By Rachel Pope

The day may have finally arrived when environmentalists, animal rights supporters and fashionistas can coexist peacefully.

Although many grocery stores have already caught on to the growing trend of offering alternative, more environmentally-friendly options than paper or plastic bags, now the trend may be spreading outside of food stores and onto the shoulders of some very fashion-savvy people.

With photographs of celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Heidi Klum sporting eco-friendly bags popping up online, and America Ferrera using one on her ABC sitcom, “Ugly Betty,” it seems that this may not be simply a fad but a statement as well.

“I’m glad that it’s in the news and that it’s a fashionable thing,” said professor and Director of the Earth and Science Department Jennifer Cole.

Cole also said she felt this new craze is a step forward, in respect to people’s views on environmental preservation.

Half The Sky Designs is a company that offers an array of eco-friendly bags.

“We do it because we like the planet we’re living on and would like to keep living on it for a very long time,” said president and founder of Half the Sky Designs Marty Stevens-Heebner.

During a trip to the Philippines in March 2007, Stevens-Heebner said she found herself inspired for her upcoming handbag line, Rebagz, which uses materials like rice sacks and fruit juice packs to create trendy bags.

“They were better than any [other] fabric,” she said.

The packaging, with its detailed and colorful designs, is a selling point for the rice and juice products in the Philippines, and Stevens-Heebner said she saw in them a material that she could use to make bags.

“I never realized how many truly amazing things are out there to be used to make fashion,” said Stevens-Heebner, who said she is thankful her mother forced her to pick up the habit of recycling at a young age.

Stevens-Heebner said she’s also working on another project – a book called “Altered Shoes: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Footwear Fabulous.” She said she could see herself some day working to produce a line of eco-friendly footwear.

“I can see us developing new things in the future,” she said. “I’m always looking for opportunities to open up.”

Stevens-Heebner said that with her line of bags, she feels a commitment to not only the environment, but also to those who help create the bags in the Philippines, where she said she visits twice a year on average.

She said she thinks her efforts are paying off. The line is now available in more than 200 stores in 38 states, as well as in Canada, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, she said.

“We’ve sold a lot of them,” said Carol Smith Miller, the owner of Fiddlehead, a green emporium located on Newbury Street. Smith Miller said she hasn’t noticed any one type of customer who buys the bags from Fiddlehead, but sees a lot of young people in their 20s as well as middle-aged people who use the bags as alternative briefcases because of their sturdiness.

“A lot of them are graphically appealing,” said Tayla Blatt, a senior psychology major. “The designers … really have more artistic freedom. They’re traveling artwork.”

Recycled materials like rubber, as well as synthetic materials, made to look like a quality leather purse, also offer an alternative that may please supporters of animal rights.

Shopsueyboutique.com offers shoppers choices of bags made out of “leather-like” materials. The business, which began in 1999, now boasts on its website the various magazines that have featured their products, like Lucky, Glamour and People, as well as photos of celebrities donning their bags.

According to the company’s website, Shop Suey wasn’t only created to provide handbags that were more animal-friendly, but more wallet-friendly, as well. The company’s owner, “Heather,” writes on the website, “It was a good day when I discovered luxury looks for less!

These bags have gotten some local recognition, as some students have seen their friends in Boston sporting these bags.

“[I thought] my friend had a gorgeous leather purse, and when I asked her where she got it, she told me about Shop Suey and that it wasn’t real leather,” said senior Rachel Schiff, who is working toward her Master’s Degree in elementary education. “After she told me how much it was, I made sure to visit the website. If you can use other materials that are better for the environment and doesn’t hurt animals, why not?”

But for those who can’t give up their love for high-end designer duds, there are still options. Designers like Stella McCartney, daughter of the legendary Beatle and animal rights activist Paul McCartney, offers a line of luxury handbags also made of faux leather, according to the designer’s website.

Stella McCartney also recently launched a new line of eco-friendly bags with LeSportsac. Every bag is made up of 100 percent recycled materials and even packaged and shipped in 100 percent recycled materials, according to www.lesportsac.com.

Cole said the future effects of these new lines of handbags could be to inspire people to look for more environmentally aware alternatives.

“I think it’s going to be long-lasting because it’s going to be on people’s consciousness,” she said.

Smith Miller said she hopes there will soon be green products in “regular stores,” which she jokingly said will be a good sign for the health of the environment but not for the specialty stores like her own that now carry the majority of eco-friendly products.