Green and chic – the recycled ring pull bag
Eco-chic meets practicality with this stylish recycled ring pull bag. Given the global popularity of brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, it will surprise no one to know that every year we throw out millions of soft drinks cans – most of which could be easily recycled.
One company has come up with a wonderful way of recycling the ring pulls from these cans – making these beautiful recycled ring pull handbags. A fabulously versatile accessory, the recycled ring pull bag’s unique ‘chain mail’ effect fits perfectly with the current taste for ‘fierce’ style, so would be ideal to bring a touch of glamour to a simple outfit of t-shirt, jeans and boots, or conversely to toughen up a night-time look of party dress and heels.
Produced in Brazil, each recycled ring pull bag is made of over 400 recycled aluminium ring pulls which are painted in a matt gold finish, and is fully lined in a matching colour tone. That’s a lot of ring pulls saved from landfill! A matching recycled ring pull coin purse is also available, or you can also buy the bag in silver, depending on the look you are after. Because aluminium is a lightweight material, these recycled ring pull bags not only look great, they are not heavy to carry, so they won’t weigh you down on a night out!
First published 27 December 2009. Please note that blog posts remain live, and any offers or information may no longer be current when you view this page.
Quality ethical products from Nkuku
For high-quality, eco-friendly fair trade gifts and homewares, look no further than Nkuku. The name comes from a village in Zambia and was inspired by the travels of the founder of this Devon-based company, which aims to promote fair trade and reward traditional artisans in Africa and India by selling their work in the UK. Examples of this include the stylish Savannah leather case, perfect as an alternative to a briefcase. The Savannah is handmade from leather and is dyed using vegetable extract and tree bark by a co-operative in Rajasthan, so you can be assured that not only is the bag eco-friendly, the workers are paid a fair wage for their work. Nkuku also sells classic leather-bound journals and photo albums, made with naturally tanned leather and recycled paper. If you’d rather use vegetarian friendly materials, Nkuku offers stylish journals and photo albums bound in hand-printed cotton paper, which come in recycled cotton boxes, or books made from recycled saris, making each one different depending on the fabric used. If you are looking for eco-friendly homewares, Nkuku produces a range of handmade cotton bed linen, printed by hand using traditional methods and wooden block printing, as well as high quality woollen throws, made from recycled wool. So you can enjoy original, beautiful things for your home while knowing you are supporting a fair trade, environmentally responsible company and helping traditional artisans profit from their skills.
Recycling car parts – from high fashion to life saving products
Handbags made out of licence plates may sound crazy, but company LittleEarth is turning old car parts into eco-fashion. Even with the rise of greener motoring solutions such as the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius, motoring remains one of the least environmentally friendly – but generally most necessary – pastimes. But around the world people are making an eco-virtue of this necessity. LittleEarth was founded in 1993 to recycle old car parts to create beautiful and fashionable bags. They use old American licence plates to create beautiful, stylish metal bags that retail at around £100-200, and are perfect for a night on the town. They come in a range of styles, with some making a design virtue of their origins, while others – such as the ‘More Shoes’, ‘Lace Wallpaper’ or ‘Cocktail Time’ bags – are designed to be more high fashion. Each one comes with a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity, so you can be sure your gorgeous handbag really is made from recycled car parts. With party season fast approaching, they are the perfect winter accessory.
If all this sounds too frivolous, it’s good to hear that ethical design collective Design That Matters has been working on a way to use recycled car parts to build neo-natal incubators for developing countries, and has already delivered a prototype for further development. So from fashion to health, the by-products – and waste products – of the motor industry are being reused for eco-friendly purposes, and that’s something we can all get behind.
