Detours Recycled Bike Bag
Written by Urban Sherp on June 15th, 2009
Who: Detours; Hood River, OR
What: Toocan Juicy Weave Pannier – Single
Where: REI.com; $85 (note: if you sign up for their newsletter, you may receive a 15% off coupon)
Why: As much as we want to embrace the woven wrapper purse trend, we just could not get on the bandwagon, but we’ll get on the bike bandwagon thanks to Detours bike bags. The woven recycled juice pouches work much better as a bike accessory toting all the baguettes you’ll need to get you through the year in a single bike trip or up to 15lbs of whatever else you’d be toting around. The zip top keeps loose items secure while the rubber bottom makes it easy to clean should you incur any spills long the way. Just don’t fill with sharp objects for risk of inadvertently puncturing your juicebox.
And this leads us to the downside of these bags, as with all juice boxes, the Juicy is prone to puncturing and not just with a straw. Nics, cuts and scratches can lead to tears which means you may be replacing this bag every two to three years, instead of opting for a more durable bag with could prove more eco-friendly in the long run. On the upside, when your Juicy bag has outlived its usefulness it can be recycled again.
Detours specializes in bike gear (hence the reflective tail light tabs on each end and the well thought out highly functional design), so when they considered using alternative materials, they turned to the experts, the women owned B. Luz Cooperative who had been recycling and upcycling waste materials for ten years. The cooperative empowers women in the Phillipines by providing fair wage jobs, raising awareness and offering micro loans to women-owned businesses in the Phillipines.