Stella McCartney for LeSportsac Hobo Shoulder Bag Review

Typical price:

£297

We like:

That Stella's succeeded in bringing to the market a pioneering green fashion item; that it's a welcome alternative to the ubiquitous organic cotton shopper

We don't like:

That we couldn't coax any ethical info out of them

SmartPlanet judgement:

We're loving this bag's cool, youthful vibes, and the use of recycled nylon in mainstream fashion is impressive. And seriously, you can't tell it's recycled. On the ethical front, we'd love to see more transparency in terms of the manufacturing and would welcome evidence that the collection is sweatshop-free.

Score:

Contact:

Nice Car Company at http://www.lesportsac.com/
Telephone: +1 (877) 397 6597

She's done it again. Stella McCartney pulls it out the bag with this new eco design collaboration with iconic American accessories brand LeSportsac.

Having just popped out her third kiddie-winkle, who knows where she gets the time for her own label, let alone outside projects. But Stella's nifty home/work juggling act definitely gets results -- who else would have convinced LeSportsac, the cute but conventional bag brand, to do a pioneering recycled nylon collection?

And hitting the shelves this spring is the undeniable highlight -- the patterned hobo bag. Stella's fresh, sporty makeover of this hugely popular style comes complete with graphic zing and an irresistible dollop of cutesy-ness via the dangling bunny zip-pull (there's the baby influence coming in).

This bag's lightweight squishiness lends a comfy usage and there's plenty of room and pockets for all the nic-nacs girls lug around. The main body is made from Asian post-consumer recycled nylon, which features exclusively throughout the Stella designs -- which is a first for LeSportsac.

But it doesn't stop there -- more greenie points are scored with the durability (this bag's built to last) not to mention the 100 per cent recycled paper hangtags which come in 100 per cent recycled plastic sleeves. Even the dust bags are 100 per cent biodegradable -- although we're not sure this kind of bag really warrants a dust bag.

But you get the picture -- this rather extraverted hobo is a bit of a green triumph. The manufacturing ethics, on the other hand, are where it potentially comes apart at the seams. The only bit of info we could glean was that the collection was made in China, and the material in Asia. That was it. We tried. We tried harder. But to no avail. LeSportsac really didn't want to give us any more details than that. Ho hum.

But baby steps. This is the launch season of the Stella McCartney for LeSportsac collaboration and the collection's already garnered some serious green cred. Plus, Stella's personal ethics shine pretty brightly -- a devoted life-long veggie herself, Stella has been uncompromising on her values on animal protection and has it written into her Gucci Group and all other design contracts that all her collections are free from leather or other animal skins, and instead produces her luxury accessories with alternative materials.

So who knows -- maybe next season LeSportsac will have a look at adding a little more ethical kudos too? Fingers crossed.

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