10 stylish bags for your everyday lifestyle.

You’ve got tons of them in your car, looped around your bike handles and hanging from closet doors ready to be filled with farmer’s market produce and flea market finds. Come to think of it, you’ve got more than you ever use but when it comes to that special bag that stays close at hand, you want something stand out that says you can be stylish picking up groceries wherever you roam.

Our top 10 most fashionable and reusable bags will have you reconsidering your image and the fact that worldwide 1 million plastic bags are used every minute.

Artecnica

Made from 100% colorful advertising campaign billboards and a clever die cut, this no-stitch shoulder bag is inspired by the strength and symmetry found in nature. The minimal 2-D design stretches into 3-D to form the biggest bag with the smallest amount of waste. Stretch Bag can support up to 33lbs. It’s available in different colors of recycled billboard or in natural brown leather.

Baggu

Baggu’s collaboration with sustainable fashion brand Mociun is a graphically pleasing testament to eco fashion and reusable bag. Send back your expired Baggu and the company will recycle your old bag and give you a $1 credit towards a new one. Not likely you’ll be getting rid of this one for how great it is.

Flip & Tumble

Flip & Tumble’s wide-banded shoulder design feels a little softer than regular reusable bags and with stretch compacting, will fit lots of whatever you want to throw in it.

ECOBAGS

Made from certified organic cotton, this produce bag from ECOBAGS is a shopping necessity to shake the dirt from fresh from the field produce. Stuff away as this bag can hold up to 40 pounds. We love the sexy netting and the fact that it’s black.

PaisleyMagic

How can you not love this graphic from PaisleyMagic? Made from 100% Cotton, this durable, multipurpose canvas tote is great for hauling books, groceries or a change of clothes.

RuMe

Denver, Colorado-based RuMe was launched on Earth Day 2008 to meet the growing need of environmentally conscious consumers who don’t want to sacrifice style and functionality. The flat-bottomed bag stands easily for even the most inept supermarket baggers and with the metallic sheen, makes you the star of the check-out. We love this bag so much we’ll use it for anything really.

Alchemy Goods

Constructed from reinforced vinyl mesh, seatbelt, and inner tube, the Ad Bag is a strong and lightweight carryall. Durable and easy to wash, this bag just might last forever. Try figuring out what the billboard ad once was while you sit on the subway to occupy your travel time.

Envirosax

Envirosax is a pretty recognized name in reusable bags. These colorful, ethnic prints reminiscent of exploring bazaars and spice markets make us want to order more so we look fully sophisticated in a sea of people choosing plastic. That these bags fold up tight and can fit in your purse makes them all the more accessible and easy to carry around.

Sleeping Bags

Founded by social entrepreneur Andy Marks, Sleeping Bags takes retired hotel bed linen and makes beautiful yet practical bags, adorned with artwork from leading individuals in the arts and creative industries. We love.

Gecko Traders

Made from 100% recycled rice bags and handmade in small batches by a women’s co-op in Cambodia, these stylish bags are all one of a kind. The graphics will make you imagine shopping at a Cambodian floating fish market, picking up a sack of rice along the way and spices to create a culinary treat. At the very least, you can come and go from the gym in style.

The post 10 Reusable Bags That Will Keep Shopping Stylish appeared first on EcoSalon.

Could your reusable shopping bags be making you sick? According to a recent study, the answer is yes.

The study, commissioned and funded by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC) in Canada, collected reusable bags randomly from consumers on the streets of Toronto. These bags, most of which were less than a year old and used daily, were tested by two independent laboratories.

The labs found that as well as carrying our groceries, the bags were also carrying high levels of mold, bacteria, and yeast. The 15-page report, which highlights the study’s findings, includes the following facts:

– 64 percent of the tested reusable bags were contaminated with some level of bacteria.

– Nearly 30 percent had bacterial counts higher than what is considered safe for drinking water.

– 40 percent of the bags contained the presence of yeast or mold.

– Some of the sampled bags contained unsafe levels of coliforms and faecal intestinal bacteria.

But before anyone starts throwing away their reusable bags, think carefully about how you are using and maintaining these bags. Do you place improperly wrapped meat into the bags? Have they had spilt or perishable foods in them? Are they used for multiple purposes, such as for sports events and as a diaper bag?  Do you wash them regularly? Where are they stored?

Like anything else, proper care is important. Bags need to be washed between mixed uses or at least once a week. They need to be stored in a dry, clean environment. Ideally, each bag should have a designated use – groceries, gym clothes, diapers, wine, etc.

Pictured bag available at Tobi

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