Trader Joe’s confirms new striped mini canvas tote bag is on the way

Bye, pastels. Hello, stripes.

At least that’s what Trader Joe’s is saying now as it shares details of the next design for its viral mini canvas tote bag.

“Trader Joe’s has plans to offer a new striped mini canvas tote this summer,” Trader Joe’s spokesperson Nakia Rohde confirmed via email with the Reno Gazette Journal. 

“We do not yet have images or a precise timeline to share.”

Unofficial mock-up photos of the striped mini totes started popping up online a few weeks ago, leading to increased customer calls at some Trader Joe’s stores.

The stripes will be the latest design for Trader Joe’s mini canvas tote bags, which have gone viral and sold out with every new release. The popular bags have seen plenty of activity in the resale market, with demand extending beyond U.S. shores to markets like Japan and the Philippines.

In some cases, the bags have been listed for hundreds of dollars and even above $1,000 — far beyond their $2.99 retail price — which is a practice Trader Joe’s frowns upon.

Trader Joe’s recently did a re-release of its Easter-themed pastel mini canvas tote bags in March. The pastel bags were originally released in spring last year, attracting long lines at several stores.

Trader Joe’s also just released a lavender version of its $8.99 reusable insulated bag. The bag was still available at Trader Joe’s Shayden Summit mall location in south Reno as of noon Monday, April 27.

The new insulated bag color comes on the heels of another lavender Trader Joe’s bag release. Trader Joe’s released its large $3.99 canvas tote bag in lavender in March.

Prior to that, Trader Joe’s released the large canvas tote bag in green in December. The large tote bag has been regularly available in blue for years but the color has also been selling out as the bags gained popularity, according to several Trader Joe’s employees.

The last new color for the mini canvas tote bags was released in October. The Halloween-themed “Trick-or-Treat” mini canvas totes came in orange, purple, plain black and black with green and purple accents.

Originally, the mini canvas tote bags were available in blue, green, red and yellow, which were last re-released in December.

Trader Joe’s also released even smaller canvas micro tote bags last December. The bags were available in blue, green and red and came with a reusable nylon shopping bag inside.