For a night out on the town a cooler than cool bag helps move the evening along smoothly. Bonus points if your bag is also eco-friendly, shiny, and fun. I’m currently loving the eco-bling offered up by the MiniFlare Handbags.

Vintage Violet MiniFlair

Not too big and not too small, these adorable little bags will be a great topic of conversation.

Made of re-purposed license plates, with a recycled rubber handle and bottle cap closure, these bags are not only unique but green. The Vintage Violet above is maybe my fave, but there are other lovely choices as well. See some other great picks below.

Shown in gallery above:

• Vintage Violet MiniFlair
• Cosmopolitan MiniFlair
• Kanji Peace Mini Flair
• Rainbow Fractal MiniFlair
• Winged Heart MiniFlair
• Lotus MiniFlair

Turns out that you’d have to drink around 1,600 cans. At least if you want this bag…

The Masha messenger-style bag is made with 1,600 plus recycled aluminum pull-tabs. Frankly, I wouldn’t have that kind of patience. But the skilled women at Escama Studio do. Escama Studio is a San Francisco based Fair Trade company partnered with Brazilian crafts co-operatives in order to create some pretty tasty bags. Each modern bag is a little more like art than accessory, and all use a crochet technique that utilizes recycled aluminum pull-tabs. They even have figured out how to add colors to these bags. Although, I like the plain old pull tab color myself.

Because I happen to be a messenger bag addict, I like the Masha style bag best, but they have just about every style bag imaginable at Escama Studio.

Facts about the Masha bag:

• Zipper closure with exterior flap
• Fabric lined interior with one inside zipped pocket
• Shoulder strap with hand crocheted liner for comfort

It’s well worth a visit to Escama Studio, and not just to see the bags. They offer very cool tutorials that teach you how to crochet with pull-tabs, fashion tips of the past, how you can donate pull tabs, and more.

+ Escama Studio