Vegan leather laptop bag by Matt & Nat accessories design.
What we wear always says a lot about who we are, what we care about, and of our sense of style.
While eco-style means making sure our clothes look great and are made from sustainable materials, it is also important to remember that our accessories need to be made the same way. And, what’s our top accessory – handbags!
I love handbags because besides looking good, they’re where we put all our stuff in, which hopefully is eco-friendly, too.
The tough thing about shopping for eco-friendly handbags - like all other things that are considered specialty items - is that they’re still hard to find in most department stores and boutiques.
Luckily, now many designers are using the internet as a way to get the word out about their sustainable handbags – from classic, urban, vintage, couture, and everything in between.
Some of this year’s unique trends in sustainable materials by eco-fashion designers include: vegan materials, repurposed candy wrappers, recycled plastic bottles, dead stock car upholstery (out-of circulation unused fabrics originally intended for use in American automobiles), and reclaimed tractor inner tubes.
Four of these unique designers letting their imaginations run wild are: Ecoist, Matt & Nat, Kim White, and Passchal.
Ecoist
Coke Classic handbag by Ecoist, made with repurposed bottle wrappers.
If you’re looking to buy a sustainable eco-friendly handbag that will truly be one-of-a-kind, then you might want to take a look at Ecoist, which recycles candy wrappers and other packaging into handbags.
Ecoist has partnered with multinational companies such as Coca Cola, Disney, Frito-Lay, Mars, Cliff Bar, and Aveda to repurpose their packaging that can’t be used. In all, Ecoist’s handbags are 100 percent handmade from recycled candy wrappers, food packaging, soda labels, newspapers, subway maps, and other materials headed for the trash.
Instead of throwing out misprinted and obsolete packaging, and having them end up in landfills, the companies give them to Ecoist, which turns them into handbags.
Ecoist’s styles currently cater to women’s needs for evening and daywear. The styles range from very glitzy, funky, and quirky to classic and sophisticated glamour.
Ecoist also uses Fair Trade labor practices, which means they pay fair (above minimum) living wages to workers that they employee in impoverished communities around the world. Added to this, the company also likes to give back to Mother Earth. Ecoist plants a tree for every handbag that it sells.
In partnership with Trees for the Future, Ecoist has planted over 100,000 trees in places such as Haiti, India, and Uganda.
Matt and Nat
Vegan leather men’s tote by Matt & Nat.
If you’re a vegan this is definitely a design company to notice, and even if you’re not a vegan, it’s still worth looking at for its contemporary to vintage range of styles for both men and women.
Matt and Nat collections are devoted to the vegan lifestyle. The handbag collections are made from combinations of recycled bottles, vegan leather (pleather) materials, and metallics. All of the handbags contain at least one recycled material, and on average about 21 plastic bottles are used to make the lining of each bag, says the company.
Some of the great things about Matt and Nat’s designs are that they’ve created a wide range of style options and utility functions for both the men’s and women’s collections.
The men’s styles are focused toward the practical, streamlined utilitarian look with functional bags including: messenger bags, laptops carriers, overnight bags, totes, and backpacks.
Vegan leather handbag collection for women by Matt & Nat accessories design company.
The styles for women include: modern, urban, romantic, antique, vintage, and ornamental.
Kim White
Handbag collection by Kim White, with classic car designs.
If you’re a woman, and love classic car designs or just love a pretty pattern, then you have to take a look at Kim White’s handbags made from out-of circulation unused fabrics originally intended for upholstering vehicle seats.
The handbags are made from vintage fabric stock primarily from the 1970s and 1980s. The great thing about these fabrics is that they look good and are very durable, since the materials were originally intended to be used as vehicle upholstery, and what other kind of material is capable resisting more wear and tear.
The company also recently got a hold of a vintage airline seat fabric. It was originally intended for use in a United Airlines plane.
Kim White’s style is primarily vintage daywear that ranges from casual to dressy. Some of the pieces can be used for eveningwear depending on where you’re going.
Passchal
If you’re looking for a large collection of sustainable eco-friendly handbag, all unique and with a leather look, then you need to check out Passchal.
Handbag collection by Passchal, going from tractor to luxury.
Passchal uses discarded tractor tire inner tubes and converts them into high-end luxury handbags. The company also incorporates leather trim and sides to its handbags that are vegetable-dyed, vegetable-tanned, and chrome-free.
Passchal’s handbags are primarily geared toward women with styles ranging from elegant eveningwear to playful causal daywear to utilitarian-wear, such as briefcases, travel bags, and totes.
These bags also require special care instructions. The bags have been treated with an ultraviolet light protectant to keep the rubber from fading from exposure to direct sunlight. The company suggests that owners try and keep all of their Passchal products out of direct sunlight.
Passchal also recommend that owners don’t use a tire, rubber, or vinyl protectant on their handbags or other products because these protectants can come off on clothes.
For cleaning the handbags or other products, it’s suggested that owners just wipe with a soft cloth.
Reader input and comments are always welcomed!