10 Amazing Lunch Boxes

Made of 100% recycled cotton, this non-paper bag sends a (slightly snobby, but hey – you’re being green) message about your eco-savviness. After just a few months of using this instead of real paper bags, it'll pay for itself. reuseit, $10.95

If you’re packing a light lunch, this is the perfect box for you. The vintage-style tin box holds a sandwich – and only a sandwich – between the front and back doors of the school bus. Love the theme … love the execution … heck, throw our fruit and chips in a brown paper bag and give us the school bus for our sandwich. Sold! Amazon, $11.44

Oh, Japan. We love you so much because you create solutions for problems we didn’t even know we had. See: The bento box. This compartmentalized lunch box system (yes, it’s a system) keeps your sandwich away from your chips away from your apple away from your drink, plus you’ve got your choice of cool carrying cases (with room, of course, for an icepack). Lunchboxes.com, $32.99

If you’re going to carry around a lunch box, why not make it a small animal-shaped lunch box? These, from BUILT, come in kitty, doggie and (our favorite) owl editions. They’re great for the younger set, as they comfortably fit a sandwich, a drink, a little snack and an icepack. And, ok, they’re pretty great for the more mature set as well. (Again, why not make it animal shaped?) BUILT, $19.99

No waste necessary with this cool lunch travel system. Every item gets its own container, nothing gets smushed, and there’s even a reusable water bottle included! All the items fit together in a colorful, insulated container that doesn’t even hint at the awesomeness inside. Amazon, $21.75 – $30.70

Perfect for those with a more mature palate, this polypropylene and copolyester lunchbox has two compartments that are just right for salads, stir-fries or noodles. A sauce container is included, so you don’t have to worry about your food getting all mushy (come one, who likes it all mushy?) before you’re ready to eat it. A fork and knife also come with the set. Pop Deluxe, $21.99

From dinosaurs to fairy tales to the solar system (and robots and tie-dye and under the sea and even more than that!), Crocodile Creek consistently makes cute, quality lunch boxes. They’re easy to clean – just wipe them with a damp cloth – and have extra lining to keep your food fresh and uncrushed. And if you don’t like dinosaurs or robots or… you know… they’ve got vehicles, too! Crocodile Creek, $16.99

You can barely tell that this bag is anything but — its cool exterior doesn’t betray the good stuff inside. That good stuff? Full insulation, easily wipeable surfaces and a collapsible handle for convenient storage. Not your old paper lunch bag! Amazon, $17.99

We love this outer-space themed accessory: No fancy furnishings here – just good old space-desert, rocket-shooting fun. The 9” x 6-3/4” x 4-1/4” has a plastic handle for all your lunch-carrying needs. Archie McPhee, $19.95

You can’t get more classic than this plain metal lunch box. Leave it as is and let people marvel at your enigmatic minimalism, or customize it with a drawing, logo or anything else you can think of. That’s all there is to this classic box – and that’s why we love it! Lunchboxes.com, $8.25