If you look in a typical New Yorker's apartment, you'll find a stash of plastic bags from grocery stores. You know the kind, the ones that San Francisco has banned from supermarkets. It might seem a bit excessive until you realize that San Francisco alone hands out 180 million bags a year to shoppers. There was also the "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" frenzy this summer, which ended up feeling more about "awareness creation" than making an impact on people's behavior on a large scale.

For a more practical approach, try the Minusbags, which are designed by MB Mullan in Brooklyn and hand-stitched in New Hampshire. I like the functionality of them (they machine wash and hold 3 plastics bags worth of stuff.) They have a smart design, which replaces loud corporate logos with smart graphics of fruit. I also like the given reason that minusbags are better than plastics bags: because, "you can buy a dozen Krispy Cremes all for yourself and no one will be able to see them."

The Minusbag sell at $16 at a few locations on the East Coast, as well from their online store.