BYOB: Bring Your Own Bag

On the heels of the Live Earth event, we thought it would be interesting to see how the ubiquitous "I'm not a Plastic Bag" canvas bags from high fashion designer Anya Hindmarch have been selling on eBay. Plastic bags have become Public Enemy No. 1 recently -- as they well should -- given that many end up in land fills in China or molded into huge blocks and put out to sea, according to the Green Issue of Vanity Fair. Simply put, the bags have been all the rage, first in the UK and as of mid June, in the U.S., too. People, mostly women, have stood in long lines, clamoring to get their hands on the must-have fashion-meets-function-meets-environment accessory of the season. Over the last month over 2,200 have sold on eBay, at an average price of over $113! One even sold for over $480. Most retail places are offering them for $7-15, but on the eBay marketplace, it's not uncommon to see the bags getting 20-30 bids per listing (the average is 10).

Naturally, the bags have a bit of controversy surrounding them. Apparently the bags are made with neither organic nor free trade materials, and were constructed in China; however, it was reported that the laborers in Asia made twice the regular salary and the bags were shipped by sea. Regardless of how and where they were made, the bag craze raises general awareness and consciousness of how we answer that simple, yet loaded, question at the supermarket, "Paper or plastic?" Hopefully, next time, your answer might be, "Neither. I brought my own."