Eco Luggage Overview
Choosing green eco friendly luggage saves pollutants from entering the air and our environment. Support is also given to people who believe in fair trade, organic fabrics and the abolition of child labour and sweatshops.
Suitcases are normally manufactured probably using the two most common, and toxic, chemicals: polyvinyl chloride (or PVC; cancer causing) & chromium (toxic when inhaled). These chemicals add strength and durability to the cases outer skin but as they were hardening they omit toxins into the air. When the suitcase is finally discarded it will most likely go to landfill and take almost forever to biodegrade due to the plastic construction.
Solution – Buy Eco Luggage (or borrow from someone else!)
You can now choose a new eco suitcase made from a wide and varied selection of materials including canvas, organic cotton, hemp, recycled products, leather or nylon. All of these are biodegradable or recyclable. A more in depth look as the options follow-
Hemp is a versatile, durable and very green material making it an ideal choice for constructing suitcases / luggage. The hemp can also be mixed with cotton fabrics to add extra strength for larger items.
Nylon is a fully recyclable synthetic alternative to silk. Waterproofing again should be carried out as before using a water based repellent. Ideally buy a piece of luggage that has been recycled already and make sure that you dispose of it at a recycling centre.
Organic cotton suitcases are recommended as cotton is a natural product as well as being biodegradable. Cotton is obviously not waterproof, but there are non-toxic water repellent coatings (water based) available that due not use toxins and allow the cotton to biodegrade.
Recycled bags and luggage made from many different materials; we saw one recently made out of recycled movie billboards! (manufactured by a company called Ecoist). The bags feel like a new product and are made just a strong as anything else available. Most are made in fair trade, sweatshop-free co-operatives so whilst they do their bit for the environment, they do even more for local communities in helping toaid unemployment and poverty.
Leather is an incredibly strong and flexible material, ideal for suitcases, bags and wallets. The leather should be tanned and produced using eco friendly processes. Many recycled leather products are also available today.
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Eco Friendly Luggage | admin | 
April 9, 2010 6:02 pm
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By Betty, July 31, 2010 @ 1:00 pm
I recently purchased a Diane Von Furstenberg suitcase with a warning tag that it contained materials known in California to be cancer causing, but I have not been able to find any more info. about the materials or how much of a risk it might be to use the suitcases. Can you help?
By j, August 23, 2010 @ 5:39 am
I also did! and I can’t find ANYTHING about the risks!