Sustainably made, environmentally friendly bags have become essential to reducing single-use plastic. It’s a simple and smart method for cutting back on permanent waste that can easily be adopted by almost everyone on the planet. The trend is growing with no signs or good reasons to slow down, so of course there are now countless options for getting your own plastic-free eco bags, which we think is great!
With the massive amount of new ethically made bags on the market, it’s interesting to think that we might have just come across the most environmentally friendly bag in the world that’s produced by village people using a method that was first seen before plastic even existed.
Pueraria Phaseoloides is a plant with aggressively growing vines that thrives in tropical areas. In Australia, it’s referred to as Puero and known as Tropical Kudzu in most tropical places. In Laos, the Indigenous Khmu people use the vine to produce rope, bags and other similar items. Their method has been passed down for generations.
Fibres from the Pueraria Phaseoloides vines are stripped back and the pulp is hand-spun, tied and weaved to make string. There’s no large manufacturing plant or chemicals used to then turn the string into bags.
Other than the production process being completely environmentally friendly, when the Pueraria Phaseoloides grows, no chemicals, irrigation or cultivation is required and to add to the eco rating even further, the plant purifies the air and cleans the soil that grows in.
This combination of growing the plant and making the string is what leads us to believe that the bags produced by the people in the Laos jungle villages could be one of the most sustainable and eco friendly versions on the planet.
Being made by hand, each bag will have a slightly different shape and colour. You can purchase one of these bags here or see what else is available at the WAY&FARER eco store.
If you’ve happened to already get your hands on one of these bags or know of another bag that’s as sustainable as this one, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
