With eco-friendly products, it can be difficult to create items that are appealing and stylish to a customer. But Envi Reusable Bags has succeeded with that difficult task by working with clients to see what strikes their fancy. The company that's been around since the early '90s offers a variety of options to help clients create a bag that best reflects their own unique style and message. "There are no limitations," says Sheldon Caplan, sales manager at Envi. "Our clients have a certain idea of where they want to go and we bring it to the next level. If you can dream it, we can make it."

End-users can choose from different types of fabric, style, size and shape. Envi then works with the customer to see if they'd like added features: zippers, grommets, insulation pockets or even wine pockets. "We make wine bags with sleeves for every particular bottle so it doesn't bind together," Caplan says. "And those bags are very durable - holding up to 45-50 pounds with no stress whatsoever."

But to stand by its "green with style" objective, the bags are 100% green certified. Customers can be misguided when companies claim they supply "green" products. But according to Caplan, Envi is a recipient of the EcoLogo and adheres to green standards. This means each product uses harmless, non-toxic, AZO-free dyes, protecting the environment and the health of customers as well.

And although Envi offers bags made of reusable and sustainable materials (natural canvas, woven and non-woven polypropylene, jute, nylon, etc.), retailers have another material to choose from - PET (Polyethylene terephthalate). The PET bags are constructed from recycled soda bottles. "Bottles in landfills don't decompose, that's obvious," says Caplan. "Our intention was to improve the state of today's environment by spinning these bottles into fabric."

Caplan also says Envi is investigating using the PET bags for other markets, including sports. With today's economy, end-users are very cost conscious when it comes to purchasing brand names such as Nike and adidas. "We want to make it as inexpensive as possible for customers who are attracted to sports bags," he says. "Whether it's for hockey, soccer or basketball, our bags will resemble the popular brands, but we'll sell them at a quarter of the price."

Stitches Magazine