The Birkin bag by Hermes just may be the most coveted handbag in modern history, but some lucky individual will bypass the bag's notorious two-year waiting list and get one valued at $9,000 for free.

The "Bringing Home the Birkin Sweepstakes" is being held in conjunction with the release of a memoir by Michael Tonello, whose new book, "Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag" ($25.95, HarperCollins), is a witty and engaging retrospective on his long career traipsing the globe as a purveyor of the Birkin bag. He knows the classic bag inside out and shares ways to procure them without waiting.

Hermes named the bag for Jane Birkin, a London-born actress and singer who was photographed carrying it in 1984. The bag has since become a fashion icon and symbol of wealth.

To enter the sweepstakes, which ends May 29, visit harpercollins.com/birkinsweeps. Winners will be chosen in a random drawing June 5 and notified by e-mail, with the grand prize being the "veau swift" Birkin in the brand's classic orange leather with Palladium and silver hardware.

Macy's is giving out free eco-friendly tote bags as part of its One Good Turn national charity event that begins Saturday.

The first 150 customers in each Macy's store that day will receive the all-natural cotton reusable tote created in collaboration with industry promoter Cotton Inc. Others will be able to buy it for $3.95, with $1 of each sale benefiting the National Park Foundation.

The tote promotion is part of the Macy's "Turn Over a New Leaf Campaign" in celebration of Earth Week and National Park Week, which began yesterday and ends Sunday. For a $5 donation at any Macy's store or at nationalparks.org, customers receive a ticket for 10 percent to 20 percent off fashions, accessories and home merchandise. All proceeds benefit the National Park Foundation.

There will be special promotions and giveaways tomorrow for Earth Day. These include a free sapling for the first 100 customers at each store and, for the first 100 children, a National Park Foundation eco-friendly "Kid Power" activity and coloring book.

As part of the awareness campaign, Macy's is sponsoring a sweepstakes that will award a Ford Escape hybrid car and trips for four to national parks. Enter at www.macys.com.

Pope Benedict XVI is being showered with all sorts of gifts during his first visit to the United States. When he arrived in New York late last week, awaiting him was a rather unusual package: an exclusive personal scent from the House of Creed.

Sixth-generation master perfumer Olivier Creed tweaked the original 1933 scent Angelique Encens (which means "angelic incense"), enhancing the incense and amber notes to evoke the aroma of "a fine church." The infused blend was hand-poured into an 8.4-ounce green glass bottle, plugged with a cut-glass stopper, crowned with white leather, tied with a silver cord and delivered Thursday, along with a personal note, to the pontiff's New York address, the residence of the papal nuncio to the United States.

If the 81-year-old pope likes the fragrance, he'll join an impressive list of Creed aficionados and affluent clients over the past 248 years that includes King George III, Queen Victoria, Napoleon III, Winston Churchill, Princess Grace of Monaco, Eva Peron, Jackie Kennedy, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Current celebrities who have expressed an affinity for a particular Creed scent range from Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie and Madonna to George Clooney, David Beckham and Michael Jackson.