Good-bye Plastic Bags!

What used to be known as an environmentally-sound way to carry your groceries has turned into a full-blown fashion trend. Anya Hindmarch's famous, limited edition "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" bag is sold out everywhere. According to the Anya Hindmarch Web site, you can no longer purchase one of these bags in the United States, and it is also sold out in the UK. Its anticipated launch in South East Asia was cancelled due to concern for customer safety. And at $6.75 a pop, the bag is very inexpensive when compared to the Anya Hindmarch collection handbags, which run in the mid-hundreds.

If you don't already have the most popular canvas shopping bag around, don't fret! As the canvas bag craze becomes trendier by the minute, there are lots of options for eco-friendly bag lovers.

If you are interested in carrying a designer status eco-bag, Hindmarch's is not the only option. Stella McCartney, known for creating vegan designer wear, has a new canvas bag coming this spring. According to the Bag Snob Web site, the Stella, $495, is due out in June and is made out of organic cotton.

If you are looking for stylish canvas bags to carry your groceries in instead of (gasp!) plastic bags that are provided at the supermarket, try Reusable Bags (my favorite are the "Modern Totes"). Reusable Bags is a Web site that specializes in providing customers all types of reusable bags for carrying food items, baby supplies, etc. The Web site also includes a great amount of news and information about the environment and the harm that plastic bags cause to our environment. My favorite feature is the constantly moving count of how many plastic bags have been consumed this year (at the top of the home page). Right now we are at 430,851,469,272...I can't keep track of all the bags, the count moves so quickly!

Now if you are looking for a bag that you can carry around at night or make a statement with, check out Hardwear by Renee. These are some of the most unusually-made, runway-worthy bags I have ever seen. Each bag has its own style, with clean and modern lines. Owned and operated out of Oregon by Renee Christopher, the recycled bags are made out of inner-tube tires, scraps of wood and reclaimed water hose. When asked how she came up with idea of creating such a bag, Christopher said that she has "always loved the idea of recycling, it just made sense to me! The inner tube handbags were a spin off from the Runway style. Inner tubes just seemed like the perfect material to use sense there's a surplus of blown inner tubes. The recycle wooden base comes from wood scraps off fish planks from a factory in the North West."

Christopher said that despite the process being challenging at first, the creation of the recycled bags, better known as "Highway Bags" becomes easier. "The most labor intensive part is the cleaning process. Each tube goes through three different cleaning cycles. Because of the natural curve of the inner tube, designing the bags to include the curve can be a challenge. The material can also dull a sharp pair of shears very fast," Christopher said.

Christopher has always been an artist at heart. She won a scholarship for ceramics in college and her hobbies have included pottery and jewelry making. After she got married and did not have a lot of money, Christopher sold her wedding dress to buy a sewing machine. "Being freshly married and poor, I didn't have the luxury to splurge on handbags, so I made my own...and Hardwear was born," Christopher said.

Not only does Hardwear by Renee sell unique recycled bags made out of tires, but her collection includes jewelry as well. Christopher said that the most popular recycled item are the recycled cuffs, as well as the Highway Bags with writing on them or with the nozzles on the handles. According to the Web site, the recycled tire bags run for $65 and tire cleaner should be used for cleaning.

Christopher has a new line of recycled jewelry as well, and the pieces are made out of a sign material called Perspex. Both pieces to the left are from Christopher's Perspex line.

I was surprised and excited to find out that some pieces are even sold here in Tucson, at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N. Alvernon Way.

Whether you are looking for a trendsetting recycled bag that is sure to turn heads, or simply a stylish and cute bag to carry your groceries in, the green trend continues to grow and you are sure not to run out of choices. So have fun, save the earth and take your pick!

Amy