Green Options

China. The UK. Ireland. Germany. Australia. San Francisco. Malibu. The list of countries and cities eliminating or considering banning plastic bags continues to grow. Some prohibit them all together, while others charge a fee to carry away groceries in that plastic that often finds its way to landfills.

Looking for something fun, sexy and sophisticated to tote around in the New Year? Oh - but it also has to be environmentally responsible? This may be your lucky year. With the success of the Twilight series, it doesn’t get much sexier than Vamp Bags.

I met the Vamp girls, Deanna and Tara, in Boulder, CO (home town of English Retreads) this fall and got to take a sneak peek at their upcoming 2009 collection (see Frenchie below in red) as well as bags from the signature line that are still fan favorites.

Lately we’ve shared our best picks for green bags and eco handbags here on Feel Good Style. Now Katharine Hamnett, one of my absolute favorite designers of all time, has created a Love slogan tote. Printed with environmentally friendly inks, “this chic and stylish oversized bag designed by Katharine Hamnett is made with 100% organic cotton and is super roomy; giving you enough room for all your essentials and more! Great for beach trips, holidays, and everyday use.”

So whether you are looking for oversize totes, reusable bags, adorable clutches, or even solar handbags we’ve got plenty of options to share here.

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

Here is a neat idea for you Ecopreneurist trying to break into the organic food or other industries where grocery chains play a part in your marketing plan.

Florida-based, Retroactif, re-purposes promotional banners to craft great looking handbags in a variety shapes and styles. From their sturdy Hobo shapes to their exceptionally useful messenger style bags, these great looking, vibrantly patterned bags make great purses, laptop totes, beach bags and grocery totes for the bold and fashionable.

Fashioned from street banners, billboards and wallscapes used at events and typically made with non-biodegradable materials to withstand wind and rain that [...]

The city of Athens made a big leap ahead by signing an agreement with all major food stores for replacing plastics bags used for carrying goods. Starting on April 14th 2008 every major super market within Athens will promote and sell the new green bags made from eco friendly materials.

Retailers like AB Vasilopoulos, Atlantic, Veropoulos, Bazaar, Galaxias, Carrefour Marinopoulos, Dia Hellas, My Market, Metro and Sklavenitis agreed to heavily promote and sell [...]