OUR STORY
In early 2004, I took a trip to the local landfill after spending the day landscaping my backyard. I was horrified by how many single-use bags filled the scene. Plastic bags blanketed the landscape in a thin mix of white and beige plastic.
On my way home, I continued to notice plastic bags everywhere; caught in trees and on fence posts, half drowned in gutter puddles and blowing in the streets like urban tumbleweeds. I vowed to stop using single-use bags for good. Inspired, I dropped a few bucks on a secondhand sewing machine and began sewing what would ultimately become the first ChicoBag brand reusable bag.
- Andy Keller
OUR MISSION
Helping Humanity Bag The Single-Use Habit
As leaders in cutting-edge corporate sustainability, ChicoBag and To-Go Ware are committed to protecting our planet from pollution and preserving its beauty for generations to come.
What we do : We create high quality, long-lasting reusable bags, cutlery, and containers. We hope humanity will exchange their single-use products for these eco-friendly options that won’t live in the ocean or landfill for thousands of years.
How we do it: Rigorous safety and contaminant testing, certified recycled yarn, fair labor rules, ethical manufacturing, high quality and extreme durability, zero-waste operations—these are just a few of the ways we hold ourselves accountable as a responsible manufacturer, business partner, and retailer.
Why we do it : Every day, we look for new ways to do things a #littlebitbetter, and we align our processes to evolve and grow in tandem with improvements in sustainable manufacturing technology and manufacturing.OUR COMMITMENT TO THE PLANET
Certified B Corporation
ChicoBag has been a Certified B Corporation for 10 years, and we’re proud to stand alongside other businesses going the extra mile. A Certified B Corporation is legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.
Climate Neutral Certified
As part of the movement, ChicoBag is committed to measuring, understanding, reducing, and offsetting our carbon output. We first became Climate Neutral Certified with Change Climate in 2020, and since then have contributed to offset thousands of tons of greenhouse gasses. We believe it’s our corporate responsibility to work toward reductions in our carbon footprint and we continue to find new ways to accomplish this every year.
One Percent For The Planet Member
One Percent for the Planet members donate 1% (at minimum) of their annual sales, either from a specific business line or the company as a whole to environmental causes. We’re proud to designate our rePETe line as a direct contributor to the 1% for the Planet movement. Look for the 1% logo on all of our rePETe items, our exclusive line made from recycled materials.
rePETe™
rePETe is a trademarked term ChicoBag uses to identify products made from recycled materials. All ChicoBag rePETe products contain certified Repreve fabric which is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. In addition, many products have other recycled components like carabiners, cording and cord locks.
Ethical Manufacturing
We firmly believe it’s not where it’s made that matters; it’s how it’s made. We’re proud to work with partners we trust and know are committed to providing high-quality, ethically-made products. Manufacturing to Fair Labor Association standards, a Green America Approved Business, Climate Neutral, Certified B Corporation, and 1% for the Planet member, we are held accountable to our high standards for both people and the planet.
Pay It Forward Program
Send us your tired, worn, and torn reusable bags! Instead of sending them to the landfill, our Pay It Forward Program ensures we find a second life for them and keep them out of the waste stream. When you send us your preloved bags, we hand sort and decide whether they can be reused, or if they need to be recycled and transformed into something new. Once we decide where they need to go, we match them up with one of our partners.
A Little Bit Better
Little Bit Better (LBB) is an initiative celebrating people and organizations doing things just a little bit better to make a better future for all of us. Whether you’re fighting plastic alongside ChicoBag, helping one more elderly neighbor mow her lawn, or implementing dog-friendly Fridays at the office, when we all make the commitment to do a little bit better, we can make enormous change. Nobody can do it all. But we can all do a little better.