Still Two Old Bags

We’ve been away for the last month and we appreciate friends and followers who have asked after us. Thank you and we promise not to be gone so long again. 

When we first introduced our blog over five years ago, our primary motivation was handbags.  We called ourselves “Two Old Bags”.  We researched bags from every perspective from the design, the leather, the manufacturing, the sewing, and the marketing.  We visited and documented leather factories.  We even looked into leather sources in Haiti.

We interviewed women about their handbag choices. We discovered how important handbags were to women of all ages.  Designer bags are status symbols.  Young women starting their career saved for months to buy an Hermes or Chanel bag.  We wrote about the famous Birkin bag that can be priced at auction in the hundreds of thousands for a used one.

Although designer bags will probably continue to be on the radar for a percentage of the population, we are witnessing a paradigm shift in the handbag buying process. Climate change has changed the calculus on what we consider when we shop for a handbag. And it is more than recycling. 

There is a movement toward adaptive reuse unlike anything to date. It is what to do with thin plastic bags that are used in super markets, dry cleaners and in packaging in shipping. It is these Thin Plastic bags that are overwhelming our environment. 

Thick plastic is being recycled and reused in multiple products from yoga pants to traffic cones. But thin plastic bags are too costly to recycle using current machinery.

We invite you to consider an aNYbag. 

“The aNYbag is created by weaving 95 repurposed and upcycled bags that were on their way to pollute our landfills and waterways. ……. Americans currently use over 100 billion plastic bags a year.”

We encourage you to read about Alex Dabagh, the designer behind Made by Alex and see how the bags are made and appreciate the difference this emerging company is making with these fun and attractive plastic handbags:

We support his dedicated commitment to making a significant difference in the fashion industry. This is the tip of the iceberg for how we can and will change the way we shop for and invest in what we wear.  Let’s think about each and every purchase from running shoes to designer evening wear.  Where did it come from, what was the cost to make it and how can it be reused, or recycled or consigned for another to wear?

Ciao

Lucy and Claudia