They're lovely, but just to be fair, Chico was the original nylon bag maker. Plus if they rip, you can send them back to Chico and they'll make a rug out of them (but I've put cat food cans in them and after years they have not once ripped). Let's hope we can keep making nice bags but not deplete too many resources with brand new products.

"Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf."

Three HUGE cheers for that transparency, AT. I wish our politicians were half as honest!

LOVE my Baggu bag. Perfect for groceries AND an awesome beach/pool bag, might I add.

I love my baggu bags, but the gussets along the bottom face the wrong way and make it very difficult to carry. If you put something rectangular in them you have to twist the handles to make it lie flat against you.

I LOVE these bags so much! I've been using them for nearly 4 years and get compliments from them all the time when we go out. Only one of my bags shows any wear, and that's from being dropped on cement with glass jars that shattered, but it still works just great. It's great the different sizes, and I even have some of the produce pouches, before those went away. I have gotten several family members to use them even!. I prefer my baggus to the chico bags though.

The bag may be stylish, durable etcetera, correct me if I am wrong, but isnt nylon non-biodegradable? So why not switch to cloth or jute bags. The whole point of being eco friendly is to be environmentally aware. Are these bags made of some kind of biodegradable nylon?

My reusable bag is ALWAYS in my purse - use it for everything and all the time. I found a fun way to subtly pass one along to friends/family (especially those addicted to plastic) is give one when giving another gift, but use it as the wrapping. They are colorful, save wasted wrapping paper, and the handles make great bows!

I love the bright colors available with Baggu and also that they fold up small. But when I go grocery shopping I use a Very Bradley reusable shopping tote and another similar one. I receive comments ALL the time from the baggers at the grocery store, because the bag stands up on it own without anything in it, which makes it easier for them to place groceries in. I've had several tell me they don't like the little kind that fold up and fit in your purse because it's challenging to load with groceries.

envirosax. you can get them in a set of 5 and come in a great little pouch that takes up virtually no space. makes grocery shopping and runs to target so easy. plus i love all the fun patterns and choices!

I definitely have to be honest with myself and admit that I have more baggus than is environmentally necessary. They make great gifts too! I do find that, when not challenged by the need for compactness (i.e. when driving, which is how I do my biggest grocery runs), a bag that stands up is more functional. Oh but they are adorable. I've even considered the new leather line as a stylish purse.

I treated myself to a set of Baggus (in lovely toile patterns) a couple of years ago and am so glad I did. It was a little pricey for the set of 5, but they are so tidy and stylish and useful. Great gifts too!

I've tried (I think) every reuseable bag out there. My favorites are Rumes. They hold everything under the sun, are super tough, and I prefer their handle positioning to the Baggus. They're easier to sling over your shoulder, which is my preferred way of lugging groceries.

Hooray for reuseable bags!

I'm with ESMITH43. Envirosax are my absolute favorite. They hold a ton of stuff and are easy to carry. I have a few of the five-packs. We keep some in the car and I've always got a few in my purse!

Got a Baggu from the folks at Serious Eats and I'm too am really in love with it. It's been handy for last minute trips to the store when I didn't have the usual reusable bags in the the car and then relaxed when I remembered the Baggu neatly tucked in my purse. Absolute lifesaver since many of the cities around me started this 'ban' and charging $0.10 for paper bags. I'm toying around with the idea of sewing my own...

Envirosax hold 40 lbs. If you get a set of five on (frequent) sale at Brightandbold.com, they're cheaper than Baggu or Chico. They've got a really nice variety of colors and patterns. I'm addicted.

@ littleredhead: I totally agree! Why oh why are the gussets oriented that way!?

I agree with Joan A and others, Envirosax are awesome. Not only do they hold a lot and are easy to pop in your purse, I'm constantly getting complements on them being cute!

I have a Baggu and I like it, but it's not far and above any other nylon bag. As others said, they are gusseted in the wrong direction for easy shoulder carrying. I also wish that they zipped into their own pocket instead of having a separate bag. I lost that right and way and now just wad it into a ball in my purse.

Nylon can be recycled to use to create more bags, clothing, or other goods. The problem is finding somewhere that would take it back. I have thick, sturdy canvas bags for my grocery shopping trips, but I still like carrying a nylon bag in my purse for unexpected purchases, (something I couldn't so with a bulky canvas bag). Even if it's not biodegradable or doesn't end up recycled, I think the one nylon bag that will last years and years will more than balance out of the disposable bags I save.

I agree on the environmental issue. Why buy a bag with very poor biodegrability to replace a bag with poor biodegrability? This defeats the purpose completely.

now i might be a bit biased since i'm the designer for this company (full disclosure!) but i love my enV bags. please check us out if you haven't heard of us yet. we are a california based company and our bags carry up to 40 pounds, 2-3 bags of groceries, water resistant (so they are great for the beach) and fit nicely over your shoulder. oh, AND we have some super cute designs (again biased i know ;) they all come in a little pouch that attaches inside so you won't loose it. anyways, i just couldn't help myself. i had to say something about this since i'm so passionate about our re-usable bags!

My mom bought me a bunch of these and used them as "wrapping paper" for Chanukkah gifts. Now I have a huge supply of them. Love 'em!

The other thing about Envirosax is that they roll up to about the size of your fist and snap closed with small attached straps/snaps. No little bags to lose or get in the way.

I still have the first ones I bought (maybe 5 years ago?) and they're going strong, though I've bought a few more because I liked them. I'm not sure when they'll be ready to get rid of.

Love these! I've been using them for about 5 years now. Easy to wash and hang dry, strong and sturdy. A few holes have developed in a couple bags, but so far the holes have not grown larger. Great product.

One more vote for Envirosax

@Food Lover, that is a great point. I guess nylon is a polymer, I imagine the material can be re-sewed and repurpoused much better than plastic, but still. Cotton requires deforestation but organic cotton may be better in the long run. I have both - just a handful of Chicos (2 or 3) and 9 cotton totes. Both should last a very long time if properly cared for. One thing's for sure though, we can't buy our way to eco-friendly. Conserve is better.

I made my own. As in a previous comment, I think a major drawback for baggu is the separate bags that would surely get lost here. Mine are very sturdy but small, hold more than I'm comfortable carrying from our nearest grocery store, and fold up and closes with a rubber band.

I have a flip & tumble 24-7 bag that I love and carry with me in my purse everyday. It has a great single shoulder strap that even has a little padding which is handy since I schlep nearly all my groceries on foot.

I have a collection of totes that I've always used for shopping. The sturdiest of the bunch is made of canvas and lined, with sturdy wide straps. It can hold a substantial amount of groceries, and I load it up lots of times at the 99c store too! It's perfect for when I don't want to lug a shopping cart on the bus.
Then I have a pretty pink (plastic) one that I actually purchased at a 99c store, that hold quite a bit of groceries when i put it in my mini shopping cart. It eliminates quite a few plastic bags.
I did use plastic bags a few years ago to make myself a "tailors ham" for sewing. I'm using some now to make myself a "arm" for pressing when I make garments and need to press the sleeves.

I like Envirosax as well, but my favorite is a Reisenthal nylon bag that is sturdier than Envirosax. I have basically loaded it up until it's too heavy for me to carry more than a minute or two many times, and after 4 years, it looks as good as the day I bought it. It doesn't sit flat when empty but that's never been an issue for me, and it comes in a small pouch that clips right onto the bag so it's easy to keep them together.

As far as biodegradability, obviously replacing one plastic bag with one nylon bag is a silly tradeoff. But over the last few years, my 2 nylon bags have probably stopped me from using thousands of plastic bags, and that number will only continue to go up, so in the end the nylon bag definitely wins.

I bought my Feed 100 bag [http://www.feedprojects.com] several years ago and it far surpasses any other of my reusable bags. It is pricier, but the purchase does donate a set number of lunches to the UN World Food Program.

Most importantly: it's cotton, folds into itself and zips closed, and the long handles make it easy to carry on the shoulder [as long as it's not overly full].