Zach McCue of Clean Ocean Action, a coalition of more than 130 environmental organizations in New Jersey and New York, said the manufacture of thin-film plastic bags consumes millions of trees and barrels of oil, takes up space in landfills for a long time and is harmful to marine life, especially birds and sea turtles that ingest the bags, or pieces of bags, or get entangled in them.

MSN: Reusable shopping bag measure advances

As you'd expect, Skooba's first design, the Checkthrough, is pretty minimalist, in keeping with the requirements that approved bags not have any straps or zippers and not feature any space for items that could interfere with the X-ray image.

ENGADGET: Skooba makes with the pictures of TSA-friendly bags (update: not really)

While mobile-phone pockets are common many bags come with two it was difficult to find a bag with space designed for an iPad.

WSJ: Wanted: Satchel to Carry Everything