Wine, at first glance, can only be of plant origin because we know that it is made from grapes from the vine, a natural plant. If you think this, in many cases, you are wrong. In fact, most wines need an ingredient of animal origin during their production.

When is it not vegan ?

The presence of animal substances in wine:

It is during winemaking, when the wine is clarified at the end of its manufacturing process, that some winegrowers use animal substances. But what for exactly?

Wine clarification is a step that removes deposits, the finest particles suspended in the wine in order to make it clearer and brighter. This step is also called: gluing. This is a step which is not systematic but which, when it is carried out, is done with glue made from animal substances such as egg white, casein (a protein from cow’s milk) or even fish glue which is a glue from the skin or cartilage of fish.

Another use that is not necessarily vegan is when they will use animal glue to stick the labels on the wine bottle with casein or pork-based glue (slaughterhouse waste). The caps made of cork are not always vegan either, some may contain beeswax.

So you can see that after listing the non-vegetable uses during wine making, they are often present.

What is vegan wine?

A vegan wine is a wine that contains no animal traces and uses no animals for the production and harvest of its products. Several alternatives exist in order to make a classic wine a vegan wine. It is possible to replace the glue used by winegrowers based on animal substances, by a vegetable glue or not use glue at all. As an alternative, for example, there is a glue made from pea vegetable powder.

To recognize your vegan wine, you must therefore check its composition on the label. But you can also see the “V-Label” label which allows you to recognize 2 types of wine: vegan wine and vegetarian wine. The difference is that the vegetarian wine will prohibit the use of meat, i.e. pork fat, etc., but will allow the use of other products of animal origin such as honey, egg white etc. Vegan wine, on the contrary, will prohibit these two uses and will opt for more plant-based alternatives, which do not harm animal life.

How to find vegan wine?

Of course, you can ask your wine merchant. As a reminder: wine should be consumed with care and only on special occasions. So don’t buy the next bottle in the supermarket but go to a specialist.

But you can also use digital help tools to find what you need.

The Vegan Wine Directory gives you a large list of vegan alcoholic drinks. Several online stores now offer “vegan” categories like this one here. (for French customers)

Is vegan wine organic and produced under better conditions?

Vegan wine is not necessarily certified organic and vice versa. Particularly because the specifications of these two names are different and allow certain things that the other does not. So if you want a vegan and organic drink, please check both labels.

To conclude: We believe that we do not need animal substances in everything we eat and drink. We are exploiting our planet and our animals enough. Let’s stop this abuse. Especially when it comes to drinks such as wine, which are only consumed for special occasions, so be careful.

The post What is vegan wine appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.

As on 1^st of November it is World Vegan day, we would like to highlight this year’s innovative and different vegan products. World vegan day is a great occasion to show that veganism goes much further than your dishes. What the day is about and to learn more you can check back on our blog article about it. 

Here, we want to present to you brands we love as they are very different to what is usually on the market. 

Vegan cosmetics

You know we love cosmetics as we regularly present amazing brands and products. But now we discovered another brand bringing skin and hair care products which are really innovative. This brand is Louise emoi. The products are made in France of natural ingredients and all vegan. But that is not all: The brand innovates in their products. 

What do you think of if we tell you: Mango butter, avocado broccoli and sesame? Sounds like salad, a bowl or a vegan dish, right? Let me tell you that this is not what Louise emoi made out of it. They bring to you a hair mask which will strengthen your hair and make it shine again. A nourishing mix which is a truly relaxing moment. 

And after your hair care you will also need some vegan cosmetics for your skin. Their oil is perfect for this as it softens your skin while being without any essential oils. This is especially important for allergic or sensitive people. You can be sure that their products are great for everyone. 

Vegan and soft soaps

Further, you can find for your everyday routine great soaps from Louise emoi. They work with a natural and soft process to manufacture the soaps. All natural and great for skin and hands. You can discover the full range here and for sure will find more than one favourite. 

Vegan bee wrap

At least as vegan products are important, zero waste is. So if both could be combined, how amazing would this be? 

This is exactly  what Anotherway brings to you. The company from the south of France is specialised in zero waste products, cleaning tools but also bee wraps. Bee wraps are a great innovation as they replace all plastic films and aluminium foil. The only negative point is that bee wrap is not vegan and not adapted for vegan consumers. 

But this is where Anotherway innovates and brings a new innovative product: The VEGAN wrap. Like a bee wrap these are wraps to put your food inside or to close your bowls, but fully vegan. 

They can be used and re-used, easily cleaned, reduce waste and are made in France. We are clearly in love! 

Further, only on the homepage of Anotherway you will discover countless amazing zero waste products as Do-it-yourself kits, packaging for zero waste shopping or soap blocks for your dishes.

Discover their products HERE, but we warn you: You won’t leave without a purchase.  

No vegan leather but vegan innovations

At Bag Affair we work fully vegan. But not just vegan but also plastic free. We did tell you about this before as terms such as “vegan leather” are quite misleading and most times working with plastics instead. We work with natural materials only and are still vegan. 

Our innovation goes up to developing a new material which we call “CORKonLINEN” made of linen and cork, European, natural and compostable. This is how vegan innovation should look like for us. 

Make your vegan choice

Keep in mind that you, as a consumer, have a vote. Make your choices wisely. Discover these vegan products and try them. Every little step makes a difference so try new things and find out your favourite. 

How about a relaxing day thanks to the products from Louise emoi and some vegan food afterwards. And if there is food left, just wrap it in your Vegan wrap. Enjoy your vegan day! 

The post Vegan Innovations appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.

What are clean cosmetics?

But more general- how can you know if a cosmetics products is sustainable. Clean cosmetics means cosmetics which does not harm your skin, neither the nature. And to know this you need to understand what is in your creams, make-up and more.

Understand the ingredients of cosmetics

Similar to food are the ingredients on the list most times in order from more to less= the first ingredient is in the highest quantity in the product until the last with lowest.

But if you ever tried to read all what is in your new mascara or body cream you need glasses or magnifier. And you probably ask yourself what language this is.

These lists are written in tiny letters and full of words which you probably never heard before.

So here some categories you should watch out for : Microplastics, softeners, aluminum, formaldehydes and mineral oils.

1)   Micro-plastics

Many cosmetic products contain micro plastics. We are sure that if you would have known this before you would not have selected these products.

Micro plastic is uses as binders, brighteners, abrasives or just as fillers. This can be found in creams, shampoos, lotions, scrubs and also toothpaste. Plastic particles that are smaller than 5 mm are considered microplastics. They are in cosmetics which are wax or gel-like.  Another word “microbeads”.

Some brands did already eliminate the micro plastic, other still use it, knowing what they do.

When we use cosmetic with microplastic these go directly in the used water. As until now it is not possible to filter microplastic they will end up in the ocean and drinking water.

Keep in mind that many plastics take between 200 to 600 years to degrade. We can find microplastic in over 1200 types of fish, but already as well in our drinking water or drinks as beer. Microplastics no matter if from clothes, cosmetics or other are always harming our planet.

Each week 5 grams

Researcheers estimate that we take each week around 5 grams of microplastics via food in our body.

There are no detailed studies about the long terms effects but many times this plastics contains softeners and in general toxic ingredients. We do not believe in a non-existing or a positive effect.

Plus microplastic is a magnet for toxic substances which it attracts in the water.

You do not want to buy anymore cosmetics with Microplastics? – Great! Check for these mentions which all mean plastic starting with a P for polymer.

Polyethylen (PE)

Polypropylen (PP)

Polyethylenterephalat (PET)

Nylon – 12

Nylon – 6

Polyurethan (PU or PUR)

Acylates Copolymer (AC)

Polyacrylat (PA)

Polymethymethacrylat (PMMA)

Polystyren (PS)

Polyquaternium (PQ)

A list (in German) is also given out by the German BUND here.

2. Softener (Phthalate)

WHO says this is another thread to human health. Softeners are often used to make plastics softener as they are otherwise too hard to be used.

In baby and children products they are forbidden, but not in cosmetics. (“WHAT” you think, why if we know they are bad for kids they are still allowed? – Keep in mind that lobbies are everywhere)

Typical ones are:

Alcohol.denat

DEHP

DINP

Diethylphtalat

DEP

Dimenthylphtalat

DMP

Other words ending on –phtalat

Often in hair spray or gel, sun crème, deodorant, tooth paste or perfume, but as well cosmetics as nail polish or mascara.

Through sweat of your skin they can get into the body, oil can help as well for the body to absorb them. The first studies see a link between infertility and cancers these softeners as reasons.  

3. Aluminium

Aluminium inhibits sweat as it causes the pores to contract and block sweat ducts. However, this is not healthy in the long term because sweat has a balancing and important function for the body. In addition, aluminium can also be absorbed through the body, and they are also suspected of causing cancer.

It is extracted from ore bauxite – the rainforest is being cut down again for this purpose. During the production, a toxic red mud is created which is often incorrectly or not disposed of and ends up in nature where it destroys entire habitats.

Do without it? – Good idea, but pay careful attention. As alternatives with rock crystal or alum substances are not an alternative and are often even more toxic.

4. Formaldehyde

Formaldehydes are carcinogenic and cause allergies: It is mainly used in nail polish because it has a preservative effect. Unfortunately often not named – look out for:

DMDM Hydantoin

Diazolidinyl Urea

Imidazolidinyl Urea

Bronopol

Quaterium-15

Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate

Methamine

2-Bromo-2-nitropropane-1

3-diol

2,4-Phthalate

5-bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane

Triclosan and parabens are used as an alternative to preservation and should also be absolutely avoided, they can influence the estrogen level and, similar to microplastics, damage nature.

5. mineral oil

Mineral oils make cosmetics softer and smoother – for example lip gloss. They have different names as:

Parrafin, Parrafinum, Petrolatum

Vaseline, Ozokerit

Ceresin

They are inexpensive to manufacture and do not cause allergies.

All these are made of raw oil. Substances which are based on petroleum are often labelled with MOSH (mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons) or MOAH (mineral oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons).

The European organization of food safety estimates that these ingredients can cause cancer or as well promote genetic defects.

6. Further elements to avoid

These further elements are not clean and should not be in your cosmetics- better avoid them.

Silikons – they make especially hair smooth but cannot degrade afterwards.

Tensid SLS ( Sodium Lauryl Sufate) – it helps to create foam and make soaps look more efficient. No real affect and further might cause cancer and are toxic for all organisms in the water.

Perfumes can easily create allergies and should be used with precaution.

Vegan cosmetics and animal tests

Vegan cosmetics are of course always best, as you can be sure that no ingredient is inside which is of animal origin. This eliminates all questions of what it might be and how it was generated. Nearly all vegan brands do not do any animal testing neither.

What ? – You thought animal testing for cosmetics is not allowed anymore? You are partly correct.

Animal tests are not allowed for cosmetics in Europe since several years. But tests for medicaments are- any many cosmetics contain as well ingredients which are in medicaments and which have been tested on animals before. So there are still many brands using this little hole to escape from general rules. The list from PETA is certainly not complete but includes already more brands than you would expect. You can find it here.

Clean cosmetics are hard to find

We are sorry about this super long article and list. But we hope it helps you to decide better in the future. And step by step you will find great brands and products and if you stick to them you do not need to read labels aver again.

The application “CLAIRE” might help. This application can decrypt the little words on the ingredients lists. We tried it and it really depends on the brands, typo and writing. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Buy natural cosmetics!

Natural or clean cosmetics are better for you and the nature. They work without all the toxic ingredients and they are as efficient as the big brands you see in TV.

This is the only way to really be sure that you can buy without reading the labels each time.

We presented several brands in the article before, but here again one brand which we really like. Let’s take it as an example to decrypt some labels.

Pachamamai is a French brand offering you cosmetics, but as well solid shampooing and more. All ingredients are carefully selected and organic. The cosmetics are made in France with respect to the planet.

How about a solid body cream instead of a classical lotion full of microplastics and mineral oils? The cream is efficient and soothes your skin, but take a look on the ingredients as well. All is natural and not harmful to planet, animals or humans. Inside is: COCOS NUCIFERA OIL, RHUS VERNICIFLUA PEEL CERA, CANDELILLA CERA, SESAMUM INDICUM SEED OIL, GARCINIA INDICA SEED BUTTER, EMBLICA OFFICINALIS FRUIT , SILYBUM MARIANUM SEED OIL, PARFUM, CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS OIL, TOCOPHEROL, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS SEED OIL, LIMONENE, LINALOOL, CITRAL. You can see that all oil comes from plants, ass ingredients sound rather like a salad than complicated. And it comes in a little metal box. This makes it easy to travel, but it is refillable as well.

And another tip: These rules are valid for cosmetics but of course do cleaning products for the house need some attention as well. Great news are that Pachamamai offers as well a solid dishwasher soap. With only 5 fully natural ingredients your dishes will be clean, your hands soft and the nature protected. 

The post How to find clean cosmetics appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.

Let’s be honest, we all want to reduce plastics in our life, live more sustainable and with a lower impact. But there are sectors which are quite confusing. Fashion is definitely part of it as you rarely know what is produced where and how. This is the reason why we have the “ethical fashion” category in our blog to give you inspiration.

But a second sector is definitely products in your bathroom. Third on the list are probably cleaning products in the house.

In this article we want to share some tips and brands you can really trust when it comes to your zero-waste beauty routine.

All brands listed are brands are vegan and work sustainably. They are brands we trust in and we hardly recommend you try.

Brands to trust for your zero-waste beauty routine

To help you in the jungle of brands and promises we present to you here 4 brands we use and we recommend.

Akibé

You know we always praise products made close to France. But if you do it right, you can also produce a little further away, still respecting humans, planet and making amazing products. This is what the brand Akibé does. They manufacture in Gabon, and support local communities with their production.

The brand is specialized in solid shampoos. They offer four varieties, all as good as the others. They are soft on the skin and hair, while efficiently washing. Most ingredients are natural (yes, you read correctly, not all is natural) but the brand is hyper transparent and explains all details here.

Solid hair products are becoming more and more important on the market, but please keep in mind that not all are truly sustainable. Akibé is, and we can really recommend their work. Claire the founder of the brand worked for over 15 years for big cosmetic brands. She always had the same problem: missing transparency, more marketing than true effects and no real engagements towards humans and nature.

In terms of packaging the products come in paper packaging, light for the transport, and entirely recyclable.

Endro Cosmetics

Endro is the brand which is closest to us – in terms of distance as they are in Brittany as well. A brand founded in 2019 by Boris and Marion as they made a simple observation:  your deodorant has many ingredients, complicated formulas which are not natural and can even be dangerous for your health. Marion made it simple: She produced her deodorant herself. A huge success as she shared it with family and friends.

Such a success that they made a business out of it: Natural cosmetics with only 4 ingredients, all bio and natural. Plus: their packaging consists of little jars which are reusable.

The brand did grow rapidly thanks to their efficient and natural products. And today their offer grows rapidly offering as well toothpaste that we love, as well as a new product: A scrub. Two versions for the face and for the body, the scrubs are natural, made of 7 ingredients and even 1 which is a reused source. Packaged in the glass jars, efficient, and made in Brittany. We could not ask for more!

La crème libre

One product we all use every day is the facial cream. It is a product we always have, in the past was that this still comes with a jar. Either plastics which helps to be lighter and lower CO2 during transport or glass which can be recycled but is heavier. La crème libre has the solution: one concrete jar which is practical though beautiful and a little refill package which is light, and made of plastics.

The pots are made of concrete and are handcrafted in Champagne-Ardenne. The size of the care refill has been optimized to reduce single-use waste by 90%. A more ecological and economical solution since you only pay for the formula and not the packaging

But it is a bio-plastic which can be recycled and they are working hardly on finding a plastics-free solution.

Their offer includes only vegan, natural and made in France products and give you the choice of different formulas. All creams are made for every kind of skin and can be used by the whole family (including pregnant and breastfeeding women and children over 3 years old).

When you look at the list of ingredients you will probably want to eat a fruit salad: Cucumber, Cassis, Almonds, apples and more are in their products. Products with the power of nature !

What we love about the little jar is that its lid is made of cork, our all-time favorite material.

ZAO MAKEUP

You might remember ZAO from giveaways we did on social media before. This French brand is our favorite for decorative cosmetics. Their natural colors for the eyes are just gorgeous and their mascara with Aloe-Vera sublimes your lashes while protecting them.

But did you know that they also have solid products for your beauty routine? One of the new products we love is the solid make-up removers. They are gentle to your skin while efficiently removing all your make-up. Further, they come in a little metal box, easy to store and truly sustainable. To use them it is very simple : just take your washable cosmetics pads and a little water. Gently rub the make-up remover with a little water in the palm of your hands. Apply the foam to your face and wash off with the help of your pads. A step of your beauty routine which is easy, fast and perfectly zero-waste.

All products from ZAO are 100% natural, vegan, organic and refillable. Yes that is definitely another great argument: You can refill all of their products. Plus: The store retakes your empty packaging to recycle them correctly.

How to select cosmetics and beauty items?

To conclude, here are 3 steps to help you. As explained in blogs before, the word “sustainable” is quite wide, without any true definition. This is also the case when talking about products for your bathroom.

The offer is growing rapidly and Greenwashing is as always a problem. Here are three rules that can help you:

1. Less is more: Read the ingredients and keep in mind that the less is inside the better. Further, as soon as you find complicated words, hard to understand, better not to go for it.
2. Select vegan products: Vegan products are free of any ingredients of animal origin. Better for them and better for you.
3. Look at the packaging: There are certainly great products with little ingredients and vegan put packaged in single use plastic. Keep in mind that the packaging has an impact as well and select glass, recycled paper or no packaging at all.

We hope you did not only discover new brands and products, but you also know better on how to select those items for your bathroom. Last but not least: Check out these brands and their offers which are much wider than what we talked about. We are sure you will fall in love once tried. Trust us!

The post Your zero-waste beauty routine appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.

In this article we want to show you the differences of the terms and the impact behind them.

The general definition

Basically Upcycling means to raise the quality, Recycling means to keep it on the same level and downcycling means lowering the quality.

But we need to go a bit further into the terms and look at some examples to understand the differences. The common term is “cycling”, which means to keep things in a circle. Though, quickly, you will understand that not all of these methods are circular, but working in a spiral, either upwards, either downwards.

So let’s start with the term you might already know about, as we presented several brands before, doing this.

Upcycling

Upcycling is certainly the best of all three, but also the one used the fewest.

It means to use materials and resources in a different way and raise their quality. This rising leads to the term “up”.

Let’s have a look with an example: Upcycling is using unused resources to make something better, something with a higher level of usage. For example, Second Sew uses old tissues to make clothes for kids. Or a small label from Brest, called YO Yarn Over, using threads made of used cotton shirts to knit new objects with them.

In these examples it is easy to understand, but there are cases which are less obvious. If we look at plastic bottles which are used to make polyester shirts or pullovers this is already a different thing. Yes a pullover has a higher usage than plastic bottles. But ideally we also have a method in upcycling in which we do not add resources or pollute. To make Polyester you need to inject some “fresh” material, so raw oil. Further, these articles are made of short fibres which easily break and diffuse microplastics into the oceans. So, technically upcycling, is not the best way to do it.

Recycling

This leads us to recycling and as you know from blog posts we did before we are not fans of this term. What recycling means is to use a resource in a circle. Using it again and again and again ; the same material without any change.

This is possible for aluminium which can be used for decades. It is great to recycle as it is easy to filter in the collection stations and easy to use again. This is the perfect example for recycling.

But now the bad news: This is hardly the only example for recycling.

What brands, manufacturers and many others, want to tell you by adding the little sign with circulars arrows on packaging is in reality a lie.

“circulars arrows on packaging is in reality a lie”

It is not possible in terms of technical and human resources (for nearly all countries worldwide, Scandinavia is working on it) to perfectly separate materials. You throw away your plastic yoghurt cup with the lid for example which is still attached on it. To re-use any material it needs to be pure. (same for textiles) Today, no recycling centre has the machines or human resources to separate these materials.

Further, even if they were separated there are many types of thin plastics, as the lid, which cannot be recycled, but only burned or ending up as landfill. This plastic is simply too low quality to make anything out of it.

Plastics which can be used again are hard plastics as indeed bottles. But here is the next issue: Many countries do not have the possibility to do this in their country and first ship the empty bottles around the globe. Further, to make new bottles out of them, (reminder this is what recycling means: taking a material and injecting it back in the same circle) you need to inject around 20-30% of raw material.

So what happens instead with our “recycling” bottles? They are downcycled.

Downcycling

The problem of downcycling is that the term is not very sexy. It means to use resources to make something with a lower quality out of it.  So brands prefer not to be correct in working and use recycling instead.

Let’s look at some examples: A typical product always promoted as recycled and recyclable is packaging material as boxes. The thought is that this is a downcycling product.

Cardboard boxes are made of other paper, ok. But this needs to be higher quality paper and could be journals or books. Further, after usage you cannot make a new box of a used one. [A reason why we do not though away any boxes at Bag Affair but really use them as many times as possible.] So instead you can make lower quality paper products out of it, such as toilet paper for example.

Downcycling means to use materials again, but as fibres get shorter, quality gets lower.

Another example are textiles which are often made of a mix of composites, for example a cotton, polyamide mix. There is no way to separate the fibres and to recycle. But downcycling is possible for example by cutting them in smaller pieces for isolation.

To conclude

It is important to highlight that downcycling is not necessary bad. What we claim is simply that brands and advertisement should not promise false recycling instead.

What would be best is not to pollute our planet more but to focus on materials which are possible to really be recycled.

One last point: there is also the false promise of recycling done by many innovative companies using trash as cigarette studs, to make something else out of them. This is a start, but there is no way to truly decompose or to recycle the objects they made.

We believe it is possible to do better, but first of all we need to reduce our consumption and the pollution of our planet.

The post Upcycling vs Recycling vs Downcycling appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.

Frenchwashing explained

Made in France products assuring quality and promoting local production got a lot of positive publicity during the last years. Production in France is a guaranty for quality and local employment. France offers perfect work conditions and you do not need to question how people work. Hours, salary and social security are secured.

And there are companies who want to profit from this positive image. The problem: They do not produce in France. And for this they cannot write and claim to be “Made in France”. They got creative and started to “Frenchwash” by using similar words, expressions or symbols which you believe that they are made in France. This is legal, but not honest.

We want to show you to most common examples to help you to recognize Frenchwashing easily.

Wordings used to lead to wrong interpretation

If you just turn the words a bit, use words with a bit different meaning you are in a legal section, though voluntary misleading the consumer. Here you find a list of the most common ones used when Frenchwashing.

French touch

Elaborate in France

French know-how

French creation

Frenchy

French tradition

A la francais

Traditional manufacturing

French original product

Designed in France

Think in France

French company

French brand

None of these wording actually mean that a product is manufactured in France. Designed in France and made in China is absolutely possible. And yes a company can be based in France and manufacturer elsewhere – but here the goal is only to mislead.

Misleading symbols

But it is not only words which are used to mislead consumers but as well symbols or colours. If you think about France, what comes into your mind? The Eiffel Tower, the blue-white-red flag or maybe some big fashion brands? Exactly these symbols are also used to mislead.

Eiffel tower

Baguette

Hexagon

Beret, the traditional French hat

Rooster

French flag

Same counts for the colour-mix of blue, white and red. The usage of the traditional colours of the French flag makes us think of France. But these are just colours and no legal indication of where a product is made.

These brands play with your feelings and emotions. Symbols and colours will make you think of France automatically and this is their goal.

Words to trust in

Luckily there are as well the official and legally used words which ensure truly that products are made in France. These are the following:

Made in France

Manufactured in France

Produced in France

Assembled in France

These are the terms which are as well recognized from the customs and legally binding. If you buy a t-shirt on which it is written Made in France, you can be 100% sure that it is really manufactured in France.

Meaning of Made in France

Ok, one more problem. What does Made in France mean? Let’s look again on the t-shirt. Cotton made with a little embroidery.

So if the t-shirt comes from India and the embroidery is added in France, is this t-shirt Made in France? NO.

The definition of the “Made in” is fixed in the customs rules for all categories, so as well for textiles. These European rules say that the product is assembled in France adding a significant added value in the usage of the product. This transformation must impact the usage of the product.

Plus the customs code changes in this process.

a t-shirt made in France

So let’s again look on our t-shirt. We have no cotton (or very view) growing in France. So to have raw material until finished product made in France is impossible.

• Cotton from India coming in rolls to France. (customs code of textile rolls) The tissue is coloured in France, cut and sewn to the shirt. Finally the embroidery is added. (customs code of T-shirt)  Clearly : Made in France

• The t-shirt is manufactured in India and comes assembled to France. (customs code of T-shirt) Here only the embroidery is added. (customs code of T-shirt) Not made in France.

Keep in mind that the shirt does also without embroidery or a print is a t-shirt which can be worn the same way.

A different example: A shirt ready just no buttons yet. Only the buttons are added in France. This is not Made in France neither. It is a shirt before and stays with buttons.

The transformation in France must add a value to the product to be Made in France.

We believe this is what you would naturally understand as Made in France- but again this is not always what happens. Production overseas is cheaper though the brands want to French image and are ready to lie for that.

Labels to trust in

Further to the wording there are labels for the textile sector which allow you to be sure that products are truly made in France. For food or other goods there are different labels.

In the textile sector you have these 3 labels:

Origine France Garantie

This labels grants that at least 50% of the value of a product has been obtained in France. Means as well that the product obtains the essential characteristics in a French factory. This label exists for food as well- in that case at least 50% of ingredients must as well come from France.

EPV : Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant

This labels was created by the French government in 2006. Not only it grants manufacturing in France but it can only be obtained from companies which own a special traditional know-how in France with which they produce. So here you find mostly labels and brands which exist in France since many years and which still produce in the same way. It is not only a label for origin but also to value the unique know-how.

France terre textile

This label is 100% specific to the textile sector and can only be obtained if 75% or more of the textile manufacturing was made in France. The full production chain is taking into account from the manufacturing of fibres, knitting and making the tissue to cutting, sewing and possible print or embroidery. Further obliges this label a sustainable approach which is as well evaluated if a company wants to obtain this label.

Pay attention towards Frenchwashing

To sum up: Please pay attention if you want to buy a product Made in France.

We know that you would like to have it easy when it comes to shopping. But as long as there are companies which are not honest about their manufacturing and where products come from, it is on the consumer to judge.

If you are not sure, ask the brand or the seller. Be curious and look behind the words, symbols and colours. Keep in mind that Frenchwashing exists!

Buying Made in France is awesome and you should get real Made in France products for your money!

The post What is Frenchwashing or “Francolavage”? appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.

But linen is so much more and here we want to present you the real innovations of linen with 4 exceptional brands. The goal: To show you that this amazing plant can be so much more than you think. And of course we invite you to check out these brands, so that you can buy one of these LIN’novations.

The traditional linen

France is not only the biggest producer of linen worldwide but historically always has been. This plant grows perfectly in the  Normandy region and the north of France.

The linen plant needs only 100 days to grow. Blossoming in June for only one day each the flowers close afterwards to little capsules. In these capsules you find the seeds.

The seeds are used either to plant new flax for the upcoming year or pressed for very healthy, but in terms of taste very intense oil. Of course you can eat the seeds themselves as well.

The plant is used for the fibres, to comb them and to spin them into threads. With these, all different kind of tissues are made.

Until here it all sounds as you have heard about it before- but linen can do so much more.

The innovations of linen

Over the last years, humans have used more and more plastic (or similar structures out of raw oil), we have imported rather than produce in Europe and we always believed that innovations need to have some electronical part and some digital component in them. Well, we have been wrong.

The brands we want to present to you here all made something unique out of the same plant. Real innovations and incredible products which need to be known better. They are listed in inverse  alphabetical order.

Mon gobelet en lin

The fact that single use plastic cups are banned from festivals, barbecue parties and other events has been long overdue. But for now often the alternative is still plastics: not as single use but still.

The good news: There are innovations of linen which are real game changers. Mon gobelet en lin is a French start-up making cups out of linen.

The cups are made of linen fibres and PLA which is a bio-plastic. This means that the product is 100% natural and compostable, still very light-weight. Bio-plastic can degrade without harming nature. Often the fruit bags you now get in supermarkets are out of the same material using corn as base.

The cups are made in France, natural and compostable yet made to last. They are perfect for all kinds of events and even from a small quantity,  you can personalise them with your logo or any other writing.

If you just want to replace your cups for the next picnic or as a creative and unique gift, visit their shop here.

LIN-LOV

Now let’s take the linen a bit further: How about having the seeds transformed into food which actually tastes really good?

That is what LIN-LOV offers to you. They make spreads for your bread or as well to use when cooking. The positive aspects of linen are kept: a high rate of Omega 3, highest nutritional values and all natural. But no bitter taste anymore, only pleasure.

They use the full seeds, so their products are as well zero waste. Delivered in glass containers and a sustainable packaging their work is absolutely sustainable.

Today you can find sweet and savoury versions in their range. You will find something for every taste – from pure linen one over more classical ones with cocoa to savoury tastes with spices or zucchini.  You can buy your favourite one here.

If you need inspiration on how to use them and how to cook with them, check out the homepage as well as you can find many recipes.

Please note: 5 of 6 are vegan, there is one of them not vegan as it contains honey.

Linaé

Cosmetics that take care of your skin with ORGANIC linen. Stéphanie Gastaldin, founder of Linaé, comes from a family that has been cultivating flax in France since 1920.

The products are made in France and certified Origine France Garantie. The treatments are natural and tested without endocrine disrupting effects of estrogenic type.

Their innovation with linen: use linseed oil rich in Omega 3 and 6 to nourish your skin and linseed mucilage to hydrate your face.

These two ingredients come from flax seeds and are just perfect for making your face glow.

In addition, the brand offers textile accessories with linen such as washable make-up removing squares.

The products are clinically tested and respect the One Voice charter against animal exploitation.

Linaé favors FSC-certified packaging, glass packaging and zero waste accessories. These cosmetics are not only effective, but truly sustainable in their overall approach.

To check out their full line and all of these amazing products with flax, check out their website here.

Note: Linaé is not a vegan brand because they use an ingredient from beeswax in some of the products. Vegan people can still use SOOTHING RADIANCE-ACTIVATOR MICELLAR WATER and COMFORTANT MAKE-UP REMOVERING METAMORPHOSIS OIL.

CORKonLINEN

We will finish with our own innovation. CORKonLINEN is the new fabric of Bag Affair out of which we are making our Made in France collection, and in the future all our products. This new material combines French linen and Portuguese cork. The textile is made in Portugal.

A thin layer of cork (4-5 mm) is glued on a tissue of linen which comes from the north of France. After heating and pressure the textile is sanded by hand 3 times. This tissue is patented and unique, able to replace leather and PVC in the sector of bags and shoes. The tissue is resistant yet compostable.

We love innovations from linen

As you can see, linen is so much more than just a plant, or just a fibre for clothes. True innovations from linen are possible and offer a great variety. No need anymore to search far away for innovations, no need to insert technology in the products.

There is of course development and a technology behind all these products but we hope you saw how amazing natural products can be.

We hope you now will check them all out, or even better, try some, speak about them and share these amazing innovations!

Thanks a lot to Linaé, LIN-LOV and Mon gobelet en lin for their trust and sharing all information with us !

The post The innovations of linen appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.

Especially when looking into Made in France products you need to reflect on what you are buying and why. If you want to support the local economy, purchase from it. If you want to assure jobs, buy from these industries. It is not more difficult than that to become a “consumactor”.

What is a “Consumactor”?

Originating from the French words “consommateur” and “acteur” the French term is “Consommacteur or consom’acteur”. The word consumactor is the mix of consumer and actor. These are people who know their power through purchasing.

People who do not just want to buy anything but make an impact with the purchase are Consumactors. The motivation can be political, from an environmental or social cause. And you can become one as well.

Buying products which are Made in France is a clear statement towards quality, good work conditions and social responsibility. Products manufactured in France are made with a low environmental impact in terms of CO2 emission.

Of course impacts vary between product categories and materials. But when buying Made in France you make a vote and become a Consumactor. Every purchasing decision impacts the industry, employment, assures local know-how, impacts the environment and assures wealth.

Follow the steps explained here and move towards a more ethical and sustainable consumption:

Verify the origin of the products

Ask yourself where something is made. This is already a great indicator how it has been made and under which conditions. A truly Made in France product can be trusted. But if you do not find a clear indication where products come from ask more questions and be careful. What sounds complicated at first will easily become a routine.

Ask in stores and do not hesitate to assure yourself how things are really made. For example if you ask where the t-shirt comes from and the seller only says “France”, do not hesitate to ask in a second questions “and the cotton as well”? – In the way the sales person will answer you, you can see if they take your questions and concerns serious.

Beware of false signs and labels

A truly Made in France product will be marked as. But be careful towards Frenchwashing. Symbols and wording which is used to brand a product as French even though it is not. This is unfortunately still used a lot to voluntary lead the consumers to a wrong idea. In our blog article about Frenchwashing you can learn what it is and how to avoid it.

Take the time you need to change habits

To change radically from one day to another some habits and consumption patterns is impossible and will lead to a lot of stress. Better to allow yourself to take the time needed. Make small changes towards a more sustainable purchase.

The most sustainable is what you already have. So before throwing out of your wardrobe all what is made in China, wear them until they can’t be repaired anymore. Only that time buy something new which is ethical and made under better conditions.

The same way you can change consumption habits of food or cosmetics. Use what you have and when selecting new, select a sustainable product which is made locally and has less packaging.

The strength of Consumactors 

As a consumer you have 3 forces towards a brand: Buying, recommending and harming. Three impact on a brand and a company. You are the one being able to change. Change for good or for bad- it is all on you.

Buying

Every purchase and buying decision has a direct impact on brands. You spend money for a product or service generates cash-flow and helps the company to grow. Now you will say that just because you spend a few Euros on something you won’t change the system. Ok, right if buying once and only you not. But keep in mind that the strength comes when we act all together. As soon as several people make the same decisions this has an impact. And this means that also your (small) purchase has an impact.

Do not underestimate this and do not use it as excuse of not spending money on something.

Recommending

If you trust a brand and you buy a product and use it you will make an impact. As others see this you will influence people. Wearing a certain shirt or pants, using a certain products all this are recommendations. The same if you talk about it. If you have a good product or service experience you will easily recommend it to others which will result in further sales for the brand.

You can go one step further if you want and use the internet to share your opinion. Leave a positive review or comments, share the purchase on social media and talk about this. All this will impact the brand.

Harming

The same way you can recommend a product you have the power to harm a brand. If you share negative comments, use social media and internet for negative reviews etc,. all this will harm a brand.

Being a Consumactor includes a clear positioning, positive or negative. Just reflect before voluntarily harming a brand. If you have really a bad experience, why not to contact the brand before? Give them the chance to explain them before just going against.

Like in real life look out to communicate before talking badly. Of course go for it if they do not listen or do not take you serious. But maybe the late delivery was not their fault, maybe the technical problem can be easily fixed and maybe they will be generous in their excuse.

Ready to be a Consumactor?

Now on you to change step by step towards being a Consumactor. You have the power and you can make changes. Use this power for the right cause!

If you have questions for brands, ask them. The companies working Made in France or positioning them clearly as sustainable will be happy to answer you. And the ones not taking you serious are not worth your purchase!

The post Become a Consumactor appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.

Being an Ecopreneur

Basically people who are so-called “ecopreneurs” are in our opinion just doing what should be common sense. They are building businesses while being ecological. The term is the mix of “eco” from ecological = green and entrepreneur = someone building a business.

They do not just look on profit, but also on planet and people. This means putting people and planet first instead of having money in mind.

The link to corporate social responsibility

What is called corporate social responsibility or CSR is basically what we are talking here about as well. CSR is a term which came into fashion during the last years. Suddenly every company has CSR rules and regulations, every business shows social engagement and needs to show how ethical and green they are.

But CSR is only what should be normal for every company. It means to work in equality between social, environmental and economic aspects. Every company needs to have the goal to make money, otherwise there is no survival. But companies need as well to care about the humans, their employees as well as the members of the society. Companies have as goal to grow and to hire people. Further do companies have a role in the society by paying taxes and participating in the growth of a country. Last but not least they also have a role in the environment using existing resources to manufacture for example but as well to take care of resources to assure long-term existence of them. The CSR is the balance of the 3 elements.

If the corporate social responsibility became such a big topic the last years, the reason is as well that unfortunately companies did only focus on the profit (economical aspect), on growing shareholder and stakeholder value and not on humans and resources. Bad working conditions or overusing resources are the negative examples. But luckily there are positive examples as well. 

Examples of great Ecopreneurs

To give you a better idea of what being an ecopreneurs means in reality, we would like to give you some examples.

Lucie Basch- Too Good to Go – How leftovers can make people happy, reduce waste and be a business model.

Too Good to go is an application connecting small stores as bakeries or supermarkets but as well restaurants with end consumers. Not to sell their normal food, but to sell their left overs instead of putting them in the bin. Indeed since 2015 throwing food away is not allowed in France anymore thanks to the “Loi anti-gaspillage” but in reality this is still happening. As what to do at the end of the day in a sushi restaurant when the last 5 dishes prepared have not been ordered? Impossible to always be true between orders and stock.

And this is where “Too Good to go” comes in: Consumers can buy this food last minute for a small price. Like this the restaurant can at least lower or avoid loss, the food is not wasted and the app gets a little percentage, growing their food saving business like this.

Guillaume Gibault – Le Slip Francais – Putting humans and local production before profits.

You might know this company already as this is one of the examples of the French textile industry. The business consists in manufacturing only in France, helping the best they can to get the textile industry back into France. Humans making the textiles are more important than sales. The sales come second with the goal to grow the business sustainably. Further sustainable materials are important, that for they even launch a collection made of linen in 2021.

Why we all should be a Ecopreneur

When it comes to creating your own business you should look at the total. It is not enough anymore only to focus on one aspect of the business if you want to keep it for long. Our planet is at a point where climate change is alerting, where we are aware about bad work conditions in Asia and where we cannot move on like this.

Further you will see that being an Ecopreneur is very satisfying as you know you are doing “good”. It is more than profits you will generate. You will show your commitment and your personal values through your business and you can address issues of our planet also in this way.

Your brand will grow in a different way, but show that you are mindful in what you are doing. Impact is not just a word for you but linked to actions!    

Handling resources in a sustainable way will not only help your business to have access to them long-term but as well to lower costs. Easy example: energy saving bulbs in the full production building are better for the environment but as well saving costs.

The people first: If you want to have an awesome team (even not just great J )you need to show them that you are really doing this for their profit. This again does not mean money first but work conditions, fair hours, sometimes some understanding, etc. Like this you can get the best qualified people on the market to work for you.

And Bag Affair?

We are ecopreneurs since company building – Actually not because of a blog article like this one, neither because this could be great for the brand image and even less to get investments. That for we are ecopreneurs as working in respect of resources and our planet, animals and humans sounds like the only possible and right way to do things.

We are proud of what we are doing and happy every day to know that our company is much more than numbers!

The post What is an Ecopreneur? appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.

This for we want to help to get things a bit clearer and explain the best, based on neutral sources, what the words behind something mean and what to understand from it. To start: What is recycled leather and is it more sustainable?

Leather in general

Leather is the skin of animals, treated, tanned and transformed to make clothes or accessories, car seats or sofas, handbags or shoes out of it, just to name some. It has a long tradition as animal skins have been used since human race exists to protect from the cold, to dress up or for comfort. In the beginning leather was a bi-product of hunting and killing an animal. As time went by, it became a good itself which can value pretty high and which leads to animal breading without interest in the meat.

Leather is never vegan. It is always made of animals, might it be a cow, a goat, a crocodile or another animal.

Leather is very strong and long-lasting. You might still own a purse in leather from your grandma or a jacket from younger years and both are probably still in a good shape.

Leather can be vegetable or chrome tanned. The animal skin needs to be treated (with salt or chemically) to avoid biodegradation. Following leather needs to be tanned with chemical chrome or on a vegetable base – there are arguments for and against both methods, but this would be a different topic.

Pollution of the leather industry

The demand for leather is steadily growing and so it the production. But this has a price and the price is high. It starts with land needed to raise cattle. Leather is no by-product of the meat industry but demands space for the animals and leads to deforestation as seen 2019 in the Amazon area. 80% of all fires caused in Brazil since 1988 are linked to conversion into cattle pastures.

Further leather needs to be tanned (with chrome or vegetable) to be preserved. This process avoids the biodegradation of the material but uses an immense amount of water. 90% of the industry still uses chrome tanning.  Chemicals are released with this process as well.

Water usage is huge with around 40 to 45 litres per kilo of leather used when tanned. Often tanning is done in India or other countries where this water is rejected without filtering.

Recycled leather – how it is made

Recyc Leather is the specialist for recycled leather. They are using old products but mainly shreds and leftover from the leather industry to make new products.

The leather is shredded in a powder which is mixed with natural latex. A new kind of leather or tissue will be created in next step which last needs a coating. Information of how the coating is composed, what it contains etc. is not displayed.

The result contains 60% leather, 30 % natural fibres like latex for the glue and 10% synthetic for the coating.

Touch and look

The look of recycled leather and the touch as well is really close to new leather. (We have seen the material on the Premiere Vision show in Paris 2020.) Further it is possible to use patterns which make the leather look like exotic leather without being it. This is a good alternative to new leather.

The question of sustainability

So is recycled leather more sustainable? Yes it is. Better to use leftovers than new raw materials. Reducing waste is definitely a good idea. Latex rubber glue is a good idea as well.

But what for sure stays a problem is that the product is neither vegan nor biodegradable. Leather is tanned and the left over pieces are as well. Further a new coating is added which probably will contain PU or other chemicals.

We would be happy to know more about the coating used and the question what to do with articles of recycled leather after usage. Is there a chance to recycle (attention recycling is not the best solution as we explained in our blog earlier)? Or can recycled leather be shredded again and again?

Further keep in mind that recycling can sound like the approval to pollute. Means, that only because leftovers from the leather industry are used the industry does not become more sustainable. And you should not validate your leather purchase by telling yourself that it can be recycled later on.

What we believe though is that “no leather” is the best choice. Better than killing animals is to use plant base materials as cotton, linen or cork. Materials with low impact on nature and none on animals. Further best to choose materials which can biodegrade after usage as they do not contain chemicals or PU.

If you want leather, look for brands using recycled leather. But still ask questions on how it was made.

The post What is recycled leather? appeared first on Bag Affair | Laptop Bags for Women.