The popularity of "being green" is great (I'm all for conservation), but the trendiness of it all is rather suspect. Are people being green because they're truly altruistic, or are they just doing it to look cool? Or is it something more insidious--are they simply being opportunistic?
It's nice that green brings in the greenbacks, since it incentivizes more responsible business and living practices, but sometimes it seems rather gimmicky. A lot of fashion designers are churning out "green bags," which are better for the planet because they replace plastic bags. However, doesn't the creation of all these bags require the use of more resources? Wouldn't this process invariably end up becoming more wasteful, as the bags fall out of fashion and become cast aside?
Lest I sound like a hypocrite, I better explain the bag you see above. I do think that it's great to have a few of these tough, reusable bags around. I keep two of them in my car, since one is not enough--sometimes I shop at a couple of different grocery stores on the same outing, or I'd bring a bag back up to my apartment and forget to bring it back to my car for the next grocery run. The cute, big $1 bag from Target is very durable and holds a lot of things. Now that a new grocery store has opened a block from my humble abode, I decided that it would be good to keep a bag in my apartment for trips there by foot. Loehmann's had the canvas bag on clearance for a ridiculously low price, and it fits my criteria--it's simple, it's easy to carry on my shoulder (especially if it's fully loaded), and it's a cheeky fashion accessory that doesn't cost an exorbitant amount (unlike the clever, initially refreshing, but infamously-overimitated Anya Hindmarch bag). This is the only "fashion statement"-type of a reusable bag I'll really need. I don't plan on getting suckered in beyond this one, but even the best-laid plans are not folly-proofed.
7 comments:
I'm all about reusable bags, but the slogans make me grind my teeth. Green should be a lifestyle and I don't need my tee to tell you how I like to live! ;)
Clothes Horse--I hear ya. I don't like having people shove their beliefs down my throat; it would not be a meaningful "choice" if it wasn't one made independently.
But given my history with the color green, I was willing to make an exception. ;-)
where did you get that "green is the new black" bag?
kc--I got it from the Beverly Hills Loehmann's a few weeks ago.
I keep being given those totes and I HATE them. They're ugly and usually not big enough to put a lot in...if I'm getting something tiny anyway, there's always room in my purse.
^^by "those totes" I don't mean that specific one that you show! I mean different organizations give out totes imprinted with their ugly logos.
Wendy--That's OK, I see your point. I do see an awful lot of these bags proliferating lately, especially the ones in ugly colors (bright green, anyone?).
The reusable bag I got from Target for a buck is probably the most practical one I have--it has a really cute design, and it is really roomy for grocery runs. Too bad I can't say the same for a lot of other bags; the really flat ones (without a wide bottom) are virtually useless. Bags like that are more of a waste of resources than anything. If I only need 1 or 2 things, I don't bother bringing a big bag in--dumping them into the purse is so much easier.
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