According to a new article in Elle Magazine – you can view it here, Rebecca Minkoff has teamed up with Bijou Phillips to create “an eco bag inspired by the Mama’s and the Papa’s and meant for dancing at mud-filled music festivals.” Sure, well, I seriously doubt the bag is going to sell for under $10, which is the only price I would pay for a bag to carry to a “mud-filled music festival,” but I digress. The bag is made from recycled leather scraps purchased from meat factories, and dyed with non-toxic, metal-free dye.
I’m not sure when/where this one will be available, but if I’ve piqued your interested in recycled leather bags, check out Ashley Watson’s bags, they are so chic, probably MUCH cheaper than the Rebecca Minkoff version, and as a whole, more environmentally friendly since that is all Ashley Watson does; the entire company is committed to eco-chic, not just one segment.
Another Rebecca Minkoff bag in the works is this grocery tote:
Cute, and apparently available at Shopbop later this month, but still, I believe the price tag will be much too high to make it practical.
UPDATE: pre-order the bread & wine bag at Rebecca Minkoff for delivery May 31 for $185.
Don’t get me wrong, I love that well-known designers are trying to “green” up their product assortments, but as I’ve mentioned before, there are smaller companies and designers that also deserve our attention for doing this, and much more. These designers are 100% committed to environmentally friendly products, their companies are structured to be entirely eco-conscious, why does Rebecca Minkoff get an article in Elle and not them? Because she’s Rebecca Minkoff, that’s why.
Visit my list of Eco-Chic and Ethical Designers/Online Shopping Sites, and you’ll see what I mean. There is significant talent out there in the independent design community, let’s not forget them.
