Image by Lo & Sons
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Fanny packs (also known as hip, belt, waist, or bum bags) are the best way to have everything you need at your side while keeping your hands free. They’re essential for easy travel and everyday errands.
They’re not just useful, however––fanny packs have come back into fashion with full force. Our list features sustainable and ethical brands that create bum bags with the same luxury materials, sleek designs, and attention to detail as some of the nicest handbags available.
Here’s what to look for in your next sustainably made fanny pack:
Responsibly Sourced Materials: There are a couple of great material options for belt bags. You can go with natural materials such organic cotton, hemp, and Bananatex, which can easily be mended for life-long use. If you want the chic vibe of a luxury handbag, there are several premium leather options available. We recommend looking for deadstock and upcycled leather first, as it makes use of what is already available instead of manufacturing more materials (and often comes at a much more affordable price.) If you have ethical objections to leather, several brands use plant-based leather such as apple leather and Pinatex. Read our vegan leather alternative explainer to learn more about the pros and cons of each material.
Durable Design: Look for bags that not only use quality materials, but are well constructed and designed with longevity in mind. These are often hand made by artisans and practiced craftspeople. Several of the brands below test out all of their products to make sure they’re built to last. It’s also important to double-check the material care instructions to get the longest lifespan out of your bag.
Third-Party Certifications: To be sure your new belt bag was ethically made with responsibly-sourced materials, look for certifications from reputable organizations. Material certifications such as Leather Working Group (LWG) and GOTS will help you know the materials are environmentally friendly, while Fair Trade and Fair Wear will vouch for fair and ethical practices within the supply chain.
Packaging: Luxury bags often come in plastic polybags, with every bit of hardware wrapped in even more plastic. Look for brands that use recycled and recyclable materials in their packaging, or ship their goods in reusable bags.
Versatility: Some belt bags have detachable or adjustable straps to easily transform them into a clutch or shoulder bag. You can also find highly-customizable versions with detachable accessories to adapt to each outing.
So given that criteria, here are our favorite brands that do sling and belt bags.
1. O My Bag
What we like: This brand uses several beautiful and traceable leather options, as well as vegan apple leather, to make bum bags that are designed to last. It works directly with four suppliers and manufacturers in Kolkata, India, and pays its artisans living wages. Its collection of bum bags feature adjustable GOTS-certified cotton straps, and all orders come in recycled packaging.
Watch out for: Apple leather has a fair bit of plastic, which makes it non-biodegradable and difficult to recycle.
Our review: Though we haven’t tried out O My Bag’s belt bags, we’ve owned things from O My Bag before, and the workmanship is high quality, while the style is minimalist and even rustic.
Price Range: $148-$288
2. Lo & Sons
What we like: Lo & Sons is a family-owned Asian-American brand that offers a brightly colored selection of convertible fanny packs. The brand tests all of its designs for durability so they’re built to last a lifetime. It uses recycled polyester, LWG-certified Nappa and Saffiano leather, and a cactus-based vegan leather alternative in its bags. Its packaging includes recycled and biodegradable materials.
Watch out for: It’s unclear what its vegan leather is made of.
Price Range: $98-$220
3. Nasissant
What we like: This Brooklyn-based brand makes versatile belts with interchangeable bags and phone holders for maximum customization. All artisan-made pieces are made of byproduct vegetable tanned leather certified by LWG with organic cotton interior lining. Nasissant carefully vets its factory partners and uses recycled and recyclable materials in its packaging.
Price Range: $215-$265
4. Ashya
What we like: This New York brand create stylish unisex belt bags with vegetable tanned leather, gold plated hardware, and organic cotton canvas lining. The hands-free bags can be worn multiple ways to accommodate all of your needs while traveling. Everything is handmade in small batches in New York and Los Angeles.
Price Range: $375-$1,295
Watch out for: There is little information available on its packaging.
5. QWSTION
What we like: This Swiss modernist brand makes travel essentials bags with Cradle to Cradle-certified Bananatex and vegetable-tanned leather (with a waterproof wax finish.) Its belt bags are designed to minimize material waste and are skillfully constructed by practiced craftspeople to last for years. All bags are ethically manufactured in Asia and the EU with materials directly sourced from its vetted partners, who it visits on a regular basis. Products arrive in reusable, lightweight bags that are perfect as travel laundry bags, in fact!
Our review: We love how lightweight, packable, and durable Qwstion’s Bananatex hip bag is, with a strap that can be moved so that it hangs more like a shoulder purse. It’s a bit more masculine and casual in style, though.
Price Range: $90-$125
6. Hyer Goods
What we like: Hyer Goods is a deadstock luxury bag brand started by a former Cole Haan designer. It responsibly upcycles leather discarded by other brands to reduce waste and create chic and durable bum bags in multiple colors for sustainable luxury at lower prices.
Our Review: We like the slim profile of Hyer Goods’ belt bag, which straddles the line between luxurious and casual, with a main leather body and synthetic strap and buckle. (Yes, the strap and buckle are both synthetic and not recycled.) It doesn’t fit a ton inside, but it sits close to the body. It’s very high quality and we feel confident saying it will last a long time.
Price Range: $185-$215
7. Sandqvist
What we like: Sandqvist uses organic cotton, recycled synthetics, and LWG-certified leather to create nearly a dozen bum bags in several colors. It’s a member of the Fair Wear foundation and lists all of its manufacturers, suppliers, and tanneries on its websites. It offers detailed care information to help you get the longest lifespan out of your bag.
Watch out for: There is little information available on its packaging.
Price Range: $31-$190
8. Urbankissed
What we like: Urbankissed is an online marketplace that carefully vets its brands for ethics and sustainability. Its collection of fanny packs includes vegan leather alternative Pinatex, overstock leather bags handmade in Amsterdam, and a hemp option sourced and handwoven in Nepal. You can use its Slow & Ethical index to filter the options according to your personal ethos.
Price Range: $37-$146
9. Made Trade
What we like: This online marketplace works directly with small brands and artisans to ensure all of the products it hosts were made ethically, safely, and responsibly. Its belt bag collection features a Fair Trade and GOTS-certified cotton bag in several colors with a detachable strap, as well as a vegetable-treated leather bag made by artisans in safe conditions in Guatemala, Ethiopia, and Mexico.
Watch out for: Check the values icon on each product page, as sustainability factors will be different across brands.
Price Range: $35-$89
10. State Bags
What we like: State bags creates fanny packs with non-toxic materials that are free of harmful chemicals such as azo-dyes. We recommend “The Bennet,” which is made with leather and available in two colors and strap lengths. The brand donates a percentage of each sale to help families and children in need.
Watch out for: Many of the bags are made with nylon and have a polyester interior lining. There is little information available about its supply chain.
Price Range: $175
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