The Stanley Cup craze is still fresh in our memories, but many people have already moved on to the next fad, and apparently, it’s Trader Joe’s mini totes.


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A video posted to TikTok shows a sizable crowd waiting for a display of the totes to be dragged out onto the store floor before swarming the table and grabbing as many bags as they can carry. Is this all because they missed out on the $120 tote bags being sold by TikToker Emily Mariko that many felt drew inspiration from Trader Joe’s own totes?


 

People in the comments were confused, primarily because these mini totes are apparently so small as to be practically unusable. The phenomenon doesn’t seem as widespread as the Stanley Cup craze (yet) with many commenters sharing that their local TJ’s has the totes for sale but doesn’t have the accompanying swarming crowds.


Some people tried to figure out what was driving the craze, with one person asking if they were resellers. According to several commenters, that could definitely be part of it because Trader Joe’s merch, and a lot of Americana memorabilia more broadly, is huge in Asia, particularly Japan. The totes are available on Amazon Japan, and a quick Google search yields countless results of Americans realizing just how popular the bags are in Japan.



It’s also just the nature of trends — people see other people with the bags and want one for themselves, same as the ridiculous Stanley cups, with platforms like Instagram and TikTok and viral videos only exacerbating the issue. The added benefit that comes with buying Stanley cups and TJ’s tote bags is that you can pretend your purchase is a sign of your passion for sustainability, ignoring the fact that buying dozens of a single “sustainable” item is decidedly unsustainable, as it increases demand and subsequently production of these items. In an ideal world, one Stanley cup or a handful of tote bags, enough to carry all of your groceries, would be enough.



Whatever’s driving it, hopefully the phenomenon manages to be contained to a select few stores. These Black Friday-style stampedes whenever a product launches in Target, Starbucks or Trader Joe’s really don’t need to become the new normal.