Sometimes referred to as a “Grandma Bag”, the iconic striped Taiwan tote bag 茄芷袋 has become something of fashion item these days and a top Taiwan souvenir.
Practical AND cool, these red, green and blue Taiwan striped tote bags started out as a simple way to carry groceries and food market items back home and are called GaJi (or Kaji) bags.
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Locals also often jokingly call them the ‘Taiwan LV’ bag (like Louis Vuitton but much MUCH cheaper).
Once a common working class carry bag used by grandmas, housewives and even farmers (to carry seeds), these Taiwan tote / market bags are now used by the old and young alike.
You can even find an array of GaJi / Taiwan striped bag souvenirs from bubble tea carriers to glasses cases – there are several Taiwan shopping bag style EasyCards that always sell out.
From their history to Ga Ji merchandise, here is why you should ‘tote-ally’ buy a Taiwan’s striped market bag GaJi.
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The history of Taiwan’s striped shopping bags
Before they became a firm fashion fixture and popular souvenir, Taiwan’s Ga Ji Dai” (茄芷袋) were originally made from reeds / plant fibres and used (and sold) by farmers to carry seeds, plus make some extra money.
Dating back to the Japanese colonial era of Taiwan’s history, the origins of the striped Taiwan bag began in the early 20th century. As production techniques evolved, so did the materials, and the plant materials previously used to weave the bags changed to mass produced (and cheaper to make) nylon and plastics.
Although they fell out of favour and fashion in later decades and were primarily used by the older generation (hence why some jokingly called them ‘Grandma bags’), they are now becoming trendy again.
So cool and ironically called Taiwan’s LV Bag, you’ll see young and old now using these striped bags across Taiwan to carry shopping, school-books and day-to-day items.
They’ve even popped up at some international fashion shows, promoting Taiwan’s culture on a world stage.
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‘Bagging’ a Taiwan hotel in room surprise
And the reason that got us thinking about the history of Taiwan’s shopping bags?
We recently stayed at a nice Shilin Hotel in Taipei called Boutech Jiantan – when we checked in, one of the nice touches in the room was a Ga Ji bag inside that contained lots of Taiwan drinks and snacks inside.
Sadly it wasn’t free to take (BOOO) but it just reminded us how ‘cool’ these red, green and blue striped bags had become at the same time as highlighting Taiwanese tradition and culture.
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Ga Ji Dai – prices and materials
These days, you’ll see the Taiwan striped bags available in a wide variety of materials, including recycled materials and more sustainable fabrics.
HOWEVER, still the most common (and cheapest) Taiwan Ga Ji Dais are the mesh-like nylon / plastic materials.
You can usually buy the bags in small, medium and large sizes and they start from about NT$60 – we paid NT$90 for a large one at a bag shop near Dihua Street in Taipei but expect to pay a LOT more in Ximending.
We’ve also spotted them on sale in some Taiwan supermarkets like Carrefour and PX Mart (in the bigger branches).
We bought several as they are easy to carry home, lightweight and also very practical – they also make a great laundry bag whilst travelling in Taiwan!
And amazingly, it isn’t just bags anymore that you’ll see these famous Taiwan red, green and blue stripes on…
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Taiwan striped bag souvenirs
When is a bag not just a bag? When it’s a Taiwan striped tote bag which now features on everything from necklaces to fridge magnets, Starbucks to socks!
Seriously, you would not believe the amount of Taiwan striped bag souvenirs we found, particularly in Taipei shopping areas popular with tourists like Dihua Street and Ximending.
Some of the cool Ga Ji Di souvenirs we saw and wanted to ‘bag’ include:
Taiwan striped bag EasyCard
There have been several different bag themed Taiwan EasyCards (the prepaid cash-card in Taiwan that you can use on public transport and in shops).
One of our Taiwan Travel Tip (TTT) Facebook group members mentioned they had found a mini Taiwan striped bag Easycard so we had to go out and find one for ourselves.
We found ours in a 7-Eleven underneath Taiwan Main Station and paid NT$300 – a very cool souvenir that we can also use on public transport!
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GaJi Di Necklace and earrings
We spotted this beautiful Taiwan striped bag necklace in a store on Dihua Street called Baishi – this is just one piece of joyful jewellery we had to buy.
We also saw several different grandma bag themed earrings in various gift shops around Taiwan.
Red, green and blue striped socks
If it is good enough for bags, it looks stylish on socks too – these were also spotted in Dihua Street.
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Drink Holders
Is there anything more Taiwanese than a red, green and blue striped bubble tea drink holder?
Starbucks
Starbucks Taiwan has a wide range of exclusive merchandise and we aren’t just talking about the Starbucks Taiwan local mugs that you’ll find in cities and famous places like Sun Moon Lake and Taichung.
Cashing in on the Ga Ji boom, Starbucks Taiwan also have their own versions of the striped tote bag with a slightly different palette.
Striped Glasses Case
We can ‘see’ what they did there… a stylish spectacle holder and a lasting reminder of Taiwan every time you put on your glasses.
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Taiwan striped bag building blocks
Well, this fantastic plastic toy isn’t LEGO as such but a building block bag is still cool.
Purse
Put your spare dollars in this striped purse – then spend them on more striped souvenirs!
Taiwan striped bag umbrella
Finally, ‘splash’ the cash on this red, green and blue striped umbrella..ella, ella…under my umbrella…sorry
What did we miss? Did you spot any other stripey Taiwan souvenirs? If so, let us know in our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group or in the comments below
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