Daunt Books or Trader Joe’s? Your tote bag of choice could make you a meme

Once a pillar of eco-friendly thinking, the cotton tote bag has become a sartorial signifier of who someone is – or who they want to be. But with every coffee chain, fashion house, and supermarket peddling a style of their own own, Kate Ng asks, has the trend become totes cringe?

A lot of baggage: Kate Ng’s collection of tote bags runs the gamut of coffee shops, pubs, and eyewear brands (Kate Ng)

There are two types of households: homes that have a “bag of bags” and homes that don’t. The “bag of bags” is a large, sturdy bag stuffed to the brim with other bags of all sizes and materials, waiting to be repurposed at some later date. Personally, I come from the former camp and have continued this tradition into adult life, though my bag of bags looks different than it did growing up.

In my childhood home, it was usually filled with hundreds of indistinguishable plastic bags, whereas now it is a capacious canvas tote bag filled with more canvas tote bags. At the time of writing, it contains 24.

There’s my stylish Ace & Tate tote that I received from the trendy optician’s collaboration with Danish It-girl brand Ganni, sturdy enough to carry my laptop with a handy inner pocket. I also favour my Blank Street tote bag because of its thick handles and extra roomy size, although I fear the coffee chain’s increasing ubiquity is starting to make me look a little basic. My Glastonbury tote bag is another personal favourite, proof to the world that I attended this year for the first time.

First gaining popularity in the Eighties, the canvas tote bag is now inescapable. Most people carry one, no matter their gender, age, race, or spending power. They are endlessly practical; small enough to scrunch up into a handbag, but still large enough to carry an impressive number of items. But in recent years, they have become about more than utility – they’re a statement on who you are.

Merchandise, particularly from musicians and bands, has long been used to showcase what you’re a fan of and tote bags, alongside T-shirts, posters and vinyls, are a big part of that. Nowadays, it’s not just performers putting them out – you’d be hard-pressed to find a brand that doesn’t sell a tote bag emblazoned with its name and logo. The difference, fashion expert and senior lecturer at Teesside University Lynne Hugill tells me, is that tote bags are usually much cheaper to produce and purchase compared to other merchandise items.

“Tote bags are one of the cheapest parts of merchandising, which makes them highly accessible to nearly everyone,” she explains. “If you wanted to buy a Birkin bag, you’d have to be prepared to spend astronomical amounts of money and be put on a waiting list for five years. Instead, you can buy a Hermes tote bag for very little money and still feel proud that you’re carrying that logo with you.”Granted, a Hermes tote will run you around £1,000 – but that’s still a fraction compared to everything else the brand sells.

But some of the most popular tote bags in London have nothing to do with fashion designers at all. On Reddit, a thread debating the city’s “current tote bag hierarchy” has thousands of replies. According to the majority of people, Daunt Books bags are out; east London bakeries are in – as are tote bags from the indie film streaming service MUBI and the US grocery store chain Trader Joe’s. The latter recently announced a restock of its sold out $2.99 (£2.25) tote bag, which has been listed on resale sites for as much as $500 (£375).

Which of these totes you wear speaks volumes about who you are – or who you want to present yourself as. The Real Housewives of Clapton (RHOC), a hugely popular and anonymous meme account on Instagram, recently shared a post poking fun at the stereotypes associated with each popular style. Someone carrying the famous Daunt Books chain tote bag, for example, would likely have both a Kindle and a paperback of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing to really hammer home how bookish they are. Meanwhile, the owner of a New Yorker tote is probably carrying a collection of trendy, expensive belongings such as a £270 Le Labo perfume, a tin of MOTH negroni, and Apple AirPods.

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RHOC’s verdict on the Trader Joe tote? Overrated. “I see a lot of Trader Joe’s, to the point where it’s kind of silly. There is also a slight mystery around how they have become so prevalent in London, as they can only be bought in the US,” they add.

Part of the psychology behind wearing a tote, they say, is that you get to demonstrate that side of your personality to the world without saying anything at all. According to Hugill, the tote bag’s innate appeal is its subtlety – compared to a slogan T-shirt for example, where the wearer is quite literally saying it with their chest.

Trader Joe’s employee guards viral $2.99 mini tote bags (@theninadaniels / TMX)

Seeing another person carrying the same tote bag as you can be exciting or embarrassing. We like to think of ourselves as being individualistic and unique, but the truth is that we’re not that special and you’re one of hundreds, if not thousands who own the same tote (sorry to break it to you). But that also means you’re part of a community – personally, I enjoy seeing the tote bags I have being paraded by strangers. It makes me feel, even fleetingly, like we could be friends.

Have we reached peak tote bag, though? Personal stylist Hellana Mardasian seems to think so, and I’m inclined to agree. “While canvas totes are incredibly versatile, I often wonder if we’re collectively overindulging,” she muses, adding that tote bags “can be a reflection of our values” – but also run the risk of “simply showcasing a brand”. Whether you like it or not, when you wear a tote bag, you are, in effect, a walking, talking advertisement. Every single brand is pumping out their own versions in hopes of getting some of that capital.

Being caught short at a supermarket and having to ask for a plastic bag is a source of deep guilt these days

Even the tote bag’s basic function of utility is wearing thin. In their excess, they’ve ceased being practical and started becoming a burden to own. I only reach for two, maybe three of the many that I own; I do not need 20, 25, 30 of them – and nor does anyone else.

Tote bags still give the impression of being eco-conscious; being caught short at a supermarket and having to ask for a plastic bag is a source of deep guilt these days. But the harsh reality is that the production of cotton contributes to the monumental environmental damage for which the textile industry is responsible.

Because cotton is such a water-intensive crop, a 2018 report by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency posited that a cotton bag will have to be used 7,100 times to offset its environmental impact compared to a plastic bag. This would mean using just one of my many tote bags every single day for almost 20 years, which isn’t hard – but I’d die long before getting that much use out of all 24.

Subtle messaging: Part of the tote bag’s innate appeal is how understated it is (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Recycling isn’t really an option either, as many tote bags are cotton and plastic blends, while others bear PVC-based prints and logos that aren’t recyclable. Besides, as we’ve seen with the inexplicable hoarding of Stanley Cups in the US, is it really sustainable anymore if you have dozens of them?

There are no real answers to this dilemma as yet, and I can’t see myself getting rid of my tote bag collection anytime soon. I still love them, even as my bag of bags begins to come apart at the seams.

Whenever possible, I’m filling them with baked goods and pawning them off to friends and family in the guise of gifts (shh, don’t tell anyone). I might even try to sell some on Vinted to make room for a new addition from an east London bakery. Should I get Jolene or Pophams? What does that say about me?