Rucksacks are better than handbags for those who prefer a more active lifestyle. Good ones are also washable without microplastics in the washing machine (unlike bags made from polyester or recycled plastic bottles). Here are some nice choices:
Willow Earth (Sussex) is a delightful company that makes beautiful rucksacks and totes with natural cork logos from strong cotton canvas. But even better, it uses the offcuts to make tote bags, wallets and purses, so there’s no waste.
travel bags with 10-year guarantees!
Groundtruth is a wonderful company that not only use up plastic waste to produce quality bags and accessories, but offer a 10-year guarantee on everything sold. These items are made to last! The range includes a nice reusable shopping tote, ideal to replace plastic bags in supermarkets (and far stronger than so-called ‘bags for life’ that studies show last little more than a week, with robust use).
The stormproof fabric uses up several plastic bottles for each item. The brand (founded by three sisters) is so robust that they joined British explorer Robert Swan to take their prototypes on expeditions to the North and South Poles, where the bags survived raft excursions, saltwater, freezing blizzards and penguin poo!
Each item has beautiful design details from the shopping totes being packable (so you can keep them in your bag or glovebox) and shoulder straps that can be hidden in the back pocket, to turn items into backpacks. The technical tote has a padded laptop compartment, and a zipped pocket that can turn into a trolley sleeve.