Handmade Eco-Friendly Bags, Handbags, and Purses made of Candy Wrapper and other Recycled Materials.

About Ecoist. The Original Candy Wrapper Handbags

In 2004, brothers Yair and Jonathan Marcoschamer were joined by their mother Helen on a trip to Mexico.  During their stay they were exposed to some fascinating handbags crafted from post-consumer waste by Mexican artisans . Inspired by this concept, the entrepreneurial brothers flew back to their Miami-based home and decided to develop a business making products from waste-bound materials.

Since then, Ecoist has brought together major companies, such as Coca-Cola and Disney,  with fashion and industrial designers to make handbags and other products from post-industrial waste.  Their handbags are made through a fair trade manufacturing partnership with artisans in Peru.

Most importantly, the company has made an impact on the environment, preventing more than 15 million candy wrappers and other waste bound materials from ending up in landfills. In addition the company has planted more than 100,000 trees as part of its commitment to plant a tree for every product sold. 

What We Do. We upcycle waste to create stylish, high quality, and limited collection handbags. Upcycling: The repurposing of a material into a product of higher quality.

Materials. We make our products using pre-consumer waste collected from factories that discard them due to misprints and overages. Instead of having them end up in landfills, we use them as raw materials for our products.

Upcycling Partners. Our partners include The Coca-Cola Company, Disney, Mars, Frito Lay, Luna Bar, and AVEDA, among others. In the last 4 years, we’ve saved more than 15 million candy wrappers from going to landfills.

Fair Trade Manufacturing. Ecoist handbags are made in a fair trade, sweatshop-free production center in Peru. Fair Trade is a manufacturing partnership that recognizes the need of fair wages, healthy working environments, and respect for the local cultural identity.

Buy a Bag, Plant A Tree. In partnership with Trees for the Future, Ecoist plants a tree for every handbag. Over the past 4 years, Ecoist has planted more than 80,000 trees. Recently, Ecoist has planted trees around the world including India, Uganda, Haiti, Mexico, and the United States