Beautiful Fair Trade Purse & Bags from Rising Tide-w/ 20% coupon code!

Check out my new tote bag from Rising Tide Fair Trade:

It's gorgeous. It has a ridiculously large capacity. And it supports a good cause. What more could you ask for in a bag?!?

My tote today (we ate the popcorn & lettuce already)

My new bag is the "Beach & Market Tote" in Akila. And the name is a good indication of its size-shortly after getting it, I took it to the farmer's market with my son and it easily fit half a dozen pull-ups, extra jeans t-shirt, jacket, and hat for my toddler, sunscreen, my wallet, keys, cell phone, calendar, some lip gloss and pens, a bag of white chocolate popcorn I bought for my husband, half a dozen honey straws, a head of lettuce, and a kids' workbook from the art center. Seriously, it still snapped closed with all that in there and nothing was bulging out anywhere. I love this tote.

And on top of that, they support a good cause. Rising Tide fair trade bags are handmade in Africa from locally sourced fabric. The company makes sure the African women who sew the bags are being paid fair wages.

closeup of the amazing fabric w/ running stitch detail on my tote!

One of the other things I think is great about this bag is the pockets. A lot of bags this big don't have any pockets. Not this tote! There are two open pockets on one side plus a zipper pocket that takes up most of the other side (perfect for keys!). I love having secure places for my stuff that I know it won't tumble out of the top of the bag (it does have one snap in the middle, but is otherwise open topped.)

pockets w/ my phone & calendar for size reference

Zipper pouch on other side

And the Beach and Market Tote is far from the only awesome bag from Rising Tide Fair Trade. They have a wide range of purses and totes, from these cute envelope clutches (big enough for iPads!):

Safi Envelope Clutch (picture from Rising Tide website)

to these amazing shoulder totes:

Kumba Shoulder Tote (pic from Rising Tide website)

Besides the fact that Rising Tide Fair Trade bags are gorgeous, I also absolutely love that the women who started Rising Tide aren't just talking about helping struggling families in Africa- they are hiring them and selling the goods they produce.

I went on a mission trip to Mozambique about 10 years ago and at the time, $3/year was the cost of attending school-a price most families couldn't afford. So you can trust that the profits the women sewing these fabulous purses and totes are making really can make a huge impact for their families and possibly their entire communities. Definitely much more so than buying a purse from the mall by some European designer. We in America tend not to realize the value of a dollar in impoverished third world nations, but even a few dollars can help. The price of a purse? Can help a lot.

And speaking of the generous ladies behind Rising Tide Fair Trade, they've given us an exclusive coupon code to use! Put the code "Crunchy20" in the promo box and you'll get 20% off your entire order from Rising Tide Fair Trade between now and the end of the day on Sunday. So hurry-go buy some fabulous bags!

I received a free tote bag for review purposes. I received no other compensation and my opinions are honest!