Just what are the essentials for work bags that make the cut?

No matter your line of work, it is a given that you need a good work bag. A work bag must be many things– a utilitarian workhorse, a chic bag that works just as well after hours, a handy place to stow your lunch, a tech bag, and your workaday purse for the essentials you may need. And it has to be sturdy, super cool, works with all possible outfits, and, of course, it should also be the most excellent accessory around. Roundly, the right bag can make your day, while the wrong bag can set you up for a disaster. No pressure, but you better get it right.

The essential work bag must combine form and function into one. It must be comfortable to wear–no digging into your shoulders. You need this bag to go with everything because you’re not going to be swapping things in and out of different bags to coordinate with what you’re wearing that day. The straps also need to be long enough–no handheld work bags thank you.

Of course, you are probably looking for a more sustainable choice in your work bag as well. Whether something made from sustainably sourced canvas, made with repurposed leather, or built to last forever, you want a more environmentally aware choice. We get it. You want your work bag to be essentially your everything.

5 Sustainable Work Bags to Inspire

1. Felt and Leather Tote – This bag is made from upcycled materials by Looptworks, a company that has pioneered an environmentally friendly approach to product design and production. The mix of a bold design in grey and black is a slam duck in the style department, too.

2. The Carrier – Made of durable waxed canvas, this bag from Moop is a workhorse. The clean lines and utilitarian function of this large tote style bag make it both versatile and stylish. Available in three different colorways.

3. Knitla – The Matt & Nat brand is committed to not using leather or any other animal-based materials in their vegan designs. This satchel style bag, which is available in seven neutral colors, can be carried by the handle drops or with a removable crossbody strap.

4. Manhattan Tote – Timbuk2 bags are designed to last a lifetime. The bags are made with materials that are tough enough for whatever life throws at you, and they even offer a lifetime warranty for defects or tragic fails. Can’t beat that. This tote is made from waxed canvas with leather accents.

5. Avery Tote – Go Forth Goods strives to make timeless, functional bags that are made to last. The company has a commitment to hand making high-quality American-made leather goods with simple designs and practical functionality. We are smitten.

Related on EcoSalon

The Ultimate List of Sustainable Handbag Designers (From A-Z)
9 Vegan Handbags to Take Your Spring Look From Drab to Fab
Handbags Born of Old Leather Jackets

Commuting Woman on Bike Image via Shutterstock

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It’s officially the holiday season! As we decorate our living spaces with bright holly and cheerful trimmings to soften the cold weather outside, don’t forget to carry that sparkle over to our style. Below are some fun metallic holiday fashion trends for 2013, pieces to carry the holiday cheer throughout the season—and as always our roundup is from the brightest picks of eco fashion. 

1. Cream Eye Shadow by RMS Beauty

RMS Beauty is a top natural beauty line created by celebrity makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift. These simmering eyeshadows are made with ingredients that support natural beauty and promote long-term health. Made with raw mineral pigments, these cream eye shadows double as a moisturizer for your lids because rms Beauty is all about the “synergistic interchange” between their products and your skin. Packed in recyclable glass containers with an air-tight lid to preserve freshness, these cream eyeshadows won’t dry out.

rms beauty, $28

2. Manta Ray Ring by Alkemie

Alkemie jewelry is one of our favorites. Run by a husband and wife team based out of Topanga Canyon, in California, they are continually inspired by the nature around them. Alkemie jewelry is made from 100% reclaimed metals, and handmade in Los Angeles. This ring of a Manta Ray is a reminder of the inherent value in spending time with yourself, and being peaceful in your own skin—just like the Manta Ray.

Alkemie, $176

3. Large Heart Necklace by See Me

The universal symbol of a heart resinates everywhere, but this necklace isn’t just any heart. See Me works with victims of domestic violence in Turkey and Tunisia, offering employment, escape and community by using their artisan skills to hand craft these beautiful pieces. See Me is dedicated to providing sustainable work, not charity. “Each heart is unique, just like yours.”

See Me, 123 euros

4. Metallic Gold Pillow Cover by Kyle Wayne Taylor Home

A great Etsy find, these pillow covers are a modern addiction to any color scheme. Handmade 100% cotton covers are handmade in Williamsburg, Virginia. You could even get crafty, and wrap a gift in them!

Etsy, $35 each

5. Relaxed Blazer and Pleated Mini Skirt by SUNO

SUNO is a high-end label with sustainability embedded in their DNA—a great example of a brand that is both design-driven and sustainability minded. All SUNO clothing is made in New York City a few blocks from their design studio. Sophistication meets edge with this metallic blazer and skirt combo.

Relaxed Blazer, $477

Pleated Mini Skirt, $405

6. Katherine Shell Clutch by KAYU

KAYU is a California based label founded by South East Asia native Jamie Lim. Jamie’s upbringing was surrounded by artisanal craft and KAYU is an ode to preserving and cultivating the survival of traditional techniques, and economically supporting the artisans. This clutch is intricately laid with mother of pearl shell onto a hand-carved wooden base. A percentage of each sale is donated to education and health initiatives in the area it was made.

Minz, $590

7.  Large Wood-Carved Journal by Raven + Lily

Raven + Lily is a B Corporation, an Ethical Fashion Forum award winner, and one of the most widely know eco-fashion brands. This beautiful journal is hand-carved from wood and bound with vegetable-tanned leather. Fair trade made by women in northern India, proceeds from the sale of this notebook go to fund literacy programs for the women artisans and children in the community.

Raven + Lily, $24

Want more On Trend? See Also:

Eco Fashion Brands Prove Beauty in Simplicity With Burgundy and Basics On Trend

 The Unbelievable Value of Upcycling Clothes 7 Ways: On Trend

On Trend: Dark and Tan – The Smartly Sexy Fall 2013 Color Trends

Covering Up With Ethical and Organic Leggings: On Trend 

Personality Pops With Patterned Pants: On Trend

Images from the eco fashion brands, collage by Juliette Donatelli

Keep in touch with Juliette on twitter @spadesandsiLK

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Leslie Oschmann gives vintage oil paintings a new life on your shoulder.

Some deem fashion a form of art in itself, but fashion and art blend in the most seamless way when it comes to Leslie Oschmann’s Swarm handbags. She uses vintage oil paintings to create exquisite and colorful bag designs that are full of personality and bits of nostalgia, offering unique arm candy that is given another chance to prove its worth and beauty.

Leslie began experimenting with the re-purposing of oil paintings upon moving to Holland after 8 years as the visual director of Anthropologie.  She first applied the vintage oil paintings scavenged at antique markets for decorating chairs and other furniture such reclaimed dressers and lampshades.

Through handling the versatile canvas material she began to explore the idea of making up a handbag from a painting, and the first try manifested in a fantastic prototype that turned into the successful Swarm line that has been coveted around the world.

Working from her home studio in Amsterdam, Oschmann sources the paintings she uses from markets in Central Europe as well as auctioneers that she works with. She uses every bit of an acquired painting, although often a deconstructed work of art can end up in many different Swarm creations.

The body of the tote and shoulder bags is made from the canvas of an oil painting, while the leather handles are re-purposed from French market baskets, vintage belts or purchased directly from a supplier in the south of Holland. Leslie also makes a clutch version that doubles perfectly as a wallet or letter holder, a Still Life iPad case, and tote and shoulder bags that are a colorful and lively change from your average leather holdall.

Although Leslie’s bags have gained more attention recently, she has been making them for a few years now, allowing her to perfect the art of re-crafting works of art. Increased interest in the bags has brought Leslie to hire on a helper who is proficient with an industrial machine – a necessary tool for sewing the heavy canvas covered in layers of oil-based paint.

Leslie’s bags can be shipped worldwide and are available directly from her site www.swarmhome.com/blog,through Anthropologie’s online shop and from The Shop Floor Project. Although not taking customers’ personal paintings under her transformational wing since she needs to test all her paintings for durability, Leslie is open to crafting custom bags. She will take into consideration a client’s preferred coloring or subject by sending them images of different paintings to choose from.

Just like a bottle of vintage wine, Leslie’s Swarm bags just get better with age, gracefully taking on their new lives as useful, moldable and durable everyday objects.

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The post Wear This, Not That: Proud Mary vs Tory Burch appeared first on EcoSalon.

White hot and in your hand.

Ever notice how men function so well without purses? (Excepting the murse-toting denizens of Brooklyn, Silverlake and other hipster hangouts). It’s an enviable mystery. Sunglasses, wallet, iPhone, keys – where do these things go? How do they do it? I don’t know, but I do know I’m tired of the obligatory lady tote. White is always perfect for spring – and a liberating little clutch feels just right, right now. Bax by The Sway is one hot ticket.

$235. Available at Kaight.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com.

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Ahem. We’ve been longing for this bag in a big way. Lusting for it. Pining and yearning and possibly drooling, too. We’ve more than once reminded our mothers we have a birthday coming up*. Equal parts stunning and sustainable, the Ruffled Hemp Bag by VivaTerra is the best everyday bag of the season, and today…we…give it away.

You lucky duck.

To win, just leave me a nice comment below. The contest runs through next Wednesday midnight (last week’s Apple Dutch Oven winner will be announced tomorrow), and your odds are pretty good, sweet cheeks. But in case you can’t wait, you can still get the bag for a fantastic deal – do it before it runs out of stock! – by using the discount code HEMP at purchase. $25 bucks off the purchase price of $198? Done!

It’s eco. It’s chic. It’s the kind of ruffled sweetness J. Crew just wishes it had thought of. And, I have to say, this bag reminds me of a certain not-at-all-green leather Valentino bag from a season or so ago that I really loved but wasn’t about to buy owing to its toxic credentials (well, that and the fact that it cost nearly three thousand dollars). This one is better, not just because it’s 100% sustainable, but because it’s an almost unbelievably great price for a luxury tote bag. I love that it has a (removable) shoulder strap as well as traditional bowling handles. The black leather is recycled (of course it is!) and we all know how strong hemp is. Hemp = the spidey fiber of the apparel world, so you can take this baby from the office to the beach to the art show without a second thought, all season long. The slate hue is a perfect contrast for all the red and camel you’ve got flying around this fall, too.

Good luck, and grab this bag before it goes!

*Okay, maybe that was more me than we.

(Legalese: FTC and giveaway rules.)

The post Really, Really? Yes, Really! Fall’s Must-Have Bag Giveaway appeared first on EcoSalon.

There are some of us who have cut waaaaay back, but just can’t quit cold turkey. And I don’t mean smoking, although I did quit recently. (Yay for me!)

The can’t quit I’m referring to here is shopping. I can admit my faults and this is certainly one of them. I love to shop for clothes. But before you throw your arms up and start spouting off at my wasteful ways”¦I always, definitely, without a doubt, no excuses or exceptions – shop green.

Right now I’ve got my eye on this adorable Reversible Hobo Bag from VivaTerra. Made with simple and stylish vintage fabrics, it’s switchable from festive floral to sophisticated black velvet flocking. Besides, two bags in one means more for the money!

Not too big and bulky but roomy enough for the usual suspects at 18″ W x 13″ H. The Hobo Bag also comes with a small clip-on pouch for all the stuff that gets lost floating around the bottom of your bag.

And what’s more eco than an item made well enough for a lifetime of wearing? This gorgeous lambswool Ready, Set, Go Poncho (top image) has a turtleneck and ribbed design that ruffles softly at the edges. It comes in a creamy, earthy off-white and is one of those wear today and everyday (at least in fall and winter) type of cover-ups.

Find both pieces at VivaTerra for $229 and $219, respectively.

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You know the feeling. You’re standing at the cash register in the grocery store and you reach for your reusable grocery bag, only to realize it’s lurking at the bottom of your car right next to your old Vanity Fair magazines and that tube of organic deodorant that doesn’t work.

Further contributing to your RBGS (Reusable Bag Guilt Syndrome), every other customer is calmly loading his or her soy milk into a reusable bag.

But not to worry! We’ve got a line of reusable bags that are not only easy to clean, they are so cute you will never forget them in the car. June Fifteen offers eco-chic reusable bags that “make going green practical and stylish.”

Founder Sandrine Cassidy Schmitt wanted to bring an alternative to the world of paper or plastic. As Sandrine tells it, “I wanted to create a line of reusable bags that would give stores and shoppers incentives to reduce and ultimately replace paper and plastic shopping bags. We aspire to not only make the bags you remember to bring to the check-out counter, but ones that you can use as purses, book bags, beach bags and fashion accessories.”

And remember them you will. June Fifteen bags are adorable. Seriously, you will purposefully forget things at the store just so you can return to show off your bag. They offer tote bags, grocery bags, wine bags and children’s backpacks and are made from renewable jute, rattan cane and cotton. Bags are well-designed with bottle separators, inside-outside pockets, shoulder-length handles, drawstring backpacks and even matching bottle coaster with wine bags. The bags are lined with LDPE (low density polyethylene), a recyclable plastic allowing the bags to be waterproofed, which is great for shopping. And this makes them easier to clean, therefore cutting down on pesky, unwanted microbial guests.

June Fifteen will even make you a custom bag. The bags run around $15 and can be purchased online or at certain California store locations.

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A company born of passion, based on the concept of upcycle rather than brand new, reMade USA makes handbags that hit the eco target.

The San Francisco-based company creates one-of-a-kind stylish, sophisticated bags out of recycled leather jackets and scrap materials sourced from thrift stores and car and furniture upholstery companies. They also accept donations from anyone with unwanted leather lying around the house.

Their current designs are roomy, with plenty of pockets, and are lined with lovely, colorful vintage scarves. Soft and super stylish, these bags cost hundreds less than your logo-labeled luxury bags. And they’re oh-so-eco.

Check out the Mission with its Chanel-like lining (image above) for $325, or the brick red Potrero (top image), available for $295.

See a style you like that’s sold out? Just send reMade your own much-loved and often-worn but outdated leather jacket and they’ll turn it into the design of your choice.

Watch a slide show of the reMade process that starts with a leather jacket. I’m not a seamstress, but for those of you with a knack for it, I bet you could even DIY.

reMade isn’t just another purveyor of eco purses. They live and breathe what they practice and preach. reMade is also a member of The Designers Accord.

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With all things digital nowadays, it’s not surprising that my friend’s 12-year-old didn’t know you could still shoot 35 mm slides. Some of us remember when you couldn’t shoot anything but…

…but let’s move on. I have fond family memories of my dad’s slide shows. He’s a photo fanatic who never went anywhere without a camera or two. And much to my mother’s dismay, an entire wall of our garage was stacked with boxes of his slide carousels.

This would constitute a gold mine for Maura G of RedCamper. She creates all sorts of unique, one of a kind and cleverly unusual bags using vintage slides (image above).

The Skylark LTD. is her first laptop bag and it’s eco-friendly. Made with original vintage car upholstery, airplane seatbelt clips and vintage slides, it fits 15″ and smaller laptops, with extra space for the essential charger and cell phone.

Oh, and each of her bags comes with a naked lady. A slide, that is, of a naked lady, just like the one Maura G’s grandfather slipped into his slide shows to make sure no one was nodding off.

Find the Skylark LTD. laptop bag at RedCamper’s online store for $244.

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