My friend Iris Hu in New York spent a sleepless summer night in the parking lot of a Whole Foods store in a scramble for a $15 cotton grocery bag.The bags, introduced by London designer Anya Hindmarch, read Im not a plastic bag andare intended to be used and reused for groceries, in place of plastic.The New York Times reported:A stampede of would-be purchasers in Taiwan in June sent 30 people to the hospital and required the riot police. A similar outpouring in Hong Kong caused no injuries, but the police closed down the shopping mall.
And according to Chinese newspaper Beijing Youth, an offering in Beijing was canceled for concern with riots.The irony is the bag has become more of a fashion than a campaign for a cleaner environment. Bids for the bags on Chinese websites have topped $200. And I wouldnt be surprised to see fashion snobs with this canvas bag on the shoulder still holding a plastic bag for Chinese or Thai takeout, or for other day-to-day shopping chores. Im not joking. Just check out the photos below, courtesy of my friend Iris: due to the rain in New York are, her Im Not a Plastics Bag came wrapped in a Whole Foods plastic bag in order to stay dry!
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Photos courtesy of Iris Hu.