Run Errands and Repel Vampires with Garlic Husk Tote

In Portugal, designer Gui Giantini has created a 100% biodegradable tote bag from garlic waste. 

Dubbed Sacalho—Portuguese for sackcloth—the bag is made by sewing sheets of material produced using modular mixing molds in the shape of tote bags.  

According to a do-it-yourself submission to design publication designboom, Sacalho was “developed in an academic and scientific context to allow its manufacturing feasibility and promote the emergence of alternative bio-based materials to those commonly used for profit in the market, participating in the high impact and environmental pollution.” 

The submission adds that the “current disposal of cotton tote bags reaches the balance of its environmental impact only after 20,000 consecutive uses, committing to daily use for 54 years to fully compensate for the pollution from their manufacture.”