In need of new luggage? The following brands are all eco-friendly options with different perks to fit your needs.
Everlane
Totes, handbags, duffels, and even sustainable clothing to pack along the way, you name it, Everlane has it. Based out of Vietnam, Everlane’s ReNew Transit collection is made out of 100% recycled polyester, and each bag contains exactly 36.6 renewed plastic bottles. The only part of the bags that are not currently recycled or renewed are the zipper teeth, but this new collection is Everlane’s first step towards their biggest goal: removing plastics from all lines by the end of 2021. All of Everlane’s products are dyed with Bluesign approved dyes and have a fluorine-free water-resistant finish. This sustainable company also organizes a “Black Friday Fund” every Thanksgiving. For every purchase made during the Thanksgiving holidays, $15 is donated to Oceania. In 2019 alone, they were able to donate enough to fund their ocean plastic clean-up for an entire year. Everlane’s products are not only durable but are one’s that protect our world from further damage. Everlane is the gift that keeps on giving.
Solgaard
Based out of New York City, Solgaards many choices and lines are available to you from wherever you are. Solgaard is not 100% sustainable in every line, but their end goal is to obtain 100% eco-friendliness in every product. Man or woman, Solgaard luggage has many features such as carry-on suitcases that have 360-degree rotating wheels which makes it easy for towing, a built-in solar charger, a sleek, hard interior, and a trunk that has a pop-up staircase shelving so there's no need to unpack. For their smaller luggage, they provide sustainable regular and sling backpacks with built-in solar panels and even a boom box. Not only are their products eco-friendly, but they also include some of the biggest and best features around. The Shore-Tex backpack is made completely out of recycled plastic and was named one of the 2020 finalists in Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas. And as for their charitable giving, Solgaard is also partnered with The Plastic Bank, an ocean cleanup organization based in the Philippines. For each item they sell, they clean up five pounds of plastic waste from the ocean totaling 75,000 last year alone. Solgaard is a company in the making for amazing things, and their items are top-notch with their durability and accessibility. If you’re looking for sustainable luggage, they are definitely a company to consider. Paravel
Coming with a five-year warranty on all products sold, Paravel sells all eco-friendly handbags, duffels, totes, packing cubes, and travel kits. These items may include wheels along with multiple space-saving features, and a recycled hard exterior that is not only sustainable but also durable for careless packers. The following are a few of their lines with
features you may be looking for:
The aviator bag has a fully recycled polycarbonate exterior shell, recycled PET lining made from 15 post-consumer plastic bottles, aircraft-grade recycled aluminum telescoping handle, vegan leather-wrapped steel haul handles, and recycled zippers.
For the soft stowaway bags, they include a fold-up bag (made of 22 bottles), a fold-up backpack (15 bottles), and packing cubes (16 bottles).
Cotton canvas duffels and cafe totes are 100% repurposed with handmade sustainable cork and natural leather handles.
Not only does Paravel have sustainable luggage, but they also deliver in an eco-friendly way. Paravel uses a carbon-neutral shipping process that further protects our world from danger. Paravel is a great choice and shouldn’t be easily overlooked in your search.
Pakt
Pakt does not prioritize eco-friendly practices above all else, but they carefully choose the most durable and resistant materials that will guarantee an owner long-lasting luggage. They thoughtfully choose a water-resistant nylon derby for the more suited black bag and a coated polyester canvas for the blue bags. They choose the most durable, animal/environmentally friendly materials they can manage that will have the lowest possible environmental impact, and they are currently working on incorporating recycled materials into their supply chain. Pakt started out as a “case study in going plastic-free with packaging,” and so far, they have ruled out almost all single-use plastics in their products, and all of their products come with a lifetime guarantee. For their shipping purposes, Pakt partnered with SeaHive in order to achieve their goal of ruling out all plastics in their shipping process. Their efforts for plastic-free shipping are what gave birth to the SeaHive organization. Now, SeaHive is able to reach out to other organizations to promote plastic-free shipping to better our environment. Pakt items are on their way to being plastic-free, and these waterproof, durable, and resistant suitcases are great for owners who often check-in their baggage when on planes, or rough handlers. If you’re in need of a long-term suitcase, Pakt is the brand for you. Patagonia
Patagonia, a brand well known around the world, offer sustainable backpacks, fanny packs, totes, and packing cubes, and are most known for their Black Hole duffel. This duffel features a padded base, extra chains to attach things on the outside, reinforced haul handles, and removable padded shoulder straps that can turn your duffel into a backpack, and is named “Black Hole Duffel” for its endless space for heavy packers. All of their bags are made of 100% recycled polyester ripstop coated with a laminate which makes them weather and damage resistant, and the interior, along with the straps are conformed out of recycled polyester. Their bags are also made using a Zero-Wastewater Discharging System that treats the water until it's completely non-toxic. With their current shipping process, they use partially recycled poly bags that are recyclable. Patagonia is aware that this current exercise is not ideal, so they are in the process of testing biodegradable and paper-based options. Not only are Patagonia’s items sustainable, but they are also a Fair Trade certified brand and have ranked in the top tier for the past four years scoring 70% last year. Patagonia is an amazing brand to consider in your search for new sustainable luggage.
United by Blue
United by Blue offers a selection of generally small, colorful duffel bags making them good for shorter planned trips. Although being widely sold around the world, they only manufacture out of seven factories throughout the USA, Turkey, China, and Vietnam. Both their backpacks and duffels are made out of 100% recycled polyester along with many other materials and some of their signature fabric innovations. United by Blue is in the process of eliminating all single-use plastics from their products and have a lifetime guarantee for all products sold. United by Blue does not only provide eco-friendly luggage, but they also dedicate themselves to ocean clean-up. For every item sold, United by Blue donates enough money to extract a pound of trash from the ocean. Since they were founded, they have helped remove over 3 million pounds of trash from the world’s ocean. United by Blue is devoted to preventing harm, and helping harm that has already been done to our world. United by Blue is a great, sustainable choice for you. Lo & Sons
Lo & Sons is a family-run ethical brand that is at the most advanced stage of the development of sustainable practices. The company uses recycled polyester, made of plastic bottles which makes it both water-resistant and durable. Each of the bags that Lo & Sons has manufactured has saved approximately two and a half pounds Co2 which totaled 41,880 pounds of reduced emissions last year and has managed to save and recycle about 1,687,249 plastic water bottles. They use an organic cotton canvas along with Nappa Leather that is impending to be 100% certified by the Leather Working Group. Lo & Sons are also working to achieve their goal of becoming B-Corp certified, but already prioritize eliminating social issues and enforcing fair labor procedures. They have also partnered themselves with The Renewal Workshop, giving them the means to repair and renew previously damaged bags. This has already saved over 5,000 pounds of waste from landfills in the six months that they have been partnered. Not only are Lo & Sons removing waste from the planet, but they are also working on minimizing their environmental impact by examining biodegradable shipping bags for their use in protecting the planet. Lo & Sons is an amazing company that prioritizes sustainability and protecting the environment from harm.