On the inside of one of my fancy reusable bags is a tag that says “Made in China.” Not the most eco-friendly point of origin, right?

In the past five years, grocery store chains have begun to offer various types of recycled bags to be used to carry food out of the store. Many retailers are instituting their own BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) policies. The sale of reusable has risen dramatically, and when the maker puts its logo on the bag, customers become unwitting billboards wherever they carry the bag.

It’s a win-win situation for the grocery store who gets to spread its name recognition and foster a reputation of being green. Doubt it? The bags are listed under “Promotional Merchandise” by the people who sell them.

That said, Whole Foods was one of several grocery chains to lead the way, eliminating plastic bags from their stores by Earth Day 2008. They’ve done a great job pioneering the just-say-no-to-plastic trend; I know my friends and I certainly try to remember our reusable bags.

One common kind of bag is made from is PET (rPET) bags from plastic bottles. PET is an abbreviation of Polyethylene terephthalate, used in synthetic fibers and in packaging of food and beverage products — i.e. the bottle you are drinking out of right now. If you are wearing polyester, well, that’s the exact same thing that your Coke bottle is made out of on a molecular level. Both are a bi-product of oil and gas production.

It’s interesting to note that among plastics, PET (pronounced “pete”) is very recyclable, but only cost effective in very large factories. Hence our return of plastic bottles to China, where PET recycled bags are made, stamped with grocery logos, and sent back to us.

As we continue to buy recycled PET shopping totes, it important to remember why we’re doing it. We don’t want to create waste in the first place. Calling them “polyester bags” or “sturdy plastic bags” with a stores logos on them sounds a lot less eco-friendly than “PET plastic bottle shopping totes.”

Another type of bag that has become well known is the recyclable polypropylene tote, which is the most standard bag offered at grocery stores; you might know them as the “fuzzy” ones.

So here is my dilemma: Should I worry that my whole-hearted mass consumption of recycled bags is creating a market for bottles on the front end of the food chain? Everytime I get to the checkout of the grocery store, should I freak out about forgetting to bring a reusable bag and immediately purchase another reusable bag for 99¢? Should I have 15 reusable bags in my closet — all of which are made from things that have crossed the Pacific and two continents three times? Maybe four times?

Should I learn my lesson, get paper bags instead, and maybe go out and buy a nicely made organic cotton tote or string bag? Or just bring a ball of plastic bags I have undoubtedly collected from another store? Maybe I should just remember to bring my polypropylene bags I’ve already purchased?

Finally: Are mass-produced recycled bags that I own from Target, Walmart, Giant Eagle, Giant, Whole Foods, Ace Hardware, Safeway, HarrisTeeter, and several non-profits and other companies really cutting down on waste?  Or is it just green washing?

I certainly use them all the time, and not just for carrying food (especially not for carrying food, actually — they aren’t so comfortable when they’re loaded). Only if I use them like I should, and I change my behavior, will it be making a difference.

TreeHugger.com has a great article on this issue. They analyzed the environmental difference between a number of reusable shopping totes, and finding the difference somewhat negligible, had this to say: ”Ultimately, what is most important, regardless of your choice, is that you use the reusable shopping bag.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

If you’re a dedicated and classy bag re-user, Ecobag.com has a few stylish bags I love — some adorable organic cotton bags and, my favorite, the classic European string bag. Search Etsy.com for handmade string bags.

Last tip: Love your reusable bag? Wash them. They get very, very dirty.