International Travel Goods – Shop and Give Back with these Must Have Products
By Heather Newgen
Shopping at companies that give back to communities in need or purchasing products from B Corps (for profit businesses that make a positive impact socially and environmentally while meeting high standards of accountability and transparency) has never been more popular. The simple, yet effective vision of using a business as a force of good is on the rise and consumers today are all about supporting their efforts.
At the annual International Travel Goods Show in Las Vegas, the top travel brands excitedly promoted their latest products and we rounded up the ones that are taking the concept of social responsibility to another level.
International Travel Goods Show in Las Vegas, Nevada
Photo by: Charles Too
FotoManiacs.com
International Travel Goods Show in Las Vegas, Nevada
Photo by: Charles Too
FotoManiacs.com
Fact: According to USA Today, 18.2 trillion pounds of plastic has been produced worldwide since the 1950s and only 9% has been recycled. Most of the plastic isn’t biodegradable and finds its way into the oceans causing serious issues for the environment, but one person is doing something about it.
Hamilton Perkins has created an entire stylish bag and t-shirt line out of plastic waste and used billboards that’s affordable, on trend and most importantly making a difference.
Hamilton Perkins Collection
The Voluntourist: How did you come up with the idea to repurpose water bottles and discarded billboards into cool bags and tees?
Hamilton Perkins: It started as a personal problem for me. I couldn’t find a bag that represented me. I started out selling the bags to friends and family. We designed the collection, bootstrapped our operations and picked up a few grants in our first year. We would later run a Kickstarter campaign and then approached local stores with our products. We have been fortunate to establish key retail partnerships along the way (West Elm, Holt Renfrew, Urban Zen, and many more).
The Voluntourist: Where do you get the bottles and billboards from?
Hamilton Perkins: The bottles come from countries like Haiti and Honduras. The billboards are usually domestic. Companies also send materials directly to our showroom for production.
Hamilton Perkins Collection
The Voluntourist: How many water bottles/billboards does it take to make a bag/shirt?
Hamilton Perkins: Each bag uses about 17.5 bottles and the shirts use about 3 bottles.
The Voluntourist: How have you involved people in Haiti?
Hamilton Perkins: We supported 12 full time income opportunities last year. This was a result of our partnership with Thread International. Our customers are helping us stimulate an entire economy.
The Voluntourist: What do you hope people take away from your designs and collection?
Hamilton Perkins: Whether you are spending time with friends at a festival or on the way to the gym to work out our bags are designed for your lifestyle. No matter what the event, we hope that people see themselves in our collection. We want to represent what is important to us in an aesthetically pleasing way. We want people to love their Earth bags.
Hamilton Perkins Collection
The Voluntourist: Why is using recycled materials for your products and being socially conscious important to you.
Hamilton Perkins: Recycled materials are inherently creative. I see endless possibilities in the medium and it solves a real problem.
The Voluntourist: How have you seen your products help the environment?
Hamilton Perkins: When we introduced the Earth Bag series we did not know what to expect but the response has been positive. We are stocked in some great boutiques and specialty stores where we get to tell our story and share our impact. We recycled tens of thousands of plastic bottles last year and we recycled about 10,000 pounds of billboard. We are optimistic for what this year will bring.
To the see Hamilton Perkins Collection visit hamiltonperkins.com
I’m always searching for that one bag that holds my laptop, clothes for a weekend getaway and whatever else I need. Plus I want it to be chic yet comfortable. I know I’m asking for a lot, but I finally found it! myLife Sak is a versatile bag that transforms into a briefcase, backpack, laptop case or messenger bag. It has the ability to expand twice its size so you can use it for a carry-on or quick trip.
In addition to all of the practical features and cuteness factor, myLife Sak has the greatest colors.
“I’m a colorful person and myLife Sak brightens my day, the founder Dahlia DeSouza, told The Voluntourist. “We have six colors here, but we also have purple and red and pink coming.”
She continued, “I’m a teacher and the thing about being a teacher and is you’re constantly carrying things. My shoulders were in pain–a lot of teachers if you don’t know, their shoulders lean in time. And I got sick of it and bored of the plain backpacks so I decided it was time to do something about it.”
And when you purchase myLife Sak, you’re helping give back.
“The brand aims to engage, empower and inspire people to live their dreams. This brings us to our big Why? 10% of every product sold is used to enrich the lives of underprivileged children through education because they too deserve an opportunity to continue on their journey to be the best they can be,” DeSouza said.
Where to buy: www.uptothetime.com
Price: $160-$180
Since its inception in 2010, United By Blue has not only used organic and recycled materials to create practical, yet fashionable outdoor gear, but the apparel company has also been a driving force in sustaining a meaningful environmental impact. For every item purchased, the retailer removes one pound of trash from the ocean and encourages local communities to get involved in the effort with their hosted cleanups that take place regularly.
Photo by: United by Blue
United By Blue has made a significant tangible change with over 1 million pounds of trash removed to date and has quickly become a leader in the philanthropy business industry.
While United By Blue has already made a remarkable positive impact, the company is looking forward to increasing their achievements.
At the International Travel Goods Show, Jake Nalls, Wholesale Associate, told The Voluntourist, “We’ve activated over 10,000 volunteers and have done cleanups in 28 states and have removed over 1 million pounds of trash nationwide. The initiative this year is a cleanup road trip. We’re going to hit the additional states we haven’t been to yet, so by the end of 2018 we’ll have done cleanups in all 50 states.”
He added, “The goal for 2018 is also 500,000 pounds of trash removed and then every year following that we should be doing over 1 million pounds of trash a year based on where the company is going in sales.”
For more information on United By Blue, click here.