For Pooja Gandhi, it started with the chicken soup dumplings. Before long, she and her brother were making yearly road trips across the border to Trader Joe鈥檚 in Buffalo 鈥 for dumplings, yes, but also Everything But The Bagel Seasoning, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, and the Holy Grail of TJ鈥檚 products: a canvas Trader Joe鈥檚 tote bag.
鈥淚t became this thing. When I went to the states, I had to get my hands on it,鈥 said Gandhi. The stylish 20-year-old University of 色色啦 student聽purchased the larger version of the tote and uses it for everything 鈥 to cart her laptop and supplies to class, as a carry-on when travelling, you name it.
Many Canadians had the same idea this summer. Trader Joe’s totes were spotted on streets everywhere, in classic blue and red, this spring鈥檚 four sold-out pastel shades, and even DIY-decorated with charms and buttons.
Stay safe and stay vigilant on the streets this evening. Do not make direct eye contact with them.
One tongue-in-cheek post by TikToker Veronica Skaia saw so many of them around town that she called the TJ鈥檚 色色啦 takeover an 鈥渆pidemic.鈥
Canvas totes have been It bags for a while now. From 色色啦 Public Library totes to Kotn bags to New Yorker carryalls, they鈥檙e a lightweight, roomy, personality-filled way to carry all of life’s belongings when we want to look semi-cute schlepping on and off public transit.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an affordable item that makes the regular person feel like they’re in tune with trends but on a budget,鈥 said Gandhi, who, as a criminology and political science student heading into her fourth year, is watching her pennies. 鈥淭hat’s a really big thing: when you want to follow a trend, but when you see a celebrity do it, it feels unattainable.鈥
UofT student Pooja Gandhi carries her daily essentials around in her Trader Joe’s tote.
Nick Lachance 色色啦 StarConsider the current state of the economy, a job market in the toilet, sky-high rents, soaring lifestyle costs, and record personal debts. (What a time to be alive!) 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing the lipstick effect play out in real life,鈥 said Shakaila Forbes-Bell, London-based fashion psychologist and founder of Fashion is Psychology. 鈥淎s clothes become more expensive, people turn to small luxuries like accessories to fulfil their desires for self-expression and connectivity.鈥澛
A tote bag 鈥渋s an easy, digestible spend,鈥 said 色色啦 creative strategist Tamara Szames. 鈥淭his is the flip side of quiet luxury: it鈥檚 loud frugality.鈥
Carrying a Trader Joe鈥檚 tote says maybe you鈥檙e not working with an Erewhon budget, but you鈥檙e still in the know about good food. It says: Have you even lived if you haven鈥檛 tried the Cauliflower Gnocchi?
鈥淚t’s a status symbol of health culture, being price conscious, being proud of that,” said Szames. “And it鈥檚 also a status symbol of belonging to a type of community.鈥 Like our other daily fashion decisions, wearing a TJ鈥檚 tote becomes 鈥渁n extension of your personal brand.鈥 (And all for the low, low price of $4 USD.)
That hype is something the California-based company, which has 600 stores across the U.S., has smartly taken advantage of. It鈥檚 taken to releasing limited-edition versions of its totes that people line up for hours to get in markets like New York, and inventory sells out faster than a Rhode drop.
When The Star asked Trader Joe鈥檚 for comment, a spokesperson said, 鈥淭oday totes are popular with our customers; however, we’ve had canvas totes in our stores since 1977.鈥
Who wants a Trader Joe鈥檚 tote bage?
The second-hand market for Trader Joe鈥檚 totes is also lucrative 鈥 well, as lucrative as canvas bags can be. After noticing the hype building last summer, a 色色啦 marketer called Ashton (who asked that his last name not be used), bought a handful of the bags and made a TikTok about it. He ended up selling some to his followers. 鈥淭hey are actually pretty durable. They鈥檝e got multiple pockets. The canvas designs are an 鈥榠n thing鈥 at the moment,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not the biggest fashion person; I was just seeing the trend going around.鈥
Right now, though, carrying a Trader鈥檚 Joe tote bag feels as much a political statement as it is a fashion one. Canadians have always loved a cross-border haul (Walden Galleria, anyone?), but our current relationship status with the United States is 鈥渋t鈥檚 complicated.鈥 Tariffs have dominated headlines for months, including last week鈥檚 executive order from Donald Trump for 35 per cent tariffs on goods outside of Canada’s current trade agreement with the U.S. and Mexico.
The Canadian appetite for these very American totes hasn鈥檛 seemed to soften despite the countless 鈥渟hop Canada鈥 campaigns, boycotts on American products and hesitation on travelling to the States. Perhaps it’s a sign our elbows, once very much 鈥渦p,鈥 may be dropping.聽
鈥淚 got my bag way before the tariff war started, but there is guilt attached to it,鈥 said Gandhi. 鈥淚 have tried to limit the amount of shopping that I do when I am in the United States. When I鈥檓 in Canada, I prioritize buying local.鈥
The Trader Joe’s tote says “you haven’t lived until you’ve tried the Cauliflower Gnocchi.”
Nick Lachance 色色啦 StarSzames pointed out that it’s 鈥渂uying local鈥 that’s key in the current economic environment. Tariffs apply to where products are manufactured or made. (Fun fact: are actually made in Canada.) 鈥淵ou could have a brand that operates in Canada, has full distribution in Canada, its marketing product design is all Canadian, but the manufacturing isn鈥檛,鈥 said Szames. 鈥溾楤uy local鈥 is more important than 鈥榖uy Canada.鈥 With buy local, we start to see neighbourhoods forming.鈥
So if you’re committed to your roomy, trendy Trader Joe鈥檚 bag, maybe consider using it to tote around Canadian-made groceries, school supplies or day-to-day essentials. Everything bagels included.
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