Debbie Schlussel: "Environmentalism" = Elitism: Gazillion Dollar Totes Replace Plastic Bags
Well, well, well. Yet another sign that environmentalist preaching is the sole domain of hypocritical elitists.
Remember how San Francisco banned plastic bags for grocery stores and supermarkets? AP reports that haute couture designers have filled the "void."
Arm-and-a-leg-priced designers Hermes, Stella McCartney, and Consuelo Castiglioni of Marni are offering "reusable shopping bags" for between $500 and $1,000 apiece:
The bags give shoppers an alternative to paper or plastic without sacrificing style.The Silky Pop Hermes bag, which will go on sale in the U.S. this summer, has a price tag of $960. Made of hand-wrought silk, it collapses into a wallet-size pouch of calfskin.
Castiglioni's foldable nylon bag retails for $843. The Stella McCartney organic canvas shopper sells for $495. . . .While the designer bags are eye-catching, cheaper totes also are grabbing attention.
Trader Joe's sells a $1.99 bright blue-and-green print polypropylene sack.
Um, stupid question: Since when is polypropylene biodegradable/recyclable? It's just a thicker form of plastic bag, a nicer name for a vinyl purse from Target.
And the "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" by British handbag designer Anya Hindmarch goes for $15, though it has fetched 10 times that much on eBay.This month's Vogue magazine urges fashionistas to become more bag-smart: "No loitering, girls," says contributing editor Sarah Mower. "Today, let us go out and harness the power of fashion to change the way the nation shops."
Insert finger down throat, now.
Posted by Debbie on May 11, 2007 12:18 PM to Debbie Schlussel