It's Smart, Stylish, Status-Conscious...and Used: Most-Wanted Shopping Bags

I had no idea that I'm essentially a walking billboard when I reuse heavy-duty, good quality shopping bags from stores I purchase items from. And I'm in good company.

Today's New York Times explains how retailers are not only recognizing the trend, but catering to it with better, more stylish and more durable bags that customers use even more than the purchases they once contained:

“I often prefer this to my leather handbag,” said Kay Scouller, 34, standing on a Manhattan subway platform with a used Coach shopping bag in hand, filled with a tube of moisturizer, a pair of sunglasses and a bottle of water.

Wanna bet that other smart shoppers are cashing in on this? I checked eBay and yes, there are shopping bags galore from high-end retailers whom most of us could never afford to buy from. And thanks to the uber-rich shopaholics among us, anyone can get their hands on a shopping bag from Coach, Scoop, Juicy Couture, or Lululemon Athletica.

Don't think of it as status-conscious consumerism gone rampant. Think of it as a stylish way to reduce, reuse, recycle.

Related article: It's a Purse! It's a Belt! It's a Recycled Car Part!