Is durability the most important eco-trait in a bag? Not if you’re talking about one-use plastic bags, but perhaps yes when it comes to reusables. Not too long ago I asked you to vote on what reusable bag you’d buy, taking materials, price, style, durability, and labor issues into consideration. Assuming no voter fraud, Savior Bags won out for their durability, coupled with US-production and unique bucket shape.

Now comes a new stylish tote bag from NoCal that might match that durability — because it’s combined the strength of plastic with the feel of cotton canvas. Hero Bags are made of 80% recycled cotton scraps (pre-consumer) and 20% recycled plastic bottles.

While Hero Bags aren’t organic, they’re made entirely of stuff that would’ve been discarded as trash (except the mini tote and brown tote, which are made of just plain cotton and thus not my faves). Plus, the tote bags are sewn in the US. My fave part’s the cute logo, however — designed by Susanne Maddux, who’s also the founder of company.

All in all, that makes the Hero Bag a cute, sturdy woman-designed bag that’s fairly-made in the US using 100% reclaimed materials, from a woman-founded Cali (local for me) company. This has to be one of my fave reusable cotton totes now!

Yet another cute new woman owned and operated eco tote bag company’s what’S ur bag, which makes its-laS-tik bags. These bags will especially be a hit with those who heart the 80s — because they’re made of shiny spandex, often in bright flashy 80s colors!

But the more interesting part about its-laS-tik bags is that they’re made in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina survivors. “We wanted to give new business and jobs to a struggling economy in New Orleans,” says Susan Princiotto, owner of the company. In addition to creating jobs, what’S ur bag donates 5% of sales donated to Hope House in New Orleans, a charity that feeds,trains and helps the homeless find housing.

At first I thought its-laS-tik bags were really too small to work as a grocery tote — then realized that they stretch out! Spandex is a synthetic fabric that really can’t be called eco, but the idea here’s that these smaller, stretchy bags will be more easily totable than the bulkier cotton canvas bags. Spandex is also known to be quite durable too.

I still kinda wish that what’S ur bag would use reclaimed spandex, especially because I think there’s so much old lycra around that could be reused, judging from my less-than-scientific browsing at Goodwill. Still, you can send your old its-laS-tik bag back to what’S ur bag in exchange for a discount on a new bag, and comfort in the knowledge that those oldies will be made into rag rugs at the Hope House in New Orleans.

Partly because I live in California, and partly because I’m not myself partial to the spandex look, I’d pick the Hero Bag over its-laS-tic, but both have their fans. Christine Lepisto raves about its-laS-tic in Treehugger, noting that “Even the website is designed by a NOLA native,” while Kimmie at See Pretty things says “I love that they don’t stretch and they they mimic the shape of what you’re carrying.” Hero Bags are loved at Cuteable, which calls the bags “Gorgeous, functional and stylish.” Which would you pick?

[crossposted on BlogHer]

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