Toronto based Totem Bags is yet the latest company we’ve seen that has been strong in the upcycling movement, and this start up from Melissa Richardson is using truck tarps, promotional banners, seatbelts and bike tires and creating durable bags while keeping those materials out of a landfill.
The company has been on the move since 2009, and received is first big break when the National Ballet of Canada handed over a stockpile of promotional banners that could be repurposed into products for the gift shop. The company has expanded its clients to include the likes of Chevrolet,Audi, IMAX and the Toronto International Film Festival.
While she started working in her home, today each bag in the line is handmade at a manufacturing facility, but Richardson still puts her stamp of approval on each item. In this way Richardson’s success is just about in the bag.