Gothamist: The "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" Craze Hits New York

skygreenleopard

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:01:58 -0500

Terrible - pretentious, consumerist, AND crass? I never thought all three would go together - instead, that's all these materialist hippies are these days. I'm all for the environment. I use a duffel bag to carry things and take a bus - I don't buy this moronic bag and drive a Prius. Since when do people think that driving a Prius can HELP the environment??! Last time I checked, a car that gets 10 mpg more than my Honda Civic still hurts the environment.

Emskilly

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:24:28 -0500

Hello everyone, I am the beginning of my new "green" journey. I hope you can help me with some ideas. I currently use plastic bags from groceries for my trash bins...If I switch to cloth reusable bags, what will I use in my trash bins? What do you use? I hope you will be nicer to me than you were to the people in the article who you hate for their ignorance.

guest

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 10:38:10 -0500

Love this! http://www.cafepress.com/emandm

guest

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 13:30:35 -0500

It doesn’t really matter where it’s made, or what it’s made out of… The point is, people who like this bag will want to use it and that in itself can reduce the consumption of plastic bags. The goal wasn’t to diminish child labor or cheap labor in China. If people like this bag and decide to use it as an alternative to plastic shopping bags, then the message and goal is effective. People who want this bag know its intended purpose and ultimately it’s a personal choice to stop using plastic or not. The bag itself doesn’t make a difference, it’s the attitude people adopt. The message is boldly imprinted on the bag so it’s promoting awareness and a 2nd look at things. Like if you bring it to a supermarket where everyone is packing their stuff in plastic, they might think twice next time. ----BTW, don't be fooled by the price drop of these bags on ebay, there are tons of fakes out there, over half of them are sold from China now. Beware of the lack of pictures, new sellers with little or no feedback!!!

guest

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:41:21 -0500

Even better. Get something real and write your own smug phrase with a sharpie: Blank Recycled Bag

guest

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:37:38 -0500

I noticed the ebay add person is from danbury CT, surely she is not poor. I've also noticed her ebay rating is 80 percent positive, THAT'S NOT GOOD, beware, beware, danger, danger, bad ebay rating.

aj

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:41:33 -0500

At least guest above made $103 from ebay.

aj

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:40:46 -0500

Lame lame lame lame LAME. Whole Foods has sold canvas bags for years. And you wait in line for THIS?!

guest

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 10:57:16 -0500

all of you are siuck, from the iphone people to thebag people, all you line waiting fucks are sick.

guest

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:46:24 -0500

The funny thing is, most of the bag's owners would use it as a handbag instead of a grocery bag. So when they go grocery shopping they'll still be using plastic bags for the groceries because they're too afraid to get it dirty. How ironic is that to see someone holding this bag on one shoulder and carrying a plastic bag with groceries in another hand. And seriously, this whole craze can really show the true character of the people around you. Now you can tell who's your true friend and who isn't!

mb317

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:45:13 -0500

if you are actually looking for a nice reusable bag and not something to make a profit on ebay, there's no line at Park Natural Market in Carroll Gardens. they sell cotton grocery totes by minusbags that are really great. they're only $16 and made in the USA, not China. they also have a website-- minusbags.com

guest

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:18:37 -0500

so I was on line for HOURS at a Whole Foods Market to get my hands on one of these babies, and finally I got them! I bought two, so i am selling the other one on ebay if anyone's is interested! I even have the original receipt to prove it is original! http://cgi.ebay.com/IM-NOT-A-PLASTIC-BAG-by-Anya-Hindmarch-ORIGINAL-WRAP_W0QQitemZ180140824232QQihZ008QQcategoryZ63852QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

guest

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:26:20 -0500

I sold one on eBay for over a hundred bucks. Sweet.

guest

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:18:04 -0500

I sold one on eBay for over a hundred bucks. Sweet.

guest

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:32:14 -0500

As one of the many "douches" (As # 17 so eloquently describes us) who stood on line to buy the bag yesterday, I don't feel badly at all for the people I'm selling my bags to on eBay to. I get to have these suckers help pay for my tuition. Muahahaha! I'm sure it's true most people who bought the Anya bag don't care about the environment. But since I am one of those people who always tell the clerks "I don't need a bag I don't need a bag" (only to have them give me a blank stare as they stupidly start bagging my purchases), print documents double-sided, and recycles all my bottles--I don't feel like a hypocrite. F* the haters!

guest

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 03:07:12 -0500

i use these and love them: http://envirosax.com/pages/products.php?icat=1

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:58:10 -0500

ralph nadir? you mean ali baba? forty thieves?

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:38:41 -0500

It takes 500 years for a plastic bag to disintigrate. WOW. Why didn't DaVinci use paper when he went shopping for his week's gnocchi supply? Who come up with these figures? Ralph Nadir?

globotote

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:53:06 -0500

Check out our site http://www.globotote.com so easy to do and very affordable....WHY NOT?

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:37:56 -0500

Just so its clear, the designer herself drives a huge SUV, never uses public transportation and makes these bags (as she does all her bags) in China. I think part of the hullabaloo is being able to buy a designer bag for $15. BTW, without plastic bags, how do we pick up dog poop on the sidewalk?

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:14:41 -0500

These are popular now because they are designed by a hotshot english designer. Enough said on that. However to use plastic or paper or canvas is not a discussion worthy of so much attention. These small changes in your lives make little to no difference to the long term effects of global warming. Rather these insignifcant changes help people "feel" better and after all that's all we are concerned about, our feelings. Many of these products that claim to be recycled are in fact down-cycled (look it up if you don't what that means). As an individual the best you can do is to work for causes that are trying to change the institutions be it by law or corporate practice.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:46:01 -0500

So my “judgment” is on your implied logic. (can’t do anything for the environment because we’re not allowed to plant trees in Manhattan.) I never implied anything close to that, only that the idea that planting trees in Manhattan is ludicrous. How many people have a yard? The rest of the green space is public with the possible exception of Gramercy Park. Pretty much the same thing in the outer boroughs. Do you disagree that three hours could have been better spent at some other activity by people who ostensibly care about the environment? No, I agree they were wasting their time but the reality is that there are very few environmental service options in New York. It's really more a question of NOT doing things like using so many bags, using less electricity, walking instead of taking cabs, etc. Picking up trash in a park is not really environmentalism. It's more of a quality of life issue. I suppose you could argue that picking up some trash may prevent an animal from choking to death but it isn't like NYC is a wildlife preserve. We do more by living in cramped quarters here and leaving entire areas like upstate New York or Vermont virtually unpopulated.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:37:50 -0500

Anyone see Penn & Teller's Bullshit episode about recycling? What a scam. No, I didn't see it. How about telling me what it said so that I don't have to track it down.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:36:17 -0500

I took a video of the huuuuge line the day they debuted here in NYC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXaLdRdMK-M

robingee

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:35:42 -0500

Trader Joe's reusable shopping bags are 99 cents.

schmod

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 16:33:21 -0500

Man... people are nuts Back home, I bike to the supermarket to buy my groceries, and fill my backpack with them at the checkout instead of using plastic bags. The cashier gives me $0.10 for every bag he doesn't have to use, which usually works out to $0.50 off my order. Not a lot, but I'll take it!

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:49:31 -0500

I´m pretty sure I read an article a while ago that these bags actually contained plastic. Alas, couldn´t find it again ... but oh, the irony. Have to say I appreciate the knockoff "I´m not a smug twat" bags, but maybe just because I feel the t-word should be used more in the States ... Oh America.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:23:54 -0500

i'd love to have crapped in each and every one of those trendy tote bags before those people on line got them. or even better i'd like to have taken a HUGE CRAP on all of those people waiting on line.

Toby von Meistersinger

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:18:59 -0500

I think I paid about $6 bucks for a Whole Foods canvas branded bag (it has an on the shoulder option). I don't understand why anyone would pay almost three times that when they could get three of these bags, which were made in the USA instead of being shipped from dog knows where, and just have to wait on one line - the checkout! Silly lemmings and their trends.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:03:21 -0500

what, you don't have a big enough attention span to focus on both? please...

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:44:36 -0500

I always double bag. Even if I only buy one thing. And then every weekend I take my bags and throw them in the East River. (When I lived in New Jersey we threw them in the ocean.) Don't buy into all this "save the environment crap" it is just a ploy by the government to distract you from the war.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:40:08 -0500

Great. Here's further proof that even the middle class and rich get dumbed down.

Opinion Jones

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:33:08 -0500

Anyone who stood in line for hours or paid more than 15 bucks for this POS bag should kill themselves.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:29:25 -0500

duane reede has a reusable shopping bag on sale for a dollar. the bags do not have a logo printed on it, not very chic, huh? I understand the point, we really have gone too far with the disposable nature of our society. However, I am not waiting online for hours on end to purchase anything EXCEPT tickets to see Prince perform in concert!

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:27:26 -0500

I wrote the "hollow gesture" line above.... I agree that the bags will do a minor something-something, but it also assumes the responsibility for all this plastic falls primarily on consumers, as opposed to the companies producing all this plastic without solutions for disposing of it. Consumers will do what is easiest, not necessarily what's the most responsible. Companies are designed to make profits. Plastic bags did not occur because there was consumer demand for them. They were a cheaper option for businesses. Solutions to this problem entail making plastic a more costly choice (as opposed to the cheap option it is now) for plastic manufacturers or first level consumers (like the grocery store). Until the environmental damage they cause is quantified in monetary terms and added to the cost, the problem will not cease.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:23:37 -0500

The bags are MADE IN CHINA and not in an eco-friendly manner: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=419792&in_page_id=2

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:22:28 -0500

I need those plastic bags to line my kitchen garbage bin! Anyone see Penn & Teller's Bullshit episode about recycling? What a scam.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:22:20 -0500

I waited in this line, bought three bags, and now have an extra $300+ in my pocket that I will use to pay down some credit card debt. This whole operation was a joke - the "I'm NOT a plastic bag" bags were given to me inside a Whole Foods plastic bag. I don't feel bad in the slightest for taking advantage of the "it's hip to be eco-friendly" girls that I sold these bags to. We're all powerless to stop this rampant consumerism that plagues this country anyway.

cwbuecheler

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:11:32 -0500

@schadenfruedian mensch Yep ... I am completely not surprised by that revelation. I guess if they'd been made using organic, fair-trade practices, then $15 would only be like a 400% markup instead of an 800% markup. :P

JMH

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:11:29 -0500

By the way, from the above (emphasis added):Over 380 billion plastic bags are consumed in the U.S. each yearIt's really an absurdly large number of bags, and the idea of using reusable bags to cut down on it is simple and easy to implement. It's the smugness and profiteering that piss me off, not the canvas bags per se.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:11:15 -0500

An individual’s sincere, good faith effort cannot “ring hollow” just because a bigger problem goes unsolved. It might “be useless” but it can’t “ring hollow.” Anyway, you’re right about big companies and all that, but if 50% fewer plastic grocery bags go out, perhaps there will be 50% fewer ratty old bags stuck in the tree across from my window. That does not save the Earth, but it is worth something to me.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:05:23 -0500

Thanks, LaLe , I too, am not a flipper more of a packrat. another reason why I like my nerdy Sierra nevada beer geek chicobag. and my nerdy LLBean backpack that folds into a fanny pack. here's chicobags stance... Manufacturing: ChicoBags are manufactured by a fair labor, fair wage manufacturing company in China. This allows us to make adopting a reusable bag habit affordable for the majority. Through our interactions and friendships, we believe that we are making a positive environmental and social impact in Asia.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:01:46 -0500

The idea that global environmental problems are going to be solved by numerous individuals changing minor consumption habits is ludicrous. This thinking is based on an unjustified faith that the free market will provide solutions for all problems (while we continuously see the market fail at providing environmentally sustainable transportation, affordable housing, etc.). What is needed are top-down solutions where producers not just consumers are held accountable. Exxon made $39.5 billion dollars last year, and we're going to fight global systemic environmental problems with buying the right bag? As long as energy producers are not held accountable and are allowed to make record profits, these gestures ring hollow.

schadenfreudian mensch

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:57:12 -0500

@cwbuecheler This is your lucky day when in fact these eco-friendly douchebags are in fact made by those little callous hands of far away land. "The Evening Standard revealed that the so-called green carriers were made in China, using cheap labour. And the bag was neither organic nor fair trade." http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/i_am_not_an_eth.php

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:56:27 -0500

“Considering there is a professional staff of park employees to do this job I opted to do a volunteer clean up of the Norwalk River which runs though my hometown in Connecticut. I also dragged my lazy ass neighbors' PC and monitor out of the trash room and after finding it in perfect working order gave it to a charity for placement in a school or retirement home or wherever they put these things. Is that enough for you, Judgy?” No one said YOU had to do anything. No one accused YOU of NOT doing anything already. The comment made by Alex at #1 was that the folks standing in line could have done something more productive with their time than stand in line for three hours. He or she then gave two suggestions. You (or someone) than crapped on one of those suggestions and ignored the other. So my “judgment” is on your implied logic. (can’t do anything for the environment because we’re not allowed to plant trees in Manhattan.) Do you disagree that three hours could have been better spent at some other activity by people who ostensibly care about the environment? I know you just couldn’t wait to post about how great you are and how much you do, but…to recap: It’s not about YOU.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:55:25 -0500

It's young Japanese teenagers selling the bags on eBay. That's all they talked about excitedly, in line, for hours. My friend told me this as unfortunately had to be in the Bowery store as she's working on a campaign for Whole Foods, completely separate from the stupid bags. So she's entitled to a free bag or something. I'll never be rich because I don't have the patience or greedy nature to do something like this. As in: ask my friend for bag, and then flip it on eBay to some stupid, shameless fashion whore. Arrgh. -La Leone-

Rocknrope

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:53:05 -0500

I bet green money that the poseurs on line to get this bag will be back getting their goods in plastic within the week. Pity a lightning bolt didn't fry the whole lot.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:51:09 -0500

which Asian? chinese, japanese, korean, filipino, thai? I never knew Ebay was so popular in Asian? I have a hunch which group.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:49:32 -0500

#31 nails it

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:45:35 -0500

It's a sad state of the world when people will line up in the pouring rain for a reusable bag that they won't reuse. No wonder everyone hates America.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:43:59 -0500

all those people buying the bag, weren't buying it because they were trying to help the planet. they were buying it to flip on EBAY!!! yes, on EBAY!!! go check out auctions for this bag. a $15 bag can net at least $200+ because these bags were so limited in other countries in the world. people aren't helping the planet... they are helping their own wallets.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:42:34 -0500

So true about the trees. So I take it you'll be cleaning up parks then? Considering there is a professional staff of park employees to do this job I opted to do a volunteer clean up of the Norwalk River which runs though my hometown in Connecticut. I also dragged my lazy ass neighbors' PC and monitor out of the trash room and after finding it in perfect working order gave it to a charity for placement in a school or retirement home or wherever they put these things. Is that enough for you, Judgy?

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:40:53 -0500

Okay I looked up some of the bags on the link in the story...and some of them look like vera bradley type bags...don't you think people at the store will just think you are trying to steal things? Especially anywhere outside of a metropolitian area!!

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:40:21 -0500

The line was, seriously, 98% Asian. Apparently people flew all the way from Asia to get the bags (and I doubt they paid the carbon offsets). Oh well.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:36:21 -0500

You have to jump fast... if the Duane Reade kid has already pulled out a bag, half the time they will crumple it and throw it away if you say you don't want it. Morons.

brooklynbee

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:35:08 -0500

I have a great reusable bag that folds up into a little bitty thing that you can pop onto your keychain. I got it at Brooklyn Kitchen. Although sometimes clerks are so quick to whip out the plastic bag I find myself frantically saying "No bag! No bag!" If they look at me like I'm nuts, I will just say "I brought my own. I'm trying not to use so many plastic bags."

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:32:23 -0500

standing on line for a bag isn't saving the environment, its just making you look like a douche. Good thing I wasn't there then. I wouldn't want to be called 2007's most overused insult. I use a cloth shopping bag or a back pack and jump on the Duane Reade clerks to not put my purchases in a bag.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:32:13 -0500

so glad to see whole foods has taken up selling purses to tools, right on.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:28:08 -0500

Hear hear, guest #21. Bottled water is an environmental scourge... The amount of water and oil used to produce the bottle is obscene and wasteful... Does anybody remember water fountains?

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:21:09 -0500

In the Atlanta area, the grocery store Publix is selling Green Bag for $1.50. $15 sounds a little over sensationalized to be "green" just because it's by a designer. Then again I'm a guy and don't spend hundreds of dollars for a Prada handbag, so where's my perspective. Just stop drinking bottled water. Tap water won't kill you.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:20:18 -0500

pathetic and giving true environmentalism a bad name

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:18:05 -0500

"planting trees, cleaning up a park, whatever" "Where am I going to plant a tree in Manhattan? And not get arrested. Or see the tree promptly removed by the parks department." ...So true about the trees. So I take it you'll be cleaning up parks then?

Alex

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:14:36 -0500

I'm sorry you didn't find my examples to be adequate, but there are certainly things you can do in the city to help the environment.

Nick S

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:07:04 -0500

[Where am I going to plant a tree in Manhattan? And not get arrested. Or see the tree promptly removed by the parks department.] surprisingly enough, there are four other boroughs that DO have spaces to plant trees.. its actually quite easy to volunteer too... here's a link that you're not going to use. http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_opportunities/volunteer_opportunities.html standing on line for a bag isn't saving the environment, its just making you look like a douche.

Spiritof76

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:05:53 -0500

I hate hipster fads. I've been using a lightweight packable duffel bag for all my grocery shopping for close to eight years now. Packs right down to the size of a paperback book, zippered closure so things can't fall out and only cost me $5 on eBay, shipped, back in '99. Best of all, it looks normal and not pretentious.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:04:59 -0500

mmm... making this bag thing trendy could backfire in the end when reusable bags become "so last year." And personally I dread having to try to convince the kids at the 106th Stree Met Foods to use my reusable grocery tote... it's torture enough to convince them that NO, I don't want a double-bag for my one item, no, I really don't.

cwbuecheler

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:03:22 -0500

Wait ... where are these bags made? When I'm buying retarded, trendy crap, I look for the quality that can only be delivered by the hands-on, hard labor of exploited children.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:01:47 -0500

"You guys, all the people in line are Asian. This isn't something to get all worried about. Normal people don't care about this stupid bag." You can't be serious.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:00:23 -0500

Hipsters? Transplants? White people? > Dude, you people have to get over the whoel transplant thing. That's why Manhattan is nice now, all the people from around America (Michigan, Virginia, Ohio) have moved here and made it nice. Stop blaming them for shit, it's so lame. They aren't the ones raping girls and shooting actresses in the face on the LES.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:53:56 -0500

planting trees, cleaning up a park, whatever Where am I going to plant a tree in Manhattan? And not get arrested. Or see the tree promptly removed by the parks department.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:52:41 -0500

Who are these People??????????????? Hipsters? Transplants? White people?

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:51:30 -0500

Gothamist posters have the worst attitudes. People who care about the environment are already doing the right things. For the other 95% of the population, what's wrong with a spoonful of sugar to get them onboard too? The end result is what matters. Let people think they're trendy if that helps!

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:50:51 -0500

You guys, all the people in line are Asian. This isn't something to get all worried about. Normal people don't care about this stupid bag.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:48:49 -0500

I like my Sierra Nevada chicobag better. I like any bag that folds within itself.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:46:39 -0500

#2-Same thing happened at the Union Square location. There was wet newspaper left all over the sidewalk, and despite the Whole Foods employee requesting that people not use plastic bags to take home their new bags, about half the people I saw leaving were using them.

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:46:11 -0500

this is ridiculous. what a pathetic way to address an issue so meaningful and important in our society right now. it's quite testament to the stupidity and desparation of those who are environmentally oblivious. what a great way to perpetuate their attitudes of entitlement, self-righteousness, and ignorance. not to mention the fact that these people must not have jobs to be able to line up this morning.... do you think those same people would line up like that for a rally to ban plastic bags in nyc?

JMH

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:44:33 -0500

What a fucking charade. The designer gets to pretend that she's doing something for the environment while selling $2 bags for $15; the buyers get to pretend *they* care about the environment when they're actually just trying to buy the new trendy bag of the week (or, alternately, trying to make a quick buck by selling them on ebay).

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:30:31 -0500

this is mucch cooler: http://thankyoutotebags.com/

guest

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:30:19 -0500

i was online for the bag at 2nd ave. and i was amazed by the amount of trash the people waiting left on the street. not only that, some were using plastic bags to hold their new "i'm not a plastic bag" from the rain. talk about irony.

Alex

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:29:22 -0500

If they really cared about the environment, they'd spend three hours of their time doing something for it (planting trees, cleaning up a park, whatever) instead of waiting in line for a damn bag.