geranium dish soap, a Pink Lady apple, brie and head of dino kale, you’d think I was juggling obese ferrets on a Ritalin bender. “Do you want a bag? A basket? Hey, how about a cart?” a stock boy will ask, hoping I’m not about to throw a ferret at the wall or launch into my life story. Some days, I want to reassuringly scream, “Hey, guy? I’m not crazy lady!” but restrain myself, knowing this will hardly help my case. What happened to carrying things with our actual arms? Stocking up for the Superbowl I get. You’re going to need a bag or five, maybe even a cart. Stocking up for a wild night of pear and spring greens with goat cheese for dinner? I rest my case.

Most of the time, I’m just amused by how relentless the bag pushers are. Rather than sigh in irritation during my moments of canvas bag forgetfulness, I’ve actually taken to forgetting my reusable bags on purpose just to see if I can be allowed out of the store without a bag for my chives or new d’Orsays. No one has called me crazy to my face. But their eyes say it all.

Don’t take my word for it. You, too, can enjoy confused stares and with any luck, mild arguments.

I can report that the box that was once bulging with pretty gray Restoration Hardware bags and shiny Annual Event sacks is down to just one lonely, wrinkled Fred Segal bag, with no plans to refill. I don’t even get the occasional paper bag “for the recycling” anymore; the bin is outside my front door, and it occurred to me recently that the connection between bagging recyclables for a nine yard walk to the bin and my ever-hopeful aspiring muffin top was more than a little coincidental.

A jug of organic tea, the fresh bundle of tulips, a bag of Feline Pine, a bar of paper-wrapped grapefruit-scented vegetable soap, actual grapefruits: all perfectly capable of getting home without a bag, though you will need hands or the crook of an elbow. Considering the facts on bags, though, there’s really never an excuse to use one in the event you forget your own. You can ask for the paper bags, but if you’re only picking up a few things, why not toss them into your purse or better yet, work those biceps.

Most things, it turns out, just don’t need bags. Why, for example, does a handle of bananas need its own bag, as a recent cashier insisted? I know conventional banana skins are teeming with pesticides but I think the carton of cream can handle cozy company with some organic bananas for the three-minute journey home.

If all the bagging is any indication, humans are pathetically fragile. And if individual items such as detergent and multivitamins are so toxic they need their own baggage, why are we putting them on and in our bodies at all?

Being a resident of San Francisco, I seem to end up at Mollie Stone’s more than I’d like. It’s a grocery store chain that cannot decide if it wants to be Whole Foods or Safeway, and ends up failing at both. (The prices are high and the quality is notoriously inconsistent.) But I am at least morally outraged by the baggers at Mollie Stone’s, who are customer-service-hellbent on bagging things in as many layers of bags as possible, and that counts for something. Think the already-bagged baguette doesn’t need its own bag inside your bag? Think again. That hormone-free rotisserie chicken in the sealed plastic suitcase? Unless you insist, and sometimes anyway, that chicken is getting its own bag.

Whatever happened to wrapping things in twine and brown paper, or just…well, holding them? In a short 40 years of convenience plastic, we’ve become hooked on bagging it. Double bagging it, as if we need one for the road. Separating food from cosmetics, soap from sundries, categorizing our consumption in concentric rounds of poly. If you’ve stopped the bottle, it’s time to stop the bag, too.

This is the latest installment in your editor’s column, The Insider’s Guide to Life, exploring topics such as media, culture, sex, politics, and anything else. Cheers and spellcheck!

Image: taberandrew

With technology accompanying us wherever we go, more and more companies are realizing that we need stylish protection for them.

Matt & Nat, known by many in the sustainable community for their vegan handbags and accessories, has collaborated with Apple to give us the techy style we so crave.

The inspiration behind the Apple collection is “hinged by both clean architecture and functionality,” says their site.

With four “design-centric shapes,” the collection is made from vegan leather and the lining is 100 percent recycled suede. Bags to suit your ever-connected lifestyle include laptop and netbook sleeves as well as shoulder and messenger bags to hold all your gadgets.

The bags also have custom pockets for Apple accessories, including MacBooks, iPods, iPhones, and in the larger bags, iPads. The bags are available in four different colors, including black, teal, red, and gunmetal.

You can purchase these items from Matt & Nat and from the Apple store.

Cool temperatures request even cooler accessories to accent bundled layers. This fall it is all about the bag! We’ve got you covered with eco-alternatives for every shape and size of the go-to handbag making its fall debut.

1. Oversized upcycled leather hobo from The Sway NYC.

2. Tote around town with Evolve 45‘s vegetable tanned leather.

3. An upcycled jacket lined with organic cotton becomes the new ‘It’ satchel from ReMade USA.

4. Matt & Nat deliver yet another trend setter with their bucket style bag and chain handle detail.

5. The carry all companion from Sonya Kashmiri is perfect for an overnight expedition or some extra room for your gym clothes.

Sustainably focused and stylishly designed – who wouldn’t want to flaunt a bit of arm candy this fall?

Heading to the farmers’ market? Remember last time when your arm went numb, laden with a heavy bag filled with your bountiful purchases? I’ve often pondered the dilemma facing market shoppers – particularly my own frustration regarding “the bag” issue. One way or another, I don’t bring enough bags or the ones I’ve brought are not the right kind, and I end up stumbling around, dropping produce and my wallet or over-using the plastic ones they provide (assuming they’re provided).

It seems I’m not alone. Dubbed the “World’s First Farmer’s Market Backpack,” the Cornucopia Bag by Betabrands in San Francisco has been designed just for this purpose. The backpack includes numerous compartments for separating items, as well as a strap to easily hold it from the top. It has a money pocket as well as a laptop sleeve for multi-functional use. The bag is only available online and sells for $120. Additional information along with videos can be found on the Betabrands website.

By the way, that’s not all. Check out their other products, such as the Karate Casual Pants, Sons of Britches, and Gluttony Pants. I haven’t had the opportunity to try out any of these lovely items yet myself, but you have to hand it to Betabrands – they’re abuzz with creative energies.

Inhale, exhale, because you’ve done the right thing by toting your reusable shopping bags on all of your grocery shopping trips. But if you’re anything like me, or 97 percent of the people who participated in a recent research study conducted by the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University, you’ve never washed your reusable bags, and there’s a good chance they’re contaminated with E. coli or other bacteria.

Before reading about this study’s findings, it hadn’t dawned on me that I needed to launder my reusable bags on a weekly basis, as researchers suggest. In hindsight, it seems obvious. I type this as my reusable sidekicks air dry after their inaugural wash. And I’m sure you’ll want to be near your washing machine after learning the following facts.

Researchers note, “Our findings suggest a serious threat to public health, especially from coliform bacteria including E. coli, which were detected in half of the bags sampled, bacteria levels found in reusable bags were significant enough to cause a wide range of serious health problems and even death. They are a particular danger for young children, who are especially vulnerable to food-borne illnesses.”

The good news is, a thorough washing will kill nearly all of the bacteria that accumulates in reusable shopping bags. Other tips that bring-your-own-bags consumers may benefit from in the quest to keep it clean:

• Separate raw foods from other food products when packing bags.
• Specify reusable bags for individual purposes to avoid cross-contamination. I.e: have a set for groceries only, a set for library books, a set for gym gear, etc.
• “Do not store meat or produce in the trunk of your car, because higher temperatures promote the growth of bacteria, which can contaminate reusable bags.”

Image: tyger_lyllie

As Benjamin Franklin said, “Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.” While Franklin might not have foreseen the attachment future Americans would have to their accessories, the Peasants and Travelers’ cork Doctor’s Bag confirms wine is a gift that keeps on giving.

Peasants and Travelers, a two-year-old accessories label, released the cork version of their venerable Doctor’s Bag design for spring 2010. Owner and designer, Jee Kim, had discovered a swatch of the unexpected material during a trip to Asia. While it intrigued her, she wasn’t sure how she could use it. The sojourn was a break from her steady climb up the ranks of fashion with stops at Gucci, Neiman Marcus, and Banana Republic. But, once she was settled back in San Francisco and working on her new line of bags, she remembered it and decided it would be perfect for crafting a bag.

Made from remnants of wine bottle corks from Portugal that have been smashed down and laminated to retain surface flexibility, Kim says the resulting material, “is waterproof and apparently, floatable.” Although, she doesn’t advise you attempt setting your bag to sail to test it.

Cork has enjoyed a resurgence of late in home interiors and has long been accessible in the shoe industry as wedges, heels, and espadrilles, but what is so unexpected is the luxe and highly refined character it lends the bags.

A good thing gets around fast. It caught the eye of curators at New York’s MoMA who then featured a whole series of cork made accessories by Pelcor, a global cork fashion brand in Portugal, for their “Destination Portugal” exhibit which opened in May.

Our editor-in-chief, Sara Ost, was similarly entranced when she saw the Doctor’s Bag at SF’s Thread show a few weeks ago. Kim offers, “It has a fashion forward look, which you wouldn’t expect. People are so intrigued when they see it in person.” “Its appeal is unisex” says Kim, with men and women coveting its “classic style with a modern interpretation.”

The design is as efficient as it is eye-catching. It’s roomy and travels well, fitting into an overhead storage locker or under the plane seat. It’s part of Peasants and Travelers’ urbane villager line, which includes the paper tote bag, a larger weekender, and an oversized envelope that fits an iPad perfectly.

Nearly every inch of Peasants and Travelers’ bags are composed of reclaimed materials ranging from recycled cork to the repurposed cotton-dress shirt gingham lining “that, unlike nylon linings that rip and tear, gets softer with use”, enthuses Kim. The bags are BPA, phthalate and lead free but their most impressive green credential according to Kim is its longevity – “when you adore something, you won’t want to throw it away.”

Available at 10 locations, including Urban Outfitters.

‘It’ bags are so passé, but stocking your closet with a few good shapes and sizes is not. One bag you may want to add to your collection is the bucket bag. Relaxed and luxe at the same time, this drawstring topper is the perfect accomplice to summertime dressing. Pair it with a tank dress and flats or leggings and a long layered vest.

You know it is a classic when you can buy a vintage version from Chanel. Or, if you want a more updated bag take a look at Matt & Nat or Imitation and Disguise – both advocate natural dying processes.

Have some fun updating your summer wardrobe with a bag that not everyone will have.

Lisa Foster, a former high school English teacher in Los Angeles, was living in Australia in 2005 (while her husband worked on a film), when she had a revelation at the check-out register.

Instead of asking the typical American grocery store phrase, “Paper or plastic?” the clerk asked, “Would you like a bag?”

Foster looked at the woman in line in front of her, carrying her own reusable grocery bag and the lady behind her, with an armful of them. She realized that she was supposed to say, “Oh, I have my own.”

She wondered to herself: what’s the deal with these bags?

She went home and did some research. Five years ago, no one brought their own bags to the grocery store, but the government did a public awareness campaign. Analogously, in 2002 in Ireland, the tourist trade was hurting because plastic bags were sarcastically known as the “new national flower.” The Irish government imposed a tax on every disposable bag. Politically, Australia could not impose a tax, but they did their own public awareness campaign which proved very effective. Foster recognized that the grocery stores had shifted their perspective: they’d still carry paper and plastic bags, but they would not offer them.

“Expectation is extraordinarily powerful,” she says. “Like looking at kids in the classroom to quiet down; expecting them to quiet with a stare is much more powerful than shouting at them.”

Before she returned to Los Angeles, Foster did further research. She always thought that paper bags were the way to go because they can be more easily recycled. But she found that it takes 50 percent more emissions of global warming gases to make paper bags than plastic bags, and 20 percent of all paper bags are recycled – the rest just end up in landfills.

Upon her return to Los Angeles in June of 2005, Foster told her friends, “We have to change this.” And a friend agreed that she had to do it.

She was even more motivated when she found out that eight to ten percent of the U.S. oil supply goes to making plastic bags.

“We will kill and die for petroleum, but once we make it into plastic, we just throw it away,” she says. So she contacted a Chinese factory where a reusable bag she had bought in Australia had been manufactured, and ordered 8,000 bags to be stored in her living room. She set up her own small business, 1bagatatime. She made calls to stores and potential buyers during her free period in the high school parking lot.

“I called stores and offered them the bags for 95 cents each, plus free shipping if they ordered before November 1.” She promised her husband she wouldn’t lose money – and she was hoping to get these mounds of bags out of her living room as soon as possible.

In March 2006, she left her teaching post (after eight years) to pursue her business venture.  Upon her leaving, the headmaster of the high school connected her with the chairman of the board at Ralph’s. By the end of 2006, she sold 200,000 bags to Ralph’s and Vitamin College.

Since she started, she has sold over 10 million bags. But as her business grows, she stays committed to her conscious intentions; by the third year of business – as the biggest buyer of the Chinese factory two hours outside of Shanghai – she demanded fair wages and made sure they did not higher children. When she recruited Verite to check on the factory, the wife of the factory owner who was also the bookkeeper, showed a book with scribbles and numbers. Since then, they have instated proper accounting techniques (pay slips), protective smocks, name tags, and a formal complaint system that has been mutually beneficial.

“The factory owners actually thanked me, because the migrant workforce has become more stable, and the workers don’t leave because they know they are getting a good deal.”

She says that bags purported to be made out of recycled material are not possible, since they would be poor quality and could not be dyed. However, she reasons that each bag she sells (still made out of plastic), require the resources of 11 plastic bags, but when consumers use and reuse them, they replace 1,000 bags. She says her bags appeal to U.S. consumers because of their trendy designs, colors, and thoughtful text.

Next month 1bagatatime will take part in the Portraits of Hope project in Santa Monica. For this project, blind and hospitalized children will paint art panels to mount on the Santa Monica beach lifeguard stations. 1bagatatime will use Portraits of Hope art on a messenger style bag and donate a percentage of proceeds.

Other than Foster’s success of launching a viable business catered to eco-friendly consciousness, what I find most compelling is that Foster’s personal career trajectory challenges the traditional linear thinking that the modern college-educated woman would do best to find her calling in her early 20′s and stick with it until retirement. Foster pursued her PhD in English literature for nine years, taught high school for eight years, and at a time when her daughters are out of the nest, she struck out on her own entrepreneurial venture. With 1bagatatime, Foster found a niche that became an outlet for her wisdom, independent thinking, and ethics.

You certainly can’t leave for work without downing a few cups of java, but why stop there? Wear your caffeine addiction with pride!

Wren, a hand-made South African label, makes very fashionable bags out of coffee burlap sacks.The bags are currently available on Wren’s Etsy site, but an online shop is coming soon.

“Burlap?” you say, “isn’t that for hippies?” Not anymore, thanks to these chic looking totes, laptop bags and duffels that will make you take your coffee obsession to a whole new level. Just make sure to team with a reusable mug and not one of those pesky, disposable things. You wouldn’t want to be labeled as an eco-uncaring fashionista, now would you?

We’ve picked out some of the most entertaining and wacky in eco bags for your viewing pleasure. And who knows? Maybe you’re the kind of eco diva who can pull off using one of them!

Righteous Fur

Wait… fur is now sustainable? According to designer Cree McCree, it just depends upon whose fur you’re using. In this case, it’s that of the nutria, a large invasive rodent. Native to South America, nutria were introduced to the US in the 30s, but since then have become an invasive species, threatening wetlands. So, buy a rodent bag, save an ecosystem.

Fab Firehoses

These bags (above) aren’t actually all that unattractive, but the material is beyond industrial chic. Elvis & Kresse‘s new Firehose line uses recycled British firehoses, which have subdued flames for around 25-30 years before making it to the purse stage of life. The green aspect of the bags doesn’t stop there; the bag liners are made from old fabric or recycled furniture upholstery and the bag labels are printed on old luggage tags.

Living Plant Bags

Even the greenest thumbs may not be up for  the Woolly Vagabond living handbag, made from reclaimed leather and recycled plastic. The bag doubles as a potted plant, and while we do love most things multipurpose, it does raise the question: would bringing your potted plant along feel like a third wheel on a first date? Not sure it grows on you.

Repurposed License Plates

There’s a lot of good going on in the world of repurposing; what’s better than putting an item that would normally go to waste to good use? This little number – called MiniFlare Bag – is made from repurposed license plates, complete with a recycled rubber handle. But does the Swarovski crystal embellisment make this eco bling or an eco bust?

Haute Hair

For the ultimate in upcycling, turn to Australian artist Polly van der Glas, who made a full line of accessories from human hair and teeth. Careful though – with a purse like this you’ll be styling for two, better set the alarm clock a little earlier.

Killer Keyboards

For your inner eco-nerd there’s the Keyboard Purse, designed by João Sabino of Portugal. This would be my number one pick for the green bloggers out there; write intriguing eco posts by day, sport your trade by night!

It’s a Party!

Balloons aren’t the most eco-friendly (think turtles in the ocean who can’t distinguish between latex and real food), so what better use for them after they’ve turned a so-so birthday party into a killer one than a bag? Okay, maybe not. These balloon bags by designer Krizia Robustella were spotted in Madrid during Fall 2009 fashion week.

A Gorgeous Goal

You’ll be looking sporty and responsible with this reclaimed soccer ball tote. The perfect accessory for a conscious soccer mom? We’ve blogged this baby in the past, and we still aren’t convinced.

All Tied Up

No need for a business suit if you’ve got this clutch under your arm. Made of vintage men’s ties with an organic denim interior, this creative little clutch could be your key piece next time you need to show who’s boss. This one we might actually go for!

Which bag will you be sporting in 2010?

Photo Credits: Core 77, Green Muze, Littlearth, Polly van der Glas, Cree McCree, João Sabino, Fete LA, BTC Elements