I’m going to look at various types of bags in this article, including handbags, shopping bags, backpacks and more. There are numerous options available when looking for eco-friendly bags. Some are made with natural materials, some are made by using materials which would otherwise have ended up in landfill. Alternatively you could visit second hand shops or facebook marketplace and see if you can find a decent bag at a bargain price!
Please note there are affiliate links in this article. If you buy something I might earn a small amount of money, at no extra cost to you, which helps towards running this website. Click the images or links to be taken to external websites with more information on each product.
All of the bags featured in this article are vegan friendly and would go very well with some of the eco-friendly clothes I recently write about.
Eco-Friendly Grocery Bags
One of the easiest types of eco-friendly bag to buy these days is a grocery bag, or reusable produce bags. Most supermarkets in the UK sell reusable shopping bags and produce bags, however, the majority of them seem to include plastic or are made of synthetic materials. The fact they’re designed to be reused is great, but why do they have to be synthetic? Personally I’d avoid buying any kind of shopping bag from a supermarket and invest in some natural ones elsewhere.
Shopping / Grocery Bags
I use organic cotton shopping bags. I have 5 of them, each with a different design I’ve added to the front to personalise them. They fold up nice and small, so I can always carry one in my handbag and I always have one in my car, you know, for those unexpected purchases!
Reusable Produce Bags
I don’t actually use specific produce bags, I feel that my cotton shopping bags are more than adequate. However, produce bags can be very handy.
There are a variety of shopping, tote and produce bags available from andkeep, one of my favourite online stores for all things green! Some are made from recycled plastic, some are made from jute or organic cotton and there are some made from salvaged cotton and recycled water bottles.
Eco-Friendly Handbags
The only problem with natural materials is that they are often not waterproof, so when you live in the UK, carrying an eco-friendly handbag could mean the contents get very wet! There are alternatives though, for example you could wax canvas bags to make them water repellant. Or, you could buy a handbag made from reclaimed or recycled materials. Check out the ‘bucket’ bag below made from recycled seat belts, plastic bottles and fabric cutoffs!
Hemp
Sativa make a range of handbags of different sizes and designs out of hemp and cotton. Be aware that some of their handbags have leather straps, fortunately some are also vegan friendly.
I own a Sativa handbag and I love it. It has more than enough pockets for all the crap I carry around with me everywhere!
Jute
I love things that look natural, and I’m sorely tempted to buy this jute handbag. However, I’m being sensible and forbidding myself from buying anything that I don’t actually need. I already own several handbags, I really don’t need another, this one really is nice though! The description says ‘Made from natural jute finished off with vegan leather trims’, although they don’t specify what the vegan leather is made from. However the bag is not only vegan, it’s also sustainable and natural, and it supports fair trade and ethical practises. You can’t really grumble at that.
Recycled SeatBelts
I never really thought about what happens to seat belts when a car gets scrapped, so the fact someone has found a use for them is brilliant.
This mini ‘bucket bag’ – there is a larger version available as well – is made from 6m of decommissioned seatbelts, 5 plastic bottles and 300g of fabric cutoffs. I think it looks great, I’d be proud to carry this around! Every mini Ju Bucket bag also helps feed 4 people in need.
AppleSkin
I found out about AppleSkin only recently when someone contacted me about a kickstarter campaign they’d started for shoes made out of it (you can read more about the shoes in eco-friendly footwear). Today I found out you could buy luxury vegan handbags made out of it!
This particular handbag is pretty pricy, but it’s made to last and it’s made out of apples, well sort of!
Vegan Leather
I’m not a fan of synthetic materials, but if it saves an animal from having its skin used just to make a handbag, that’s better than real leather in my opinion. These Matt and Natt handbags are made from 100% PU Leather and the lining is made from 100% recycled nylon (plastic bottles). Personally I would probably avoid PU leather items.
“PU leather, or polyurethane leather, is an artificial leather made of thermoplastic polymer used for making furniture or shoes. 100% PU leather is completely artificial and is considered vegan.” – btod.com
Shoulder Bags
When you need something a bit larger than a handbag but don’t want to carry a backpack around, a shoulder bag is extremely useful, especially if you have a tablet you need to carry with you.
The shoulder bag pictured to the right is made from recycled inner tubes. The strap is adjustable and is made from a car seat belt. At least with bags made from inner tubes, you know your stuff will stay dry!
Eco-Friendly Backpacks
Inner Tubes
From the same company (Neesh Stores) that makes the inner tube shoulder bag above comes this backpack. It has an internal laptop sleeve that’s padded and holds up to a 15.6-inch laptop, made from repurposed bike inner tube. It’s durable, strong and extremely waterproof. The bag also has 2 internal storage compartments, 3 pen holder slots and 2 outer zip compartments. It’s vegan friendly too.
Waxed Canvas
If a backpack made from inner tubes isn’t to your taste, then check out this waxed canvas backpack also from Neesh Stores. It’s handmade, spacious and has an internal laptop sleeve that’s padded. The backpack is made from re- purposed waxed canvas and bike inner tubes. It’s waterproof and has 2 internal storage compartments, 3 pen holder slots and 2 outer zip compartments. And again it’s vegan friendly.
Cork & Canvas
If you’re looking for a small backpack to carry more like a handbag, you might like this one made from canvas and cork. The bag is mainly made out of canvas (which is waterproof) and features a cork flap to add even more security against the rain.
These small backpacks are handmade and for each one bought you’ll also be planting a tree.
100% Recycled Vegan Leather Backpack
This is another bag made by Matt and Natt, but this time it’s a small backpack rather than a handbag. This particular backpack actually has space for a 13″ laptop and is made from 100% recycled resin from windshield glass and is lined with 100% recycled nylon. I’m more comfortable with this Matt and Natt bag purely because it’s 100% recycled.
Although some of the eco-friendly bags featured might be a bit too expensive for me, many of them are well within a price range I’d be happy with. There are so many ways we can all lead more sustainable lives, buying something that is made from reclaimed materials or buying something made from a natural renewable resource should always be at the forefront of your mind when you purchase anything.
If you’ve seen any other good vegan handbags or eco-friendly bags, backpacks etc around, please do let me know and I might feature them on here.
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