The DictatorWhere to find woven plastic bags; basic tees for women over 50

The Dictator rules: I hate to break it to you but plastic is not so fantastic, especially if you care about the ocean and prefer your beaches clean. Anyway, those bags are hardly unique to Hong Kong or a single brand. Most cultures with weaving traditions, from Asia to Africa to Central America, have been using plastic as a cheaper alter­native to natural materials for years. Indeed, Truss sought inspiration not from Hong Kong’s dwindling homewares treasure troves, but from Mexico’s Oaxaca bags. Its woven PVC collection includes a small bucket bag in white, turquoise, yellow and black check (HK$1,590; Lane Crawford).

Anteprima’s Wirebags, knitted plastic accessories, now includes Intreccio basket-woven totes in gold, silver or black plastic (HK$4,420 and up). Other brands to have played with the concept in the past include Kate Spade and Tory Burch, and you can find pre-owned bags at sites such as TheRealReal.com.

Ikea has some “picnic hamper” bags with round handles in star-patterned PVC in its summer 2017 range, which you might still be able to nab in lilac, white and green (HK$69.90). Summer is over, at least in the retail world, which means stock is limited, but you may be able to bag a discount or, better, find an eco-friendly, recycled and/or Fair Trade bag instead. Check out: oneworldprojects.net (HK$180 and up) and novica.com (HK$313 and up).

Or make your own from all those plastic bottles you shouldn’t have bought (Utsumi.com.br/pet/English).