Go Green With A Chalkbag Made From Bottles
Now you can green with a recycled chalk bag made from canvas and plastic bottles.
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Chalk bags sometimes wear out, but mostly just get lost. Consider a green replacement—the redesigned Allez “upcycled” bags, featuring jazzy patterns from the climber-artist Lynn Suyeko Mandziuk. The one I tested is made from canvas comprised of 50 percent Repreve polyester. (Each yard of Repreve is made from 10 recycled bottles.) The company was co-founded by Sonja Bjornsen, Elliot Woo, and Brad Barron. A climber of over 10 years and veteran of the skin-care industry, Bjornsen was in Tahquitz years ago when hand salve leaked in her pack. “The idea sparked to use my knowledge to create products that are good for me and the environment,” she says. (Allez also makes salves, eco-wipes, and other items.) I’ve used the 3.5-ounce, cheerfully colored bag indoors and out. It opens wide and comes with a toothbrush loop; it closes snugly, and the open-shut system is smooth and zippy. The $40 is spendy compared to other bags (most are $13–30), but plastic bottles aren’t cheap to recycle.