Recycling is Rad!

Ecoist's line of handbags and accessories was founded in 2004 on the principles of fair trade and the three R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Last time I checked out (and drooled over) their website, their primary offering was handbags, clutches and totes made of woven recycled candy wrappers.
Now the line and the site has expanded to include all kinds of jewelry, laptop covers, bottle openers and related tchotchkes, all made from re-purposed trash - bike chains, vinyl records, movie billboards, rice bags, pop (a.k.a. soda) pull tabs and wrappers.

The company takes misprinted and overstock candy wrappers and labels off the hands of the companies that print them (and would otherwise throw them away), then employs South American workers - in well-paid, Fair Trade conditions - to create various designs.

By artfully selecting label brands and sections of each label, the bags come in several different color collections: multi-colored, black and white bar code, silver, gold, and laminated newspaper. Some handbag collections are also from limited-edition labels, so bags are one-of-a-kind. To up the individuality quotient, Ecoist's movie billboard accessories are organized by film, so your beach bag can outwardly express your ongoing adoration for a favorite flick.