WIRED Device Team tested dozens of times bag meant to make travel easier and withstand wear and tear and weather. Here, our favorite eco bags are just as capable and durable, but are made from recycled materials like plastic water bottles, old nylon, and even fishing nets recovered from the ocean.
It is important to find ways to reuse what would otherwise be polluting our oceans And sitting in the dump. But first, ask yourself: Are you demand A new bag? Buying sustainable items when you already have good ones at home won’t help much. But if your current bag isn’t doing the job, you can rest easy with our picks for bags made from recycled materials. Not every bag is made from 100% recycled materials, but every little bit counts.
Bags are usually graded by the liter, which we More explanation in a separate article. See the rest of our bag picks in our guide on Best Backpack, The Best Tote Bags and WalletsAnd Best crossbody bags and shoulder bags. And be sure to read our other sustainability briefs, like Best recycled and recyclable products, Best recycled clothingAnd Best reusable products.
Updated July 2024: We’ve added Kind Bag’s reusable crossbody and shopping bags, along with Sherpani’s Skye Mini crossbody bag. We’ve also updated the prices and links throughout the article.
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How do we check bags?
When it comes to products like handbags, personal style dictates what you (and we) like. It’s the first thing you’ll notice. We try to test a number of different bags in a variety of styles. Not only do they look good, we make sure they’re actually worth the money in terms of comfort and durability.
Once we get a new bag, we start using it as we normally would, carrying our purses to the grocery store or to the bar, stuffing our backpacks and totes with our laptops and work stuff and heading to a coffee shop for an afternoon of work, and stuffing our duffels with clothes and shoes. We take note of what they fit, how they fit, and whether the straps are comfortable or start to pinch after a while. We also fill them with weights—sometimes dumbbells and sometimes just a bunch of other random products we’re testing—and we toss them around. If the threads and straps start to pull, we throw them away. Whenever possible, we keep our bags for repeated use over months or years to test their long-term durability, and will update this guide if our feelings change.
