Bags Made of Recycled Materials

The Best Bags Made of Recycled Materials

Need a backpack, purse, tote or even a new shopping bag? These are from truck tarps, old sails, fishnets and plastic bottles.

Tested dozens of backpacks, totes, purses, messengers, slings and even reusable shopping bags are using recycled materials that come from plastic water bottles, old nylon and even fishing nets retrieved from the ocean. It's important to find ways to reuse what would otherwise pollute our oceans and sit in landfills forever.

In this guide, we've pooled together our favorite bags that utilize recycled materials in some way, shape or form. Not every bag is made of 100% recycled materials, but every little bit counts. But ask yourself: Do you need a new backpack? If the one you have now really isn't working out and can't be repaired, then you might get some peace of mind with our picks below.

Be sure to read our guides on the Best Recycled and Upcycled Products, Best Reusable Products, Best Laptop Bags and Best Camera Bags.

Best Overall (a Tote Backpack)

United By Blue's Carryall is a nice tote bag that easily converts to a backpack. Both the interior and exterior are made of 100% recycled polyster; the straps are 100% recycled nylon; the padding is made of a combo of 60% recycled nylon and 40% recycled polyster. Even the zipper pulls are 100% recycled nylon paracord.

It's water resistant and sufficiently padded to keep a 15-inch laptop safe from the elements and drops. There are useful organizational pouches inside the front pocket, as well as two water bottle pocket. If you're tired of carrying it on one shoulder, unzip the back pocket and pull out the comfy backpack straps. They clip on to sturdy D-rings at the base.

                                              Best Backpack (Mafia Bags Deep Blue Bag)

All Mafia Bags are made from recycled sails and the company employs Californians to cut and manufacture them. This Deep Blue Bag was made in collaboration with industrial designer and utilizes material from climbing ropes, seat belts, old wet and dry suits. The front compartment is waterproof and meant to prevent wet towels and bathing suits from leaking through to the rest of your gadgets, in case you hit the beach right after work. A hidden side pocket can house a phone, keys, wallet and you can use the small loop at the bottom of the bag to hang it upside down to dry. There's also a drysuit sleeve to keep water bottles securely in place until you pull them out.

Best Purse (Cuyana Oversized Recycled Sling Bag)

Cuyana makes our favorite laptop purse. This one, while more understated and casual, is just as gorgeous. The fabric of this sling bag is made from 100% recycled plastic taken from landfills. It has a durable, canvas like feel and can be machine washed in a mesh bag, so you can actually get real use out of it without worry.

A bottom insert keeps it structured and this large size fits more than you'll need-I used it as my personal item on a vacation and stuffed it full with a book, a tablet, over-ear headphones, medications and so on I could find to bring back.

For Casual Days(Fjallraven Samlaren Totepack)

I've tried a few Fjallraven products and love almost all of them (the Kanken is delightful). This Samlaren Totepack is made from leftover fabric from other Fjallraven products and recycled polyster-smart! It isn't big enough for all your work accessories, but for shopping or a lazy day at the beach, it's a nice size.

A Versatile Bag(Lo & Sons Hanover 2)

The Hanover 2 saves 22 used plastic bottles per bag from landfills, turning them into water resistant polyster. This was one of the more versatile backpacks with four pockets in it, including two water bottle pockets. During the workday, it was an organized backpack.