Totally awesome tote bags

‘Everybody, when you go through the checkout line after you get your groceries and they say, ‘Paper or plastic?’ We should be saying, ‘Neither one.’ We should have our own cloth bags’ – Woody Harrelson

Can you believe it’s been a year now since the carrier bag charge was introduced in shops and supermarkets across the UK? I fought it for a long time, thinking ‘what’s another 5p on top of my shopping anyway and in fact I find it ironic the as soon as they introduced the charge, they also improved the quality of the bags, nice to know that 5p is being spent wisely, not wasted on, you know the environment and stuff.

Then there’s Primark who have tried to get around it by offering paper bags. Whilst they may be biodegradable and made from recycled toilet paper, they’re not much good in the rainy North East. More than once I’ve had to rescue my £4 pyjamas from the soggy pavement of Northumberland street after the smallest of downpours.

So i deceided to bite the bullet and invest in  some of the funky canvas bags that are now so readily available since the carrier bag charge was introduced. Plus Dave takes great pleasure in referring to me as his ‘Bag for Life’ in an oh so hilarious cockney rhyming slang kind of way, so if i’m going to be referred to as one, I’m making sure I own some cool ones:

The Body Shop Foundation Bag for Life – £5

The Body Shop have always been environmentally conscious. Back when I was a tweenager and stocking up on my White Musk shower gel they were probably the only brand on the market that could categorically say they didn’t test on animals. I love a cheesy empowering statement and this speaks to my creative side, because sometimes  shopping in Tesco on a rainy monday night is exactly when we need reminding to follow our passions.

Rad.co Canvas Shopper – £12.90

Rad.co has been one of my favourite online shops over the last year years, i have to stop myself every month buying all their hip hop inspired arty t-shirts and although they seem to have taken a left down Crass Alley recently, this is still my favourite canvas bag of the lot of them. it’s a little smaller than the other two but does perfectly to carry a change of clothes when I’m out straight from work on a Friday. And all my colleague love the opportunity to quip that I shouldn’t be bringing my emotional baggage to work with me, har dee har.

Funny Geordie Tote Bag for Life – £8

One for the Geordies or the Geordies at heart, i would giggle to myself every time i saw this in the window of Upside Down, which is a tiny little Geordie themed gift shop opposite Prima Italian restaurant on Dean Street. They do a huge range in funny gifts, i can’t wait until one of my friends is pregnant so i can buy them a ‘holy shit you’re up the duff’ greetings card. Definitely somewhere wroth a visit in the run up to Christmas. you can also order most of their gifts online.