Targus turns plastic bottles into sustainable backpacks and laptop sleeves

It’s always good news when we find out a company is recycling something like plastic bottles into something new. Targus is doing just that—releasing its series of eco-friendly laptop bags called the Cypress Ecosmart Collection.

“Sustainability is complicated. There are a lot of companies making claims—but they can’t back it up. For us, it’s really important that we do it in the right way. By being GRS (Global Recycled Standard) Certified, we are able to trace the yarn fiber back to the recycling system it came from as well as the people who were making the yarn. So, we know the entire process of the material’s production and know that it is being made as sustainably as possible,” said Joanne Sessler, Vice President of Global Design and Innovation at Targus.

Plastic bottles from landfills are cleaned, flaked, re-polymerised and spun into fiber which is then woven into the fabric that is used for the bags. The fabric used to make everything from the bag lining to the body and trim, and the entire Cypress EcoSmart Collection encompasses 11 products.

Below are the products available from the collection:

Cypress EcoSmart 15.6” Slim Backpack

These slim and contemporary backpacks are made from 20 PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles each. It has 2 compartments and 1 stash pocket and is available in both Black (seen above) and Navy.

Retail Price: RM369

Cypress EcoSmart 15.6” Convertible Backpack

This backpack can also turn into a briefcase. It is made out of 24 PET bottles and is available in Black (seen above) and Grey.

Retail Price: RM399

Cypress EcoSmart 15.6” Hero Backpack

Compared to the Slim backpack, this one has one extra compartment (3 compartments and 1 stash pocket) as well as a workstation for smaller accessories. It is made out of 26 PET bottles and is available in Navy (seen above) and Grey.

Retail Price: RM419

14” Cypress EcoSmart Slipcase

Made out of 12 PET bottles, the slipcase has 1 main compartment and 1 large stash pocket. It also is only available in one colour—Grey.

Retail Price: RM239

Cypress EcoSmart Sleeves

Each of the laptop sleeves are made out of up to 5 PET bottles. They have two sizes—one that fits an 11-12″ laptop, and one that fits a 13-14″ laptop. Both sizes are available in Navy (seen above) and Grey.

Retail Price for 11-12” Sleeve: RM109

Retail Price for 13-14” Sleeve: RM125

Recycling bottles isn’t new to Targus, as they have turned bottles into bags since 2009. Their previous 15.6″ Checkpoint-Friendly Backpack which came from the Balance EcoSmart collection, was a Green Good Design 2018 Awards Honoree.

You can shop for the new items from the Targus Cypress EcoSmart collection at Bluelogic, Lazada, Shopee, Zalora, ITHyperStore, Harvey Norman, and Viewnet.