Sustainable Bags

Updated on June 4th, 2026

Conventional Bags

Avoid conventional bags made with toxic dyes, glues, chrome-tanned leather and polluting materials. They are made with a toxic tanning process and synthetic materials or other petroleum-derived materials. 

Synthetic fabrics: such as polyester, nylon, and other plastic-based materials. They deplete our natural resources and pollute our environment, creating a more synthetic world.

❌ Toxic leather: conventional leather tanning may contain chromium, arsenic, and other chemicals that pollute the environment and water supplies.

 Petroleum-based: environmentally harmful and made of petroleum-based foam.

❌ Chrome Tanned Leather: 90% of the leather is chrome tanned. Chrome tanning is a widely used method in the leather industry, involving the treatment of animal hides with chromium salts, primarily chromium(III) sulfate. Toxic wastewater from tanneries can contaminate local ecosystems. It can lead to toxic chromium (VI) formation, which is harmful to humans and the environment.

❌ PFAS: not only harmful to you but also to the environment. They are found especially in waterproof materials.

CA Prop 65: Many of you have seen the label attached to backpacks with the California Proposition 65 Warning stating: “This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and/or birth defects or other reproductive harm.”

Greenwashing Bags

Avoid Greenwashing bags made by brands that pretend to be organic, sustainable, and eco-friendly when they are not. They will use their misleading marketing tricks to convince you to buy their products. 

They claim to be sustainable and offer you vegan leather alternatives, bringing more plastic to the world:

❌ Synthetic material: such as nylon or other plastic-derived materials. 

❌ PVC leather: Most vegan leathers today are made from PVC, made with petroleum. PVC is, for this reason, harmful to the environment. 

❌ PU leather: another synthetic vegan or faux leather. By definition, PU stands for Polyurethane, a plastic polymer derived from petroleum. Even less than PVC, PU still requires petroleum. 

Sustainable Bags

The best eco-friendly and organic bags are made with natural and sustainable materials

The most eco-friendly vegan leather on the market is made with renewable resources and by-products, made with plant-based material that would have been wasted. 

 

  • Certified non-toxic leather: tested to be chromium-free; naturally tanned with vegetable tanning. Certified by The Leather Working Group (LWG): transparency in the leather supply chain, saving energy, water, worker health and safety, safe chemical practices, and wastewater management. 
  • 🌿 Organic Cotton: made without toxic chemicals and pesticides. It protects the soil and 💦water (71% less water used) and energy⚡️ (62% less energy), while 👩‍🌾protecting farmers who work the crop! ☁️ Biodegradable, vegan, breathable, durable, and anti-mycotic. 
  • 🌿 Organic Hemp: Hemp has long fibers, which bring a big edge in durability when making fabrics. For that reason, hemp is in many ways the strongest natural fiber available. According to the Hemp Foundation, hemp can be even stronger than steel.
  • 🌳 Cork: one of Portugal’s most treasured sustainable materials. This process is mindful of the trees with a goal of sustainable production every 9 years for a 150-year lifespan. Animal-free and plastic-free, each product is handcrafted in small batches by skilled Portuguese artisans.
  • 🌿 Chrome-free vegetable-dyed leather: manufactured without chromium during the tanning process, and there are no harmful chemicals. It has a higher production cost.
  • 🍍Piñatex (Pineapple leather): made with leaf fiber leather Piñatex®inatex Organic material, made from pineapple leaves that result from the waste of the pineapple harvest. The fibres that are not used in Piñatex are distributed as fertilizer.
  • 🍏 Apple leather: also known as AppleSkin, is a bio-based material made using the leftover pomace and peel from the fruit juice and compote industry. The fabric is created by first taking the recovered apple waste and reducing it to a powder. The apple leather used in our products is made using 50% apple waste mixed with 50% PU, coated onto a cotton/polyester canvas. Ecological, breathable, waterproof, and durable fabric has been a game-changer in the industry. Apple Leather
  • 🌵 Cactus LeatherDESSERTO USDA-certified cactus is grown in an organic farming system in the fertile and mineral-rich region of Zacatecas, Mexico. Cactus naturally regenerate the soil. It takes approximately only 3 leaves of cactus to create one linear meter of Desserto.
  • 🥭 Mango leather:  Fruit Leather created by Koen Meerkerk and Hugo de Boon, crafted from natural mangos 
  • 🍄 Mushroom leatherMylo

​The Best Organic Bag Brands

On this page, you will find the best eco-friendly, organic, and sustainable bags on the market

 

  • 🌿 O My Bag  LWG (Leather Working Group) certified tannery
  • 🌿 Svala
  • 🌿 Tiradia Cork   10% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL
  • 🌿 SteamLine   15% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL
  • 🌿 Quince  LWG (Leather Working Group) certified tannery
  • 🌿 Vitamin A  10% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL
  • 🌿 Nisolo

 

Shop with my links to support my research! 💖