Why go plastic when you can go HOT?

I’m not kidding. In just 29 minutes, canvas shopping bags designed by uber high-end bag designer Anya Hindmarch and emblazoned with “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” sold out at the Columbus Circle Whole Foods store in New York on Wednesday.

At just $15 a pop, the bags drew fashion enthusiasts accustomed to spending $1,000 and more for her bags, and the eco-friendly. And, well, that’s the point.

Hindmarch designed the bags to send an environmental message—that the world is using too many non-biodegradable plastic bags—by some estimates hundreds of billions or even trillions a year.

Those little guys add up

• Plastic bags hit American check-out stands in 1977 and now account for about 90% of all grocery bags.
• The EPA estimates it takes about 1,000 years for a bag to disintegrate, and are a detriment to nature and wildlife.
• It takes 430,000 gallons of oil produce 100 million non-degradable plastic bags.
• The EPA says about 5 percent are recycled each year in the U.S.

Who’s doing what about it…
Just as plastic turns 100 years old, plastic bags are increasingly under scrutiny. In March, San Francisco—where 180 million plastic bags are distributed each year—banned the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags in large supermarket and other major chain stores, becoming the first major city in America to do so.

Boston looks about ready to follow suit, and Ikea is charging customers 5 cents per bag to cut back on usage. Outside the U.S., Ireland has cut the use of plastic bags by 90% thanks to a special tax and they’re banned in some third-world countries, like Bangladesh and Bhutan. There’s a push to thwart use in London and in Africa, too.

The big picture
Plastic bags of course aren’t the only offender. Paper bags take up more space in landfills and it takes trees to make them. Bottom line, it’s good for all of us to remember that we’re just one among the 6.6 billion folks out there, and that stowing a reusable bag or two in the trunk can make a small but meaningful difference.

Oh, and you can still get an Anya Hindmarch bag, just be ready to pay up… the going rate is about $200 on eBay.