BYOB: Bring Your Own Bag -- Plasict Bag Canvas Alternatives Hot on eBay

BYOB: Bring Your Own Bag


On the heels of the Live Earth event, we thought it would be interesting to see how the ubiquitous "I'm not a Plastic Bag" canvas bags from high fashion designer Anya Hindmarch have been selling on eBay.

Plastic bags have become Public Enemy No. 1 recently -- as they well should -- given that many end up in land fills in China or molded into huge blocks and put out to sea, according to the Green Issue of Vanity Fair. Simply put, the bags have been all the rage, first in the UK and as of mid June, in the U.S., too.

People, mostly women, have stood in long lines, clamoring to get their hands on the must-have fashion-meets-function-meets-environment accessory of the season. Over the last month over 2,200 have sold on eBay, at an average price of over $113! One even sold for over $480. Most retail places are offering them for $7-15, but on the eBay marketplace, it's not uncommon to see the bags getting 20-30 bids per listing (the average is 10).

Naturally, the bags have a bit of controversy surrounding them. Apparently the bags are made with neither organic nor free trade materials, and were constructed in China; however, it was reported that the laborers in Asia made twice the regular salary and the bags were shipped by sea.

Regardless of how and where they were made, the bag craze raises general awareness and consciousness of how we answer that simple, yet loaded, question at the supermarket, "Paper or plastic?" Hopefully, next time, your answer might be, "Neither. I brought my own."

eBay Pop.

Sad People Spend More

Iconowatch - Tuesday February 26, 2008
A study shows that people may be willing to spend more on themselves when they’re feeling sad. Feeling sad leads to self-centered thinking, which leads to dropping extra cash to make you feel better. Findings will be published in the June '08 issue of Psychological Science.
ABCNEWS.COM | 2.8.08


Technorati Tags: , ,

From Iconowatch Newsletter - Stanford Free for Families with income under $100k

clipped from mail.google.com
Sure, I'm like almost 35. But I still think about student loans a lot.
That's why some news from California caught my eye last week. Stanford
University announced that it wouldn't charge tuition to students whose
families rake in less than $100K per year (SFGate.com 2.20.08). The
move by Stanford isn’t a wholly charitable one — it was made in part
because of pressure from lawmakers who saw the well-funded school's
tuition spiraling out of control.

The issue of mounting tuition costs and mountainous loans for students
isn't a new one. But the pressure on students just keeps amping. The
average student-loan balance for those finishing college now approaches
$20K (USAToday.com 2.19.08). And partly because of the credit crunch
and banks' subprime troubles, private lenders' rates will likely rise —
and their standards for who gets a loan will tighten.
THE LONG GOODBYE

By
Josh Kimball , Executive Editor
 blog it

eBay Pop

BYOB: Bring Your Own Bag
digg Digg send to friend Send to Friend

On the heels of the Live Earth event, we thought it would be interesting to see how the ubiquitous "I'm not a Plastic Bag" canvas bags from high fashion designer Anya Hindmarch have been selling on eBay. Plastic bags have become Public Enemy No. 1 recently -- as they well should -- given that many end up in land fills in China or molded into huge blocks and put out to sea, according to the Green Issue of Vanity Fair. Simply put, the bags have been all the rage, first in the UK and as of mid June, in the U.S., too. People, mostly women, have stood in long lines, clamoring to get their hands on the must-have fashion-meets-function-meets-environment accessory of the season. Over the last month over 2,200 have sold on eBay, at an average price of over $113! One even sold for over $480. Most retail places are offering them for $7-15, but on the eBay marketplace, it's not uncommon to see the bags getting 20-30 bids per listing (the average is 10).

Naturally, the bags have a bit of controversy surrounding them. Apparently the bags are made with neither organic nor free trade materials, and were constructed in China; however, it was reported that the laborers in Asia made twice the regular salary and the bags were shipped by sea. Regardless of how and where they were made, the bag craze raises general awareness and consciousness of how we answer that simple, yet loaded, question at the supermarket, "Paper or plastic?" Hopefully, next time, your answer might be, "Neither. I brought my own."

eBay Pop.

Check out my Slide Show!