I am not a plastic bag.

...no, not a sheep either.

All the bruhaha behind that thing that is not a plastic bag gave me a chuckle today. Lining up a day early to get your hands on one? A near riot at a mall in Hong Kong? What do they think this thing is, an iPhone?

Not that I have a problem with the not-plastic-bag thingy, mind you. I think the campaign is ultimately laudable. Getting more people to quit using disposable grocery bags is a great thing for the environment. But why should we all carry the same bag? Perhaps the right message on that bag is not 'I'm not a plastic bag' but more like 'I'm a sheep'.

For those not interested in going b-a-h, let me show you a few other fun bags that are just as righteous as that thing that is not a plastic bag. The choices are endless, really. You can even find bags that are themselves reused. Reused-reusable bags, how meta is that? A company called Elsewares.com sells rad shopping bags made from rescued Dacron sails and other super cool canvas bags just perfect for the trip to your local organic supermarket.

From Germany, the Reisenthel people have my heart - and a big chunk of my pocketbook - when it comes to baskets and shopping bags. I adore everything about them, variety, colorful designs, utility, and most of all how absolutely indestructible everything I bought from there has been. The current object of my obsession is a bike basket, with a special thingy that clips on to the handle bar to make a instant bike basket where there was none before. Never you mind that I've got a bike basket already..

There are even vegan bags, did you know that? Alternative Outfitters carries a few shopping bags that are somehow vegan. Frankly, I care less about having vegan bags than eating a vegan sandwich, even, but these bags are actually cute. I love the one with the fishies. Also equally as goodie-two-shoes are these bags made from reclaimed rice sacks from Asia sold at Reusablebags.com.

Another cute bag makers, with a cute name even, is Tote Le Monde. No, it doesn't come with the baguette or the flowers, just the cute bag.

Plenty of adorable bags, and not a sheep among them. Don't you like it better like this?

P.S. a proper thank you must go to TreeHugger and MightyGoods for some of these inspirations.