Brand new bag

I'm always on the lookout for cool, reusable bags to carry my groceries in. And just the other day, I heard about the latest bag in town while at the gym of all places. Two women, with faces flushed from spinning, sat on a bench conveniently located in front of my locker, speaking in hushed, conspiratorial tones. I leaned in to listen.

"So where did you see it?"

"All those film fest people have them. They carry it over their shoulder. It's black. And pretty big."

Well, that was enough to pique my curiosity. Out and about that weekend, the opening weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival, I spotted one being used as a book bag, then another that seemed to be on official film fest duties (the man carrying it was wearing a suit). Simple. Sleek. Discreet. I headed to the festival headquarters to purchase my own.

To be honest, I was less than thrilled when I finally held my new bag in my hands. In previous years the festival bags were made of cloth and even leather, but this year's $8 tote by Roots didn't look or feel substantial in any way. The surface resembled a tarp in sheen (dull and a tad tacky) and sound (kind of crispy), and moreover, the bag just felt too light and too flimsy. So I let it lie dejectedly on my kitchen floor. A few days later, I grew curious and inspected it up close. Inside the bag was an unexpectedly soft, woven material, something I didn't recognize. So I googled the name on the fabric tag: polypropylene.

Polypropylene. A lightweight, extremely durable polymer used in everything from dishwasher-safe plastic food containers to wick-away-type long underwear. Score, I thought to myself. Ever since learning about this king of materials, I can't stop spotting it, particularly in its reusable bag application (seems to be the latest thing among the "green" bags sold at stores).

Now that the film fest is over, I can finally take my bag grocery shopping (because carrying an event-specific bag after said specific event is way cooler than during). It's no hyped Anya Hindmarch "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" bag, the last eco-friendly bag I considered buying, but that's just fine. I'll pass on cloth. And no paper or plastic either, please. I've got polypropylene.