Finding Fair Trade Bags that Are Fun and Useful
A lot of the fair trade bags you’ll find floating around on the Internet tend to be a bit more fashion-forward (A.K.A of limited use in real-world situations) partly because the fashion industry has latched onto fair trade bags, clothing, and accessories as a way to sell more high-end (read expensive) products. They tend to be small, adorned with useless baubles, and are made to accentuate an outfit rather than actually hold anything. However, you can find fair trade bags that are fashionable, fun, and useful if you do a little research.
One excellent alternative to tiny and unpractical purses are sling bags. They’re fun and fresh but feature plenty of storage room inside. I recommend looking for one with internal compartments so your stuff doesn’t end up as one huge pile you have to paw through. And the best thing about sling bags is they’re easy to carry. You don’t have a thin strap cutting into your shoulder all day long and don’t have to worry about tying your hands up carrying a clutch.
As fashion accessories, sling bags have gotten a bad rap over the years. They’re often seen as “mommy bags” because they can carry so much (and be so huge.) The trick to buying the perfect shoulder bag is finding one that’s just big enough for your necessities without being too big. The over-sized trend that was so hot last year is kind of dying out now that fall is upon us and you don’t want your shoulder bag to make you look like a little girl playing dress up.
And men can rock a shoulder bag too—they aren’t all just for girls. They are plenty of manly alternatives out there for the eco fashion-forward man who’s not afraid to carry his stuff in style. David Beckham, Johnny Depp, and more have all been spotted by the paparazzi carrying man bags and it doesn’t get much more masculine than those guys.
Man bags tend to come in leather and canvass—mostly in earth tones—but you can find alternatives such as natural fiber (hemp is a big one) and even recycled materials. One “trick” you can use to get your guy to carry man bags is to call them something fancy like a briefcase or a satchel—Indiana Jones carried a satchel! And stay away from the bright colors, unless your man is a fashion plate!
Processing your request, Please wait....
