Description

Natural jute eco tote shopping bag in green with toucans.

•    This hand-loomed jute tote eco shopping bag is both environmentally-friendly and stylish in design.

•    Features a striking green and blue design printed on both the front and back – two toucans sitting in a tree in the rainforest.

•    Finished with two cushioned orange cotton handles.

•    There is one main compartment inside, which has been treated with a waterproof, wipe-clean lining.

•    The Toucan bird is a resident of the Amazon Rainforest in South America.

•    Eco fact! 1 million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide and that the average lifespan of a plastic bag is 12 minutes!

What is a Tote Bag?

It’s a simple product which combines practicality, versatility and style. Usually defined as a medium sized bag which has two parallel handles.
They are usually unfastened at the top and therefore commonly used for carrying shopping.
Tote bags provide a comfortable and reusable alternative to disposable plastic shopping bags.

This Fair Trade bag has been handmade with great care by artisans at Earthbags in Kolkata, India.
They give employment to women and self-help groups and strive to help the environment by encouraging more people to use earth-friendly bags, rather than plastic ones.
Earthbags has become the first factory in eastern India to receive the “Gold Standard” from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

Cutting the natural jute in India

Did you know?
Jute is the 2nd most important vegetable fibre (after cotton) and is a light, soft, shiny plant fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. (See supporting images)
Jute has a minimal carbon footprint, it reduces water consumption, uses hardly any fertiliser and pesticides and there is very little pollution created during manufacturing.

Close-up of natural jute

Jute is 100% bio-degradable and recyclable and thus environmentally-friendly.

What jute looks like after looming

DIMENSIONS – width 30 cm x height 30 cm x depth of gusset 20 cm approximately.
The handles have a drop of 12 cm from the top of the bag.

These bags are 100% vegan: no animals are harmed, they’re water based and AZO-free dyes are used.

An introduction to toucans…

Toucans are a type of bird that lives in the Amazon Rainforests of South America, where they make their nests in the holes of trees and can live for up to 20 years.
There are 40 different species of Toucans.

They are known for their large and strikingly coloured bills, which can be four times the size of their head and can account for half of their total length!
Finding and catching food is aided by a toucan’s long tongue, which can measure up to 5.9 inches.
Toucans are omnivorous, eating a variety of foods including fruits and berries plus lizards, rodents, small birds, and an assortment of insects.

Interestingly, Toucans can only fly for small distances, as their wingspan is small – around the same length as their bodies.
They are social birds that like to travel in groups of 22 birds to search for food. They are also noisy birds who love to talk to each other using “toad-like” sounds.

Toucans in the Amazon Rainforest

You’ll find many different designs in the range. This jute shopping bag has a “save our bees” print.

If you want the full story about Earthbags, the manufacturer in Kolkata, India who make these jute shopping bags, then read my Blog post.

Also note: I take care to ensure that pictures and descriptions are as accurate and representative as possible, but please be aware that these products are handmade in the developing world (often using locally-sourced and/or recycled materials) and minor variations may occur – making each item truly unique!

“AND REMEMBER, NO POSTAGE COSTS WILL BE ADDED TO YOUR ORDER – DELIVERY IS FREE.”