Former Cotton On Group and Tigerlily designer Stacey Conlan has teamed up with new Australian tote bag label Tote Modern.
Launched over the weekend, Tote Modern recruited the now-freelance designer to hand-draw six designs for its launch collection.
The label, which offers a stylish, eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags, was founded by PR execs Kate Keane and Amanda Grainger in 2020, after finding they had some spare time on their hands due to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
"Amanda and I have worked together for many years, and we felt that our combined skill set in PR, influencer marketing and social media could be used to make a real difference," Keane said.
"When we read that globally we are using more than 500 billion single use plastic bags per year, we wanted to take action.
"We are environmentally conscious, socially conscious and fashion conscious, and there was nothing on the market that suited our tastes, so, Tote Modern was born," she said.
According to the label, if every Australian family were to use one less plastic bag a week, that would result in 253 million less plastic bags being used per year.
Tote Modern's bags are created using an ethically sourced recycled cotton and polyester blend and are delivered to customers in compostable post bags, with all packaging fully recycled.
The business will also donate $1 from every order to Take 3 For The Sea, a movement that asks everyone to take three pieces of rubbish when they leave the beach, waterway or anywhere.
Tote Modern's launch collection consists of six designs including The Zebra Tote, The Motif Tote, The Logo Tote, The Check Tote, The Tie Dye Tote and The Horoscope Tote - a vintage inspired design that took Conlan a total of 5,871 pen strokes to draw.
The bags are available now on the Tote Modern website and retail for $39.95 each.