Secure the bag sustainably.
Every week, we deliver DROP EVERYTHING – a first-class round-up of the most urgent, sustainable, progressive and forward-thinking releases that need to go straight into your wardrobe.
It might just be us, but currently we feel a little like an ice-lolly left out in the sun, synthetically bright on the outside but molecularly melting into a cold, slushy composition.
Not to fear, though. This week, we’re back with bags of sustainable picks, literally. We’ve rounded-up the latest totes, backpacks, handbags and pouches ready to envelope our valuables and organise our said meltdown into something slightly more structured.
As an object of fashion, the bag is one of the main culprits when it comes to showing hostility to the planet. From fur inners to leather outers, single-use plastic to cheap clutches, the humble flexible container has, for years, been all but malleable when it comes to its environmental impact.
But this week’s selects show that change has arrived, and that sustainable bags can still be packed with just as much style.
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD x EASTPAK
A first-time collaboration between punk pioneer Vivienne Westwood and staple label Eastpak, the ‘Save Our Oceans’ collab feels slap-bang between both brand’s styles. Vivienne Westwood’s ‘sea creatures’ print from fifteen odd years ago has resurfaced, this time with the capsule’s title superimposed on top. Credits to the green credentials, here – we’re talking recycled PET lining and fabric and eco-friendly silkscreen print.
Drop everything and get… the VW Padded, built to last for life and prevent your nick-nacks getting knackered.
FASHION WITHOUT A FACE
Emerging Manc-based brand Fashion Without a Face is committed to producing unisex, vegan bags at a transparent price. They’ve got beef with leather, and rightly so – a metre of it emits 20kg of CO2e, the equivalent of charging 2,500 smartphones. Instead, their cash cow is cork, which is vegan and impermeable to any pesky liquids or dust.
Drop everything and get… the M bag, a signature offering in matte and textured colourways, ready to be slung across the shoulder or clutched with a steady hand.
MULBERRY
Luxury label Mulberry is celebrating half-a-century in style, by relaunching their Alexa handbag with some green-fingered updates. Originally inspired by it-girl-to-end-all-it-girls Alexa Chung, it’s now made by environmentally accredited tanneries and crafted at carbon-neutral UK factories.
Drop everything and get… the Mulberry Green Heavy Grain Alexa, ready for an infinite yield of ‘Alexa, what’s my bag called?’ gags.
APOTHEM x THE CONNOR BROTHERS x CALM
CBD brand Apothem has joined forces with artists The Connor Brothers for this capsule, with a percentage of proceeds going to CALM’s helpline. Along with a stunning hexagon box of art and special bottles of Apothem’s Day Drops is a limited edition tote bag, emblazoned with ‘Call Me Anything But Ordinary’.
Drop everything and get… the tote bag, and never feel the need to cop a plastic bag ever again.
WAWWA
We’re heading back to MCR once again, this time to sustainable streetwear collective WAWWA. After the raging success of its hand-sewn reusable masks, the team have returned with an adorable pouch to house it in, finished with a G clip to link it to your at-home trackies.
Drop everything and get… the black pouch, ‘cos it’ll go with anything and matches the mask to a tee.
