Say no to paper AND plastic. The real answer to the question of how to carry home groceries is ... a reusable tote bag.

Besides saving the planet, some are downright pretty. Take the $25 Reyn Spooner cotton-blend grocery tote in a fern print that could double as a handbag, depending on the outfit.

We hear Hermes has a silk one that folds up tiny as a wallet for just $960, as does Italian designer Conseulo Castiglioni's grocery tote (his is a mere $843). But that's just plum crazy talk here in Hawai'i, where most of us prefer rubber slippers to Jimmy Choos for a trip to the grocery store.

Many stores are offering a discount — and these days, every penny counts — for customers who bring their own.

As groups around Hawai'i again prepare to take up the issue of a plastic bag ban, check out this selection of grocery bags that are all the Isle supermarket rage.

BAGGING TIPS