Since January, our nation’s capitol has imposed a tax of 5 cents on every plastic bag used at the grocery store. Plastic bags have posed a huge pollution problem, and the materials they are made with aren’t exactly biodegradable or compostable. The result? Shoppers grumbled for the first week or so, but now many have adjusted to the new routine of bringing eco-friendly tote bags with them when they go food shopping. Not only are these bags made with recycled materials, but they are reusable, bigger, and sturdier to boot. What’s not to love?

Many shops have taken advantage of the new trend and are now selling wholesale tote bags branded with their company name and logo in the store.

“In order to continue to reduce our environmental impact as a company, finding sustainable packaging solutions was a must,” says Marc Guay, President, Frito Lay Canada, in a press release. “We know that environmentally-friendly packaging is a priority for Canadians. Using plant-based renewable materials to make packaging that will interact differently with the environment, represents the next small step in Frito Lay Canada’s environmental sustainability journey.”

Here’s a video of the new packaging breaking down over an ideal 14-week period.

Uniting two once-distant groups - role playing gamers and DIY designers - this D20-shaped purse tote is sold as a kit you construct yourself, leading (hopefully) to the reasonably attractive bag shown here. I think it could do with a little color, personally, but I suppose you could dye the pieces before sewing them together. I’m not sure what kind of outfit you’d wear this with, but please, skip the Middle Earth apparel - I don’t care how seriously you take your roleplaying.

[via ThinkGeek]

This set of matching bags is about as straightforward as luggage can get. At least, the various toiletry kit and laundry bags I understand - “other things” is just driving me crazy with possibilities. All five waterproof drawstring bags come in a larger zippered case for easy packing, which is great when your suitcase lacks those crucial designated “thing” compartments and confusion looms on the horizon.

If you really want to be devious, of course, you can put your “face things” in the “teeth things” bag to throw people off, but we’re hesitant to recommend this, as it may tear a hole in the space-time fabric and leave your bags totally useless.

[via Fashionably Geek]

It’s a backpack/jacket hybrid, begging for a cheesy new word to describe it [come on, say it with me now: backet! jackpack!]! While it certainly eliminates the problem of space some jackets’ pockets have, it does seem kind of counterproductive to have to remove the thing to take something out, especially in cold weather - and the jacket looks pretty thick, so I can’t see someone wearing this in the summer. Still, at least you’ll be color-coordinated, and there’s definitely no chance you’ll leave your bag on a train or forget it under a restaurant table.

[via Ecouterre]

This syringe-shaped mini bag with wrist loop is certain to attract all kinds of attention, though the type of attention probably depends on whether you’re carrying it through the halls of a hospital or through the projects. Close up, it actually looks kind of cuddly - it might make a good giveaway at the doctor’s office to get patients over their needle phobia. On the other hand, it might just be weird. Your call.

[via Fashionably Geek]

This clever grenade-shaped “greenaid” mini-bag contains a polyester reusable shopping tote printed with the phrase “War on Plastic,” making sustainable shopping a breeze and (hopefully) persuading your fellow shoppers to abandon their addiction to disposable plastic bags as well. The mini-bag clips onto a belt loop or fits into purse or pocket, making it easy to carry the environmentally friendly tote with you everywhere you might need it.

[via Fashionably Geek]

For a messenger bag that sends a real message, you can’t do much better than this one. Seriously - not only is one side printed to resemble the new-mail icon we all know and love (or dread, as the case may be) from our inboxes, but the other is designed to look like an air-mail envelope. Easy joke? Perhaps, but the bag is good-looking enough that we’d wear one anywhere.

[via Geeky Gadgets]

No one wants to come back to their car or their cafe table to find their laptop missing. And high-end customized messenger bags, while certainly attractive and professional-looking, definitely advertise the presence of an expensive computer and accessories inside. Sometimes, you don’t want the rest of the world to know you have the latest technology at your disposal.

Along those lines, here is a laptop bag that masquerades as a normal, everyday newspaper or magazine. Thieves might pass by your car, look in the window, and see yesterday’s paper sitting on the passenger seat - nothing worth taking there. And no one’s going to take that copy of Cat Fancy sitting next to your latte, even if you have to get up to make a phone call. Just make sure you don’t disguise your laptop so well it gets thrown away!