It’s no secret plastic, leather and polyester bags are harmful for the environment, so why not bring along your own eco-friendly, reusable bag when out shopping, hiking or traveling? All of the following options for bags, suitcases and backpacks are made with recyclable materials, and sustainable vegan resources.
Small Bags
There are a lot of many cute options out there that are also small enough to fold and fit into a backpack or suitcase to bring along with you:
- Bagito offers many different shopping bags, all made from different recycled materials such as plastic bottles, and non-GMO cotton. Each bag is designed for complete durability and sustainability. They also support K-12 grade environmental literacy with every purchase. Learn more about that here, and feel good about your shopping.
- Eco Bags is a women-owned and operated business that produces simple-but-cute bags made for supermarket shopping or daily usage. Each bag is made from recycled cotton, canvas and organic cloths. They even have string bags for fresh fruit and produce, and organic nut milk bags.
- Carry Green offers eco-friendly material in jute fabric (also known as burlap), that is recyclable and highly durable. The company works hard to limit pollution and use 100% naturally biodegradable materials. They also carry other durable material bags, as well
Bigger Bags
If you’re looking for a regular bag to take with you on your travels, we’ve got you covered here too! Lots of companies are now using recycled materials to create bags of all sizes that are good for backpacking, traveling or just to carry on a daily basis:
- Paris-based Arsayo makes amazing super trendy bags. Reducing the negative impact on the environment and not using animals skins is the main value that drives their business. They’ve innovated with new materials, including cork from Portugal that is less harmful to the planet. Recently, they discovered how to make apple leather! How cool is that!
- Haiku is also a woman-powered company that works with recycled bottles to create bags. They work hard to minimize the effect they have on the earth through the use of CYCLEPT and reusable materials. Each bag saves about 9 plastic bottles from the landfill. Check out their story and how they really do make an impact!
- WAYKS offers a handy collection of bags — yes, plural, all in one purchase! With each versatile function, you have a bag for every occasion. Each bag is made with sustainable materials and bluesign system partners, and is designed to limit the environmental impact of production without any harmful toxins or damaging materials.
- Remember Me Green is an ultra cool company that makes bags made from recycled NYC billboard signs. This unique design is featured on many fashionable bags of all sizes, including totes and backpacks. They even work with local companies to recycle their billboards and create unique pieces!
- Carry stylish, and lighter material in these REPREVE bags made from high-quality recycled fibers from plastic bottles. Each bags is roomy and serves a variety of purposes. Learn how they transform bottles into bags, and keep track of how many bottles are recycled every second of the day here.
- MATT & NAT provide a variety of bags made with plastic bottles, recycled corks and rubber, vegan leather and other upcycled materials. In fact, they even support the cause Dress for Success, and take part in reusing the donated bags.
Help A Cause
Other brands even donate a portion of their profits to help an environmental or charitable cause:
- aTana designs eco-conscious bags for all sorts of outdoors activities. Each bag is designed to limit the environmental impact made from production through the use of recycled polymers and organic materials, making them very sustainable. If, for whatever reason, your bag has an issue, don’t worry: they offer a lifetime warranty! And with every purchase 1% of sales is donated to organizations working towards eliminating plastic bottles from ocean life.
- Give Back Goods has created a collection of stylish, eco-friendly and upcycled bags. With every purchase they also donate a portion of their profits to a wide range of different causes like clean water, landfill preservation, wildlife protection and so much more!
- All bags at Maika, including totes, handbags and pouches are all eco-friendly. Each bag includes a stylish hand-drawn design and are small enough to fit into a travel bag, and pull out when you need an extra bag for groceries or souvenirs. They even donate 1% of proceeds to a chosen charity each quarter.
Luggage
Finally, one essential item for travel is definitely the suitcase you take with you:
source: Roam Luggage
- For the little ones, The Tot makes the perfect sized companion items for your child. This company makes completely child-proof designs on toys, furniture, decor and, oddly enough, suitcases. Made from organic materials, and vegan leather, the Olli Ella See Ya Suitcase is the perfect pick for a family trip.
- Smallable makes great designs for day trips. These sleek and light-weight luggage pieces are entirely made of organic cotton and are the perfect size to travel with as a small suitcase or a carry on item.
- Roam is a company determined to make a difference. They make a variety of luggage pieces in multiple sizes and colors through the use of sustainable materials. These things are are made to last a lifetime: each case is hand-built and custom-designed for their customer!
Let’s Discuss!
Now, we’d love to hear from you! Do you have any questions? Ideas? Do you have a favorite vegan bag? Let us know and we might add it to an article update in the future!
Let’s have a discussion in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
