Earth Day is every day here at FASHIONPHILE

Pop quiz:  What is the missing principle of the “Recycle Triangle”- Reduce, _________, Recycle!

Would you ever have ever thought that your obsession with luxury handbags could actually be good for the environment? There is a revolutionary, cheaper and yes, GREENER way to satisfy those designer handbag cravings.

The idea behind the Recycle Triangle is that the first line of defense is to REDUCE our consumption. This makes total sense to me- and doesn’t have to be frumpy.  In reduction, we’re focusing on quality- not quantity, with an eye on that which has resale or even investment value!!!  I’d rather buy one $800 bag than 20 $40 bags.  I know a lot of people who think it’s outrageous to spend so much on one piece… but they pick up inexpensive bag after inexpensive bag.  Cumulatively, they spend the same in one year as I have on my one.

Once you’ve reduced your consumption… to fabulous bags that you’ll have forever (or can sell to someone else who will!) then your second line of defense is REUSE.  If you bought a Louis Vuitton Speedy 25 back in the mid 80’s and cared and stored it well, you could still carry that bag today.  It’s a great quality staple in the luxe bag category.  If you’d bought it in the 8o’s (or even last month!), but monogram just isn’t doing it for you anymore- you wouldn’t just “throw it away”.  You would send it to us   We here at FASHIONPHILE would love sell it for you and you could take the cash to reinvest in another nice piece.  You don’t have to reuse it, but somebody can!

Recycling is the third part of the program.  It’s vital and we all should be doing it, but it is the least efficient part of the program.  (Bags made out of recycled tires, or seatbelts, or License Plates are great- but there’s a lot of energy consumption in getting them to the point of resale.  Don’t get me wrong… as step in the right direction to be sure- but reusing a bag is just more energy efficient.)

Reusing quality items, whether they’re your own or pieces that you pick up at FASHIONPHILE, a consignment shop or your local thrift store costs less and consumes less energy in production.  Not only that, but when you are talking about reusing fabulous designer handbags- it’s a lot more fun!

So go ahead… do a little something to save the planet today- pick yourself up a “new to you” quality authentic luxury handbag from FASHIONPHILE