I buy reusable bags from a guy who stands outside the entrance to the main vegetable market in the city. They come in either black or brown. I get some of each and relegate the brown ones for the produce that comes with soil on them. Oh, and they cost less than 50 cents each.

I have blogged about a few reusable bag retailers in the past. There are lots of bags out there that have interesting design, cool source materials and/or an entertaining logo. These are unnecessary attributes but I appreciate them anyway. All the entrepreneurs and organizations that are working to gain attention for their own bags are also bringing attention to the good idea of using reusable bags instead of disposable plastic.

If you sell or give away cloth shopping bags please leave a comment on this post and I will do what I can with this blog to promote your product in future posts and through social media. If you are looking to buy some shopping bags, try to pick a local retailer to minimize the carbon footprint of your purchase. Products that are produced locally are even better.

Snobby:

not-a-plastic-bag

Plain:

not-plastic-bag

Jute:

jute-bags

Make your own bag.

Bags made from Recycled Plastic:

recycled-plastic-bags

Fat Bottom Bags:

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Rip-Stop Nylon:

nylon-shopping-bags

Super Cute Shopping Bags:

cute-shopping-bags
cute-shopping-bag

Simple, Smart Design:

shopping-bags

Water Repellent Polypropylene Bags:

water-repellant-shopping-bag

Black Recycled Cotton Shopping Bag:

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Snarky Anti-Plastic Bag:

plastic

Artsy Design:

reusable-bag

This list will grow as I discover more sources of reusable bags. I have not personally used any of the above products, so I can’t personally vouch for their quality or customer service. Several of the retailers were recommended to me by people that I follow on Twitter.

The Good Human recommended Flea Markets as a good source for reusable bags. I recently bought a used equipment bag at a market table to with our snorkel stuff.

Update: Just found out via email that Calypso Studios is giving away a bunch of their bags to celebrate Earth Day.

Calypso Studios launched the S.H.O.P. Totes ™ January 1, 2009. The company collaborated with American artists, such as Lori Siebert, Emma Hand, Robin Roderick, Tina Higgins, and Andrea Tachiera to provide beautiful art on the totes. The totes are a fashionable way to Start Helping Our Planet by using reusable bags. The spacious bags are 17” x 19” when opened and easily roll up into a 2” x 3” size. Three bags are conveniently stored in an 8” x 6” wristlet carrying case. Calypso Studios S.H.O.P. Totes were also chosen as one of the celebrity giveaway swag bags at the Academy Awards in February. Celebrate Earth Day carrying the bag the celebrities use!

UPDATE:

A promotional firm called TBWA Vancouver decided to bait the sensitive ecopeeps with some ironic bag designs. Click the image to see more designs and find out how you can get one of your very own.

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UPDATE:

shopping-bagshoulder-bagThese shopping totes are sold by Wrapsacks.com. As far as cloth shopping bags go, these might hold the record for the biggest selection of colors and patterns. The company specialized in reusable gift sacks and they chose 22 of their patterns to use with these shopping totes.

The shoulder straps and foldaway design are nice touches. If you already have enough bags of your own, you could get a tote and a gift bag from Wrapsacks to use as a gift to someone that is presently still toting plastic grocery bags.

UPDATE:

Corporate Sloganny Bags -

If you are short on reusable bags AND cash some of your best options may be the bags on offer at various retail outlets. The catch with these bags is that they boldly advertise the store. Some stores sweeten the deal by donating proceeds from bag sales to a charity. The Body Shop does this in most markets. I was browsing there today (okay I was scoring some Try Me hand lotion) and I noticed that they were supporting a local reforestation project with their bag sales.

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