Monica also planned how to stimulate the job market. She intended to provide work that would benefit local craftsmen and women’s organizations worldwide. Simultaneously, waste would be reduced significantly.

The handbag materials are milk cartons, juice boxes, telephone books, and newspapers. The craftspeople are artisans from across the globe. Designers are both staffed and sourced.

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Back to my office, where so much of my daily life seems to take place these days. This great bag is just one of the cool green products I’ve gotten to review that has been useful in making my work routine more interesting.

I’ve been using The Better Bag as my brief case since I got it a few weeks ago. It works great, but I feel better about the story behind the bag.

There’s always a story . . .

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It is always exciting to make a new, fun discovery in the eco world and my latest is Amy Butler Design.  Amy designs fabric, patterns, stationery and other Midwest modern accessories for you and your home.  Actually, she has been doing this for some time and has graced many magazines and websites.  But upon further investigation, you really could get yourself lost in her world.

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Clif Jordan - Regional Manager (South West) for Gemline - was at the Proforma regional meeting in Dallas last week showing a few of the 2009 Green Living items from the Gemline product line.

Here is a short video on the Recycled All-Sport Jr. Cooler. These are great green items for ecopreneurists targeting sporting events, concerts, camping or other outdoor focused activities.

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For more videos, including videos on the Recycled Mercury Messenger Bag (written about on ecopreneurist.com) and Recycled Essential Lunch Kit, see www.youtube.com/proformagreen.

For more information or pricing on this item email info@proformagreen.com

Debco has likely the most jute bags available from a domestic supplier. Andrew Green of Debco was at this year’s Proforma regional meeting in Dallas showing off a number of their bags, including the E4732 Jute Tote, E4542 Basic Jute Tote, E6708 Laminated Jute Tote and E4478 Jute Cotton Blend Tote.

Granted Debco should develop some more catchy names for their bags, but in general they have great products. Here is Andrew talking about the Laminated Jute Tote.

For more information on these bags please visit the Debco website or email info@proformagreen.com.

For more videos including videos on Debco’s great folding PET tote and new stainless steel water bottles see http://www.youtube.com/proformagreen.

]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/02/07/video-jute-from-debco/feed/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/01/17/owl-100-recycled-deluxe-compu-backpack/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/01/17/owl-100-recycled-deluxe-compu-backpack/#comments Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:14:10 +0000 John Simonetta http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/01/17/owl-100-recycled-deluxe-compu-backpack/ This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

As we predicted, it seems 2009 is becoming the year of the great green push in our industry. Leeds is again up front with a number of functional and stylist additions to their Owl line of 51% & 100% recycled material bags, portfolios and totes (see certificate from Leeds website).

One of the new items is the Owl 100% Recycled Deluxe Compu-Backpack. Made from 100% post-consumer recycled material (product label affirms claim) the backpack holds most 17″ laptops.

The backpack has a large main compartment with built-in laptop sleeve, allowing access to the laptop from top or through side zippered access pocket. The Recycled Deluxe Compu-Backpack also boasts a media pocket and headphone port.

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This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

Nonwoven Poly bags [Polypropylene] are some of the most popular bags on the market today because they are cheap and strong. You see them everywhere heavy stuff is getting carried around, the book store, farmers market, etc. They do their job great.

However I have written before that nonwoven bags are not recyclable.

Well in that respect it seems I was wrong. There are a number of nonwoven bags from manufactures like Jetline and Hit Promotional Products that are recyclable. These bags have a recycle rating of 5 and number 5 plastics can be recycled through some local curbside programs.

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This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

Gemline - one of our favorite manufacturers - has launched what they are calling their GREEN LIVING WEBSITE at www.gemline.com/gemline.web/living-green.

This site gives a great overview of the green and eco-friendly products in Gemline’s portfolio and I applaud Gemline for getting all their green items together in an easy to view site.

The online catalog is divided into five categories - Organic, Recycled, Cotton, PVC Free and More Options for items like Bamboo and Solar.

I hope more manufacturers produce focused sites for their green items and I encourage them to follow Gemline’s example. Bravo Gemline.

For more information on any items shown on the Gemline Green Living site please visit the site or email us at info@proformagreen.com.

I’m proud to be evolving into quite the eco-bag lady! I have amassed an amazing collection of various earth-friendly bags - canvas, bioplastic and organic cotton totes for shopping; a wonderfully useful computer bag made of recycled plastic bottles; and a couple of great purses that make a fashion statement while keeping all kinds of materials out of our landfills.

There are so many reasons to NOT use plastic or even paper bag for shopping and to adopt a few reusable bags to handle most shopping needs. There are also great reasons to buy some of these great funky stylish accessory bags that are made from recycled materials - keeping more non-biodegradable materials out of landfills.

The Eco-Bag Lady’s Picks for Best Eco-Bags of 2008

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What is the power of zero? It is a dedication to creating a sustainably made product that generates zero manufacturing waste and is fully recyclable. It is also one of the guiding principles that drives Rickshaw Bagworks, a socially responsible company that just opened its doors in San Francisco. Not only are all of its products specially designed to generate zero waste, they are all also manufactured right here in the city.

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Debco is now producing color versions of the econo natural 4oz shopping tote. The colors available are black, red, green, lime green, navy, and pink.

The econo tote is very popular with Econpreneurist as the price of these units -$2.11- for the natural color tote places them in range of the popular non-woven shopping bags that are becoming ubiquitous in grocery stores.

Why the popularity? Because organic cotton - any cotton - is biodegradable while most non-woven poly bags are not.

So this post was going to be about me being so excited that Debco is now offering their econo natural 4oz shopping tote in colors, wonderful colors.

According to Debco their overseas supplier uses Azo free dyes on all their bags color bags.  This dye is supposedly eco-friendly and non-hazardous, but they have not conducted any lab tests to confirm this 100%.  However Debco has volunteered to have it done for any client that requests it.

But that is not what I am going to write about.

Apparently - and I don’t know if it is because these guys are based in Canada - Debco is making a distinction between bags made from 100% natural cotton and their organic cotton bags. A distinction I have not seen before.

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But of course, it is really all about the bag . . . that part of the photo actually works extremely well.

I’m loving this bag that came from EcoBags.com (psssst, they’re having a sale!). It has become my de facto brief case that I stuff with all the various things I think I can’t live without during my long days at work.

This bag has a slightly sexy green message, which always makes life a little more interesting. But, what’s really interesting about this bag is that it is made from recycled cotton and it is not unreasonably priced @ $14.99.

Find this bag and others like it . . .

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Here is a neat idea for you Ecopreneurist trying to break into the organic food or other industries where grocery chains play a part in your marketing plan.

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Alchemy Goods was a little idea that grew into a wonderful company. The owner was on the hunt for the perfect, waterproof messenger bag for his bike commute and was at a loss. There were always spare bike tires laying around his apartment, though, and he realized he could probably fashion a bag out of those! Friends started asking where they could get one, as did the owners of a local bike shop. Now, the Seattle-based company makes all sorts of bags and accessories from discarded materials!

Each bag is handmade in their Seattle workshop where they clean and inspect every bike inner tube, seatbelt, and sign for quality. Then, they cut everything up and stitch it together! Check out some of their awesome products after the jump!

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This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

Leed’s is teaming up with AmericanForests.org. “Leed’s makes a donation to American Forest’s Global ReLeaf program for every EcoSmart imprint order we produce”.

The thing I like about this new deal is that you don’t have to do anything extra. If the client purchases Leed’s EcoSmart promotional items the donation is automatically made.

Simple. But….

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Welcome to the Third Carnival of Green Crafts!

Before we begin, let me just thank all of the crafters who participated in this month’s carnival for taking a weight off my mind. After reading all of these posts, I now have NO worries at all about landfill space anywhere in America. Seriously, y’all, crafters are obviously the solution to the trash problem. Go us!

Before we begin, a few administrative notes: We’re pleased as punch to announce that the fourth Carnival will be September 4th at Whip Up. Send in your posts via the carnival submission form today! For background information about the Carnival, please see the Carnival of Green Crafts home page. And in case you missed the previous editions, here are the first Carnival, here at Crafting A Green World, and the second Carnival, at BlogHer.

Thanks so much to all the crafters who shared their posts with us for this edition of the Carnival. Let’s dig in!

Eco-Friendly Materials

Tiny Decor gathered a list of the Top 10 Modern and Eco-friendly Fabric Sources on Etsy. You HAVE to see what she’s collected, there are some real knockouts.

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1) Gather your bags. I separated mine by color, but why not go crazy and mix and match?

2) Start by cutting off the handles and the bottom of the bag. The result will be a nice smooth rectangle, as the bottom gatherings will have been removed.

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Muumuu Heaven is a shop located on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii. The family-run business got so busy producing eco-conscious and original women’s apparel from recycled Hawaiian garments, they decided to collaborate with another designer for bags to stock.

Kauai is a neighbor island, same state of Hawaii, where Denise Tjarks structures new life also from old muumuu, aloha shirts and fabric remnants. Word is spreading so fast, it’s impossible to share an exclusive not sold. But you get the idea from these two illustrations. Above is Maia, the pretty green plant print. Below that is the reverse side, an orange small floral print. Both reversible option sides are made from vintage mu’umu’us circa 1970.

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Just like Be Sweet, Conserve is a company with a conscience. Based in Dehli, India, Conserve employs rag pickers in the slums of the city to collect an abundant resource; discarded plastic bags (the bags are so prevalent that they clog water drains and cows will try and eat them.) The bags are then washed and prepared and made into beautiful fashion bags. The process they use to make the bags produces no extra pollution and uses less energy than conventional recycling methods.

Getting the plastic off the streets and made into bags is a win-win for Conserve. They offer income to an otherwise disenfranchised people and help clean up the streets. They use no dye in their bag making process, relying on the variety of colors and color combinations that is found on the streets instead.

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Envirosax was founded in Australia in 2004 (now available in the US), and makes eco-friendly bags. Made from a lightweight polyester, they have reinforced seams in order to carry the weight of two plastic shopping bags.

The most striking feature (besides that they roll up really small) is the sheer number of cool designs they come in. The picture is of the one I’ve got, Mikado #5; however they have many designs in the Graphic Series (Mikado, Retro Graphic, Monochromatic, Flora, Amazonia, and Retro Kitchen). They also have a big Kids range (as in a big range, not a range for big kids…). My favorite being the Dogasaurus.

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