Best Bags From Recycled Materials [2023]

Patagonia Ultralight Black Hole Tote 27L

Patagonia is one of the brands that’s leading the switch to recycled and other sustainable materials, so it shouldn’t be surprising that they’re one of the first options featured here. Most of their products are made from recycled materials, and they’ll even tell you that they manufactured the bags from plastic bottles.

The Black Hole Tote is made entirely from recycled nylon material. It can be carried as a tote or as a backpack thanks to multiple adjustable straps. It’s not one of the best-looking shoulder bags on the list, but it makes for a decent and lightweight backpack. It includes a convenient sternum strap, which you don’t get on many other convertible backpacks.

The Patagonia bag features multiple internal and external pockets for easy organization. The tote is also highly packable – the entire thing folds and fits into one of its own pockets, so you can always have this bag handy wherever you go.

Another thing worth noting is that the backpack harness is adjustable and removable, so it won’t get in the way if you’re using this as a shoulder bag. Also, the straps are lined with breathable mesh for good airflow, making this convertible bag a good option for use in warm weather.

Haiku Jaunt Eco-Friendly Travel Crossbody Bag

Haiku Jaunt is another awesome bag made from eco-friendly upcycled materials. This crossbody bag is made from CyclePET, which is a polyester fabric made from post-consumer recycled plastics. It took 12 recycled plastic bottles to manufacture this bag, and you’d never know just by looking at it.

This is one of the smaller crossbody bags featured here, and it’s great for people who want a small but functional bag that will hold all their daily essentials. The bag also has some anti-theft features, so it’s a great option for travel! It’s not a bag you can use to pack essentials for a flight, but it is a bag that will hold all your must-haves while you’re out and about exploring a foreign city.

It’s got an RFID-safe pocket for all your cards, as well as lockable zippers. The bag is big enough to hold your phone, wallet, camera, and other smaller necessities, but you won’t be able to fit a laptop inside it.

There’s also a key fob inside the bag, as well as a convenient webbing loop on the bag. The entire bag is water-resistant, so you can safely use it regardless of the weather conditions.

Patagonia Black Hole Pack 32L

The Black Hole Pack from Patagonia is from the same collection as the Black Hole Tote but it’s a widely different bag. The only thing they have in common is the sustainable material using recycled plastic bottles.

The backpack is made from recycled polyester with a TPU-film laminate. The laminate makes the bag very water resistant, allowing for equally great performance regardless of the weather conditions.

Everything else about this backpack is top-notch. It’s got a TSA-friendly laptop compartment that easily fits 15” devices, as well as a back system with lots of padding and breathable mesh for premium carrying comfort. The pack features multiple pockets and compartments for easy organization, and with a total capacity of 32 liters, it’s just as spacious as an average carry-on suitcase.

It lacks a hip belt, so it might not be extremely comfortable to wear if you manage to overpack it. But that’s the worst thing about the bag, and if you’re looking for a really good backpack made from recycled materials, this is certainly a great option!

Cotopaxi Taal Convertible Tote

If you like colorful bags, the Cotopaxi Taal Convertible Tote is an excellent option. It’s made from recycled nylon and it can be worn two different ways – as a crossbody tote and as a backpack. Also, nylon has pretty good water resistance without any additional coating, so the bag should perform well in changing weather conditions.

The tote is a great size for both travel and everyday carry thanks to the generous 16-liter capacity. It’s worth noting that this bag is small enough to be accepted as a personal item on most airlines. It has quite a few pockets inside, both open and closed. There’s even a dedicated pocket for a water bottle inside the bag, so you can easily keep most of your necessities neatly organized.

All the Taal totes are manufactured in the Philippines and the workers who make them have complete control over what the finished product looks like. That means that you can’t order this bag in any color you want. Instead, you’ll find out the color of the bag only when you take it out of the box! It’s not ideal if you have a color preference, but it is pretty cool that every single Taal tote is unique.

Sea Bags Recycled Sail Cloth Medium Tote

Sea Bags makes bags from recycled sails and this brand is a great option if you want to get yourself something different. Their totes are available in various prints and designs, so there’s definitely bound to be at least one up your alley.

The Recycled Totes from Sea Bags are available in a few different size options, with the medium tote as the best solution for travel. It’s big enough to fit everything you might need during travel from personal documents to toiletry bags, but it’s still small enough to be accepted as a personal item on most airlines.

An important thing to note about Sea Bags products is that no two of their bags are identical. Sailcloth material is weathered, so every bag has its own unique creases and features. This also means that your bag won’t look absolutely pristine out of the box, but it’s by no means dirty or damaged!

Additionally, the bag is machine washable so cleaning it will be super easy. Not all of the brand’s other bags are safe to wash in the machine though – some have leather accents, so keep that in mind if you end up getting a different style.

Fjallraven High Coast Totepack

Want a bag that can work for both travel and everyday carry? Then consider the Fjallraven High Coast tote pack. It’s a convertible bag that can be worn in many different ways thanks to multiple straps. This can be a backpack or a classic tote bag, and it’s got plenty of space inside for all the things you might need on a daily basis.

The Fjallraven Totepack is made from recycled plastic materials. Bergshell is the main fabric of the bag and it’s a sustainable material developed from polyamide by Fjallraven. It’s a water-resistant material so you use this bag wherever you want without worrying about the weather conditions.

This bag has five pockets total, including a padded computer sleeve. With a total capacity of 23 liters, it can fit plenty of items for everyday carry and travel. Also, the Fjallraven Totepack is extremely packable – it folds and fits into its front pocket, so you can easily just carry this bag wherever you go.

Pacsafe Citysafe CX Anti-Theft Convertible Backpack

If you can’t decide between a backpack for travel and a more stylish bag for daily use, why not get both? The Pacsafe Citysafe CX Bag is convertible and it can go from a convenient backpack to a stylish crossbody bag in just a couple of swift moves. And that’s only the first cool thing about it.

This bag is made from 320D ECONYL (regenerated nylon) and polyester made from 5 recycled plastic bottles. The sustainable materials are another great thing about the Citysafe CX bag, but the anti-theft features are by far the most impressive. There’s stainless steel wire mesh in between those recycled materials, so the bag is pretty much slash-proof.

The straps are also cut-proof thanks to wire reinforcement, plus there are locks on every zipper of the bag. This stylish recycled bag even features RFID-safe pockets, so that you’re also safe from anyone who might try to virtually scam you.

In terms of storage space and pockets, it has a capacity of 8 liters as a backpack but only 5.5 liters as a crossbody bag. It’s worth noting that this isn’t a great option for travel because of the small capacity, but it’s certainly a decent choice for everyday carry.

Additionally, their bag can easily fit an 11” tablet inside the dedicated sleeve, so anyone with a very small laptop might actually be able to make use of this convertible bag. Larger devices won’t fit inside, and I’m pretty sure you can only fit the tablet when the bag is worn like a backpack.