Alright, now that you have that extra motivation you were looking for not to buy plastic-wrapped food anymore, let’s talk
alternatives! We are fortunate enough to finally live in an era where alternatives to plastic exist and are becoming more and more accessible (although most of them are located in big cities — here is a
guide to buying bulk in London, and one for
buying in bulk in each state of the U.S.A.).
Tools and accessories to produce less waste have become more popular in the recent years too. So, finding travel or produce bags isn’t an impossible task anymore (whoop whoop!), and we can now even be picky about the ones we buy. So why not get some that tick ALL boxes? 😏
I’ve had the pleasure of trying
Vaughan & Unwin’s travel/produce bags’ and, many kilos of rice, beans, oats, and chocolate covered almonds (
hey! we said we wouldn’t be judgmental here), I am happy to share with you that those little cuties are the sturdy kind!
Who’s Vaughan & Unwin?
Vaughan & Unwin has been created by Steph and Sarah, two close friends who met in the film Industry. Their work has enabled them to work abroad much—however, it lead to a half packed suitcase life. They wished they could find ethically produced organic cotton bags to take with them that had clean but beautiful designs. And guess what, sometimes, If you want it done right, you’ve got to do it yourself!
Organic cotton
I am super excited to share that those little bags are made of organic cotton. 🍃Why not conventional cotton? Because (on top of being extremely thirsty crop) it is responsible for
soil erosion, and
air + water contamination by the
substantial fertilisers and pesticides it requires. So we know that it clearly isn’t exactly a sustainability champion. 💀
Organic cotton on the other hand is rated
class A on the
made-by environmental benchmark for fibres, meaning that it is one of
the most sustainable fibre in terms of
water use,
human toxicity,
energy use,
land use, and
CO2 emissions.
Made well in Turkey
Steph and Sarah had two main requirements when choosing their manufacturer. It had to be GOTS certified—which not only guarantees the highest quality of organic fabric, but also ensures the welfare of the workers along all stages of production.
The other requirement was to find a factory that would create a thick, durable soft cotton that hides and protects its content, rather than a material that is thin and semi-transparent.
When doing your groceries grows trees
As well as producing bags to help reduce single use plastics, they also wanted to give back to the environment. Working with a Turkish charity enabled to give back to the environment where their cotton originates from, which is why they’ve teamed up with TEMA Foundation (The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats) to bring their dream to fruition.
Their ‘Buy One – Plant One‘ promise means that for each purchase, they plant a tree on your behalf, creating a Hope Forest in Edirne, Turkey. 🌳
Beautifully patterned
This one has nothing to do with the bags being eco-friendly and is not going to make your groceries any lighter but, on top of all the goodness mentioned above, they ALSO look great. And right, as shallow as this can sound, I’d rather be a stylish bulk shopper than not. 💁🏻♀️
Mentioned in this post
This post was kindly sponsored by Vaughan & Unwin. All opinions are my own.
Morgane is a London-based writer passionate about sustainable living, ethical fashion and social justice.