A Sustainable Diaper Bag

 

I think a lot about sustainability.  My husband says I’m a hippy, I just think I’m practical.  It is so frustrating to buy something and have it fall apart. When my daughter was born we got two diaper bags – on one of them, the zipper broke within weeks, then the lining tore (which is why I don’t line my bags!  Lining fabric is notoriously a weak point in a purse).  On the other one, the space where you keep the wipes broke.

I understand not every piece put out there is perfect – sometimes stuff goes wrong, and that’s okay.  So, for the sake of argument, let’s say the diaper bags that I bought hadn’t broke, and I hadn’t given them to Goodwill.  After the kiddo is out of diapers, then what do you do with them? You’ve just spent some good, hard-earned cash, on something with lots of wonderful things like slots for diaper wipes and bottles, but you don’t carry those things anymore. So – to Goodwill it goes!

Since the diaper bags that I bought for my first kiddo broke before the second one came, I decided to just make myself a big ol’ purse instead.  The style that I came up with was the Travel Bag – based on a vintage stewardess bag. It is made out of a lightweight leather (2-3oz) so it doesn’t weigh much on it’s own, but since it is vegetable tanned leather and hand-stitched, it’s more than durable enough to outlast whatever you decide to throw at it. 

For a baby shower for a friend who is having twin girls, I designed the “Nesting” diaper bag/travel bag with little birdies on it. I filled it with some of the mommy essentials – Miracle Blankets, Sock Ons (amazing things – no more lost socks!) and some Planet Wise Wet/Dry bags, a Planet Wise changing pad, and a set of “buy one” “get one free” onesies.  There were a few other things – some wraps and slings from Baby Ette – and a nursing necklace from Kangaroo Care – that didn’t make the photo, but went in a separate package (and yes, they all would have fit in this bag!).

The true beauty of this piece is that once you’re done toting around stuff for your little peeps, you can use it as a purse. It’s still lightweight, it’s still durable, and it doesn’t scream “BABY!!!” to everyone who sees it.  Sustainability in my book is sometimes best described as “buy once, buy it for life” and when you’re able to have a single bag that can be both your “mommy” bag and your favorite purse, doesn’t that fit the bill?

xo

c