Earth Divas Fair Trade and Natural Fiber Bags

Good morning all! I’ve been a busy little bee lately with work and finishing up my book but now that things have settled down some I can get right back to doing reviews and I couldn’t think of a better place to start than Earth Divas!

I was contacted by these folks directly and sent a super fun, practical, functional and great looking tan bag, hand made by a talented artist in Nepal, from rapidly renewable hemp fiber.

With two very generous outside pockets in chocolate brown and three inside pockets (in addition to the main bag) I will certainly not run out of convenient spaces for my smaller items. With magnetized snaps or zippers the pockets will keep everything safely tucked away. And the bag is sturdy too.

The casual messenger style is great for me because I always have a couple checkbooks and my day planner with me so the roominess is great too.

The company is a wonderful model -- they provide free training and pay their artists direct under fair trade practices. With a 10% donation that goes right back to the artists Earth Divas claims to pay 10-25% higher than the standard labor rate, 30% above the local wage rate. At the end of the year all profits are paid direct to the artists and the owner of the company, Ed Edmundson, doesn’t even draw a salary!

The price is not outrageous for such a well made, socially responsible item either. The bag I was sent retails at $29.99 but their catalog is chock full of items that run under $20 too. The range in price does not diminish the quality or functionality however.

With so many positives -- natural/renewable fiber, social responsibility, training and encouragement of the artists, sustainability, functionality and durability -- and such a wonderful company model overall I am granting Earth Divas a Four and a Half Leaf Rating!

Now for the best part…for those of you who stuck around to read the whole review, Green Leaf Reviewer, in conjunction with Earth Divas, is doing a giveaway of one of these awesome hand made bags! That’s right and you could win it!

Here are the rules:

Get on over to the Earth Divas website.
Find your favorite bag.
Come back to GLR and leave a comment about which bag is your favorite.
Tell me why you think hemp is a smart choice for the planet.

I will be picking the winner on Tuesday July 6 at 6:00PM EST so get your votes in now and you might just find a super cute, well made, socially responsible bag on your front doorstep!

Thanks Earth Divas for helping to make this planet a better place ♥love♥

The EcoBags Series -- Day Two: Reusable Produce and Grain Bags

EcoBags is back with another offering for me -- their produce and grain bag!

The bag is super sturdy and made from 100% unbleached cotton. Right on the tag it even indicates that fair wages were paid and fair labor practices were adhered to. This made me happy to see, especially because the bags are made in India.

The cotton gauze version is light weight, but sadly not light weight enough to be a zero impact on the scale. I weighed one of the plastic produce bags I have (I rinse & reuse these until they are no longer functional just as a side note) on my postage scale and it registered at zero. This produce and grain bag from EcoBags came in at a full ounce. This would definitely impact the cost of goods when shopping.

The great news however is they are not solely created to use in the grocery store. All manner of dry goods can be kept in these useful bags such as bulk rice or pasta, and they are perfect for storing veggies in the fridge after picking up at the Farmer’s Market.

At a suggested retail of $15.00 for five of the full sized produce bags (the same type that EcoBags sent me to try out) the value is good, especially due to the fact that they can be washed and reused many times over in comparison to a thin plastic bag which can tear after as little as two uses (one in some cases although I have had some last up to 12 uses). They are not indestructible though so be mindful of how much gets stuffed in so the seam remains intact.

I was also impressed that they carry ten different types or sizes of this kind of item and the prices come down as the number of purchased items goes up. The final thing I really liked was that the seams were stitched under so there was not fraying fabric inside the bag. It gave them a nice finished look and function.

Overall I think this is a nice alternative to plastic bags and feel great about granting a Three Leaf Rating!

Thanks for such innovation EcoBags, can not wait to talk about your canvas bags tomorrow! ♥love♥

*The photo used is from the EcoBags website, nothing I took was coming out fit to print, I only received one bag from these folks Thanks!