Filed under: What This is All About
Luntian Bags are reusable bags made of canvas that come in different designs and sizes. The purpose of the bags is to help reduce plastic bag pollution by using reusable bags instead of wasting plastic ones. These bags are stylish, earth-friendly and carry a message. So for your next trip to the grocery or mall, BYOB. Read this Time article.
Luntian Bags are products of a livelihood program in San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas.
Luntian (lún-tee-an) means green in Filipino.
Click here to find out how much and how to order.
Filed under: How Much & How to Order
Important: Prices have changed. Pls see new prices here.
Simply email me at ibulaong@gmail.com or call/text me at (0918) 914-0446 and tell me your preferred designs, sizes, quantities and delivery date. If you live/work near my home in Sucat, I can deliver to you for free. If not, I can deliver to you via courier (I will charge you the courier’s fee). I also accept bulk orders for corporate giveaways with your logo. Please give me some time for large orders.
Regular bags are P100 each and Large bags are P110 each.
Here are the available designs and sizes, and the specifications. Free Christmas packaging is available from November-December.
Filed under: The Bags
Important: Pls click here to see Christmas packaging for 2008.
I think the bags would make great Christmas gifts so I’m including free Christmas packaging for deliveries starting December. This means that you can place your order anytime (even before Dec) but if you want your order delivered before December 1, it will come without the Christmas packaging. Due to the busy Christmas season, I suggest you place your order asap to ensure that I don’t run out of stock especially if you’re thinking of a large quantity.
For regular sized bags: Olive green reusable pouch with purple drawstrings, gift tag in recycled paper, rafia ribbons, and this oh-so-cute miniature native basket.
For large sized bags: Rust-colored reusable pouch with beige drawstrings, gift tag in recycled paper, rafia ribbons, and this equally cute miniature sinamay hat.
Here are the available designs, the specifications, how much and how to order.
Filed under: The Bags
I am lucky to have access to some very talented designers at work who are willing to share their time for this project. The designs currently available range from the sweet to the funky. Below are the available designs and sizes. The specifications can be found here. How much and how to order are here.
BYOB, available in Regular and Large sizes (NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE AS OF 10 DEC 2008)
Design by Lee Gonzales, Copy by Mariel Bulaong
One Less, available in Regular and Large sizes (LARGE NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE AS OF 10 DEC 2008)
Design by Joan Mateo
Fantastic, available in Regular and Large sizes (REGULAR NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE AS OF 10 DEC 2008)
Design by Owie Lazatin, Copy by Therese Endriga
Rizal, available in Regular size
Design by Joan Mateo, Copy by Therese Endriga
Last Season, available in Regular size
Design by Joan Mateo, Copy by Therese Endriga
Turtles, available in Regular size
Design by Tina de Torres
Filed under: The Livelihood Program
The bags are completely sewed and printed by my neighbors in San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas. I started with one mananahi (sewer), Aling Guring, who is the wife of our carpenter, and who makes minor sewing jobs for me regularly. I am blessed to have Aling Guring as she has taken on the job of distributing the work to other women in the barangay, training them as necessary, and acting as quality controller. Providing them with work has been very fulfilling as these women are either already mananahis with nothing to sew (they get sewing jobs only in June when school opens), or are learning to sew for the first time. They are otherwise unemployed women married to fishermen or laborers, who now take pride in being productive and earning additional income for their families.
Aling Guring
Aling Guring and I are still figuring out the most efficient way of producing the bags while ensuring quality. It’s been a challenge since the women have household chores to do and kids to take care of. We can’t do factory-line style where each sewer only does one task, i.e. one cuts only, one makes the straps, one sews the bag together, etc- since the women live far away from each other (some live up in the mountains and some by the beach).
The mananahis showing off the bags they sew.
The silk screen printing is done by Richard and King. Richard is a public school teacher and preacher from neighboring Malimatok, who prints the bags at night &/or weekends. King is a tricycle driver who prints after the day’s trips. Richard and King are training their friends/neighbors how to silk screen to spread the work.
King picking up bags for printing. The child is Bryan, my caretaker’s son.
As of today, I am very happy to say that 21 families are already benefitting from this livelihood program. And Aling Guring says that more women are asking her to give them more bags to sew or teach them how to sew. I can’t believe it myself!
Filed under: The Bags
The bags are made of canvas (cacha) and come in 2 sizes. The Regular size is 16-1/2″ tall x 16″ wide x 5″ bottom gusset, with 19″ long x 1-1/4″ wide straps.
The bags have cords with wooden beads that serve 2 purposes- to tie the bags into a small neat bundle so you can put it in your handbag on your way to the grocery or mall, and to tie the bags closed when they are full. The wooden beads also give the bags a more natural and Pinoy look.
The Large size is 4 inches wider than the Regular and has longer and wider straps.
My friends have told me that they prefer the Large for major grocery trips (3-4 per trip) and the Regular for quick ones. I guess it depends how often you go to the grocery whcih dictates the amount of goods you buy per trip. As for me, I’ve gotten into the habit of keeping several of both sizes in my car because I find myself on unexpected trips to the grocery and/or mall often.
Here are the available designs and sizes, how much and how to order.
Last April, I read this Time article and the numbers stunned me- “Every year, more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed, and less than 3% of those bags are recycled. They are typically made of polyethylene and can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in landfills that emit harmful greenhouse gases.”
More than the numbers, however, my main takeaway was that we (normal people and not scientists or radical activists) can do something about it- “Reducing your contribution to plastic-bag pollution is as simple as using a cloth bag (or one made of biodegradable plant-based materials) instead of wasting plastic ones. For your next trip to the grocery store, BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag).” Hmmmm, I can do that. And maybe I can get other people to do it, too.
My family and I have a weekend home in San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas, and my husband and I have always wanted to do something for this wonderful community. So with the BYOB idea in my head, next thought bubble was- Why not have the bags made in San Teodoro?
And thus, Luntian Bags was born.
