Japanese eco-friendly shopping bag doubles as safety helmet

Japan-based Storia has introduced its Grappa foldable shopping bag, which also doubles as a safety helmet in the case of a disaster.

In the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we have seen a few new innovations appearing in the field of emergency precautions, including food provision service Yamory. Now Japan-based Storia has introduced its Grappa foldable shopping bag, which also doubles as a safety helmet in the case of a disaster. The device is made of mesh fabric sides, much like a standard reusable shopping bag, but the bottom consists of hard plastic and expanded polystyrene (EPS), which is often found in safety helmets to absorb impact. The reusable bag can be folded down to the size of a small umbrella, making it convenient for shopping trips while helping the environment. It also increases the likelihood that the bag will be on hand in the case of an emergency. The company claims it has tested the bag against 16 other emergency hoods and its Grappa bags performed better upon impact. It also aims to continue improving the design in the future. Available in a tote or drawstring style, the bags are currently retailing for JPY 980 and JPY 1,280 respectively. The video below from DigInfo shows a demonstration of the bag: Storia hopes to get brands on board to customize the bags to make them more desirable and also aims to see them stocked in supermarkets and malls, ready to be handed out to customers in the event of a disaster. An invention to help retailers stand out?