Your New Favorite Eco-Positive Travel Bag

While large areas of Colorado are experiencing exponential growth with far too many trees being clear-cut (it’s one of the fastest-growing states in the country), it’s still the home for great businesses striving to make the world a little greener. Those businesses include Sherpani, creators of women’s day bags, backpacks and travel bags, including a line of sophisticated, beautifully crafted items made from recycled plastic.

In 2009, following an eye-opening trip to the Abaco Islands in the Northern Bahamas with their family — including firsthand encounters with the enormous volume of plastic and aluminum debris collected in the island’s coastal waters — Sherpani founders Maria P. Ruzic and Ed Ruzic created the Blue Verve Project. Since then, the company repurposed more than 3.2 million plastic water bottles, keeping them out of the environment.

Sherpani also works with fabric partners REPREVE, creators of recycled performance fiber materials. Products in Sherpani’s popular Essentials collection are made of 100-percent REPREVE fabrics. The line includes the Dispatch, which can be worn as a backpack, crossbody, or carried as a tote bag. Soothing and creative color choices include Jaden and Atlantic. There’s also a gorgeous anti-theft line, including the Soleil AT and Geo AT, available in copper, sterling and carbon.

Need help selecting the best bag for your ]travel needs? Sherpani designer and colorist Maria P. Ruzic offers some suggestions to help narrow down your choices based on your trip. And in case you’re wondering what a bag designer always has stashed in her own Sherpani when she heads to the airport, Ruzic said, “I always carry a small idea/sketch pad and my favorite pen in case I get inspired along the way.”

Romantic getaway to the Amalfi Coast:

“For this sort of trip, I love my American Ethos Paige in Blackstone. It’s super cute and fashionable, but fits everything I need. It’s a small bag with a big mouth.”

Adventure trip to Iceland:

“Hands down, the Esprit in the AT collection with all its security features. It’s great to wear around town or on a hike. I would pick the Sterling color, which is way easy to wear with everything.”

Solo business trip to London:

“I would have to say the Soleil in Carbon. It looks professional and has great security features, and there are three ways to wear it. If I’m walking about the city I would wear it as a backpack, or carry it as a tote coming into a meeting. It’s both sharp and lightweight.”