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Solar bags find it's not easy being green

From an aesthetic standpoint, anyway.

Mike Yamamoto Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Mike Yamamoto is an executive editor for CNET News.com.
Mike Yamamoto
Boing Boing

The merits of solar-paneled bags transcend mere fashion, of course, but we're still surprised at how long it's taking for these green-conscious accessories to find their true aesthetic value. Try as they might, too many of them simply can't shake the look of chicken-wire siding or some other material that might seem more appropriate for a prison yard.

As seen with other products, the subtly named "Solar Energy Purse" absorbs ultraviolet rays to power any number of gadgets inside, with a backup battery for those rainy days. Despite this undeniable usefulness, as Boing Boing says, it still looks like it's made from "cut-up bits from your grandfather's old belts and velour loungewear." Harsh, but fair. Especially because they could have hired that student from Iowa State University who designed the "Power Purse."