The small, hip design company ZAUM has recently launched a new line of eco-friendly, handmade bags that include the Avia, the Spesa, and the Lola; made from either organic cotton, natural handmade felt, and/or recycled materials. Everything, including the shipping materials, has been designed with the environment in mind.
Every time I stumble upon a new designer who is committed to sustainable style and producing wildly adorable things–I get a little charge. Because, you see, it really is possible! We can have a beautiful world and still enjoy being beautiful ourselves! It makes you wonder what everyone else is waiting for. There should be no excuse for the big name fashion houses to put it off any longer.
Take Helen E. Riegle, for example. A British-born designer with a line of adorable handbags all made from sustainable materials like hemp, recycled poly, organic cotton. Furthermore, their website says:
Not only do we choose more sustainable fabrics, but we strive to ensurethey maintain their integrity by opting for eco-sensitive inks, glues, and solvents when possible in dyeing, bonding, and printing processes. There are easier and cheaper ways to a finished product, to be sure. But they all come with greater costs than we are prepared to accept.
Prices are comparable to brands like Dooney & Bourke and Coach, but the materials and manufacturing are cruelty-free, sustainable, and eco-friendly. And to top it off, Helen E. Riegle donates 2% of gross sales to environmental and youth-oriented causes.
HER handbags are available online and in boutiques across the country. For a list of boutiques that carry the bags by state, you can visit Reigle’s website here.