Tote bags are in.  The LL Bean durable canvas ones have been around for ages, but in the last few years, totes have popped up for sale in a variety of stores and offered as popular premiums and giveaways.

But now, more than ever, you see them in use in the grocery stores.  It seems to be a combination of the “green” environmental movement and the 5 cent per bag savings  that the stores give you that is motivating the rise in usage.  Reducing the stash of plastic bags in the house is a blessing too.

Some closet “tree-huggers” who previously felt self-conscious about using tote bags  when grocery shopping can now be part of the tote bag brigade.  And shoppers mix and match, as you will see Whole Foods  and Stop and Shop and Wildlife Conservacy totes in use at Trader Joes.

One of our favorite totes is the roomy $ 1 bag available at the Framingham Library.   It holds several plastic bags worth of groceries as it promotes the library.

It comes with a rigid bottom stiffener and is large enough to replace 2 paper bags or up to 4 plastic bags each time it is used. According to its environmentally conscious manufacturer, it’s designed to be used weekly for two years or more and to replace up to 416 plastic bags over its entire lifetime.

The bags are also washable and stand up straight on their own for loading and the handles are a convenient length.

Four or five will handle a cart full of groceries, support the library, and save hundreds of plastic and paper bags over the course of a year.  Not to mention the 5 cents per bag savings.