When we think of newspaper as a material, the picture that comes to mind is a paper that can be easily cut, folded, mushed, torn. In essence, far from words like durable, strong, rigid.
At GoodsAgain we offer bags and accessories made from newspapers. Who would think a bag can be made from newspapers, a bag which is supposed to be an item of utility and meant to be used multiple times and for a good amount of time.
My first reaction when I had heard about newspaper bags from our maker was: Can you actually use them like an everyday bag? Can you put some stuff in them? What if it rains and you are outside with the bag? Now after using the bag and other items personally for the last 8 months and also having sold many of them and getting five star reviews and no issues, I am pretty confident that these bags are quite well made and are a real innovation where you are literally upcycling something of such so low value into a unique product of utility as well as style.
Here are some of the newspaper products that I use on an everyday basis. I take my tote bag pretty much everywhere to run errands and go out. I use my sunglasses case to keep my glasses safely in the bag or car when not in use to avoid any scratches. I use the wrislet everyday to put my small wallet, extra cards, and essentials like lip balm; it’s convenient sometimes to just take the wrislet if I don’t need the tote bag. I find the crossbody phone bag very handy when I want to keep my hands free and only need to take essentials. There have been few times when I was outside and it started raining. The bag gets wet like anything else would but after some time it just dries itself.
If you are wondering how a bag or product made from newspapers is so durable, the magic lies in its design which is a result of almost 5 years of experimentation of failures and improvements. Here the thinly cut strips of newspapers are soaked in a plant-based glue and then woven into a fabric on the loom, just similar to a handmade cloth fabric made from yarn. It is doubly reinforced with a cotton cloth and firmly stitched. On the top it is finished with a moisture proof layer to keep the moisture away.
If you are intrigued by this and want to give it a try, I will highly recommend to give it a try and you will love it!
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