Green my world: handbags

One book I recently purchased and am reading on a regular basis is Ecoholic, from Adria Vasil. In a world where more and more companies are "greening" their product to appeal to the public's increasing concern for the environment, Ecoholic is a wonderful reference that helps you distinguish the real green options from the green PR.

In the spirit of the book, I thought I would also share personal experiences with my daily attempts to green my world. Going green isn't instant, it takes baby steps to gradually eliminate waste and harm from your life. As much as possible, I'm looking for local alternatives, as having to ship a green product half-way across the world simply makes no sense to me.

Today, a topic that will likely interest all the ladies: handbags. I'm not a fashion victim, I don't buy handbags every season and do not follow the latest styles. However, I do carry a handbag everyday and when this faithful companion starts showing signs of distress, it's usually time to think of a replacement. My current handbag is probably over five years old, I had it when I moved to Vancouver. Lesson #1: greening your world also means buying less ;)

I didn't do my homework before buying a new handbag a few days ago. I had my eyes on a line of handbags made by Matt & Nat (in Montreal!!). Their bags are colorful, very well-designed. Their spring and summer line was too yellow for me, but their new fall line included red bags and I simply couldn't resist.

I proudly displayed my bag when I went out for dinner with Gerri at Chambar (yu-um, excellent restaurant). Gerri recognized the brand and told me that their bags were vegan. Vegan? What I had hanging on my shoulder looked like leather, but it seems like no animals were harmed in making my new bag.

This morning, I couldn't resist researching this vegan claim and visited the Matt & Nat site. Indeed, the company doesn't use leather to make their bags; instead, they use PVC. Hmm... you mean PVC, the most dangerous and toxic plastic? Yes, that plastic.

All right, so my choice of a fashion accessory was a total failure (although the bag looks delicious), but what's a girl to do if she wants to avoid leather (processing and tanning the hides does require all kinds of nasty chemicals and hides are typically purchased from the factory farms, the same ones depicted so negatively by Fast Food Nation) and doesn't want to walk around clutching a hazardous cocktail of chemicals?

So I did my research, you know, for next time, and there are not that many options. Oh yeah, if I'm looking for a canvas bag or large tote, it's easy to find retailers selling bags made out of organic cotton. But if I'm looking for a purse, something I can carry to work and also when I go out, choices are very limited.

I did find one local designer, Ashley Watson, who makes purses from recycled leather. I wasn't a big fan of the style of her bags, but this might be seasonal and I will return to the site now and then to check out new models. If you want to have a really creative and unique handbag, check out Eco-Handbags. I have to warn you, it's not for everyone. They have bags made out of a variety of materials including chopsticks, candy wrappers, zippers, skateboards, old cigar boxes, plastic bottles, 35mm slides, and much, much more. I found one cute purse made from recycled movie billboard.

And, there's always the very environmentally-friendly option of buying a purse from a consignment store.