When it comes to green gadgets, one of the most prolific options out there is not so techie at all: computer bags. Earth friendly bags have become quite common in specialty stores but I believe we’re just on the verge of them hitting mainstream.
I’m reminded of the time when I started writing about ladies laptop bags a few years ago when locals Targus and Mobile Edge introduced their lines. Within months it seemed, I began spotting ladies bags at Target!
Last September, Targus introduced its EcoSmart line of bags. More are on the way, the company tells me. I haven’t been to Target lately to check the mainstream channel. This week, Targus is offering free shipping with any of its Grove bags, which includes a backpack (pictured on right), sling, messenger and regular briefcase styles. The bags are PVC-free, nickel-free and made from recycled materials.
[Me thinking out loud: Why is it that Earth-friendly means drab colors? I wonder if hot-pink will ever be part of an eco-line up of computer bags?]
What’s this? An eco-friendly pink computer bag? Actually, a laptop sleeve and the color is coral rose. The $30 Eco Geeko is made of 100 percent certified US-grown organic cotton canvas, and dyed using low-metal, low-sulfur, formaldehyde-free inks. It’s made by HER Designs, which has a whole line of bags that are made of “organic, sustainable and cruelty-free materials.” The $270 Leaf notebook bag (far right and seen in HER’s catalog) even looks like a leaf.
More fun recycled bags are over at Donkey, a New York company started by a couple of New Zealanders. They reuse vinyl billboard ads. The one-of-a-kind computer bags are $85. … So do designers from Vy and Elle, which has a vinyl-billboard computer backpack for $187.
Over at Keen, better known for shoes, its bags are the most colorful I’ve seen. A few blues, oranges and even purple! It calls the collection “Hybrid Transport” and the bags are made with recycled aluminum and rubber. The site even has a timeline of how aluminum and rubber are recycled to provide materials for the bags. The Burnside, below, is $95 at REI.
Another piece of potential eco-chic tech I found was the Archetype bag (on right) from Mac-friendly designer Tom Bihn. It’s made from cork fabric. I’m not sure whether that means it contains cork or if it’s made from recyclable materials (I’m waiting to hear back from the company). Whatever the case, the $95 bag comes in assorted sizes — up to the 17-inch MacBook — and with its splash-proof zipper makes it the company’s most weather-resistant case.
Overland Equipment’s Seattle bag has several eco-features: non-toxic wax coated canvas , recycled rubber bottom, liner is made from recycled soda bottles, the buckle is made from recycled aluminum, and straps are recycled rubber. Room for a 15-inch laptop. Available at REI for $120.
And I knew that newspapers were good for something. 
Hip and Zen sells laptop bags made from recycled newspapers (on right), as well as those plastic grocery bags. The description of the plastic-bag bag is more interesting: “The process is a renewing process which uses a fraction of the energy of recycling, where layers of different color plastic bags are placed on top of each other and fused together. The lining is made of canvas, and the trim of cargo tape. No dyes are used.” Price: $59.50. Here’s a link to the store’s recycled line.
Then there’s the … $118 movie-poster laptop bag, made from old vinyl movie posters, at re:modern … The chopstick bag, made from used wooden Chinese-takeout chopsticks, available at Eco Handbags in Canada … Bags made from recycled bicycle tires from FlatBag … And even more at Squidoo and Green Student U.
For more tips on green technology, see the Gadgetress Guide HERE.
Tamara 'the Gadgetress' Chuang
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