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In Japan, people have traditionally carried their bento boxes in knotted textiles called "furoshiki" (pronounced f-ROHSH-kee)
The Furoshiki ECOlunchwrap measures 24 X 24 inches and is designed to carry bento boxes plus fruit and other lunch items (our 'bento' style ECOlunchboxes are a perfect pairing). Depending on how the lunch wrap is tied, the size of the lunch pouch varies. So if you can tie two knots, you can transform our Furoshiki ECOlunchwrap into a stylish lunchbag!
The ancient Japanese tradition of knotting, folding and twisting, dates back to the 17th century. It's easy to learn, incredibly practical, and beautiful in it's simplicity.
Double-sided (reversible) and machine washable, our cotton furoshiki wrap is sewn from colorful fair trade textiles hand printed by artisans using wooden blocks and wax batik techniques perfected over generations. Whether you are packing food at home, picking up take-out or just need a versatile bag, our wraps make it easy to say goodbye to plastic bags, vinyl totes and other leachy food containers.
Every single bag is unique and up to the artists' inspiration as to what colours and prints they choose. Thus, a randomly special bag will be selected for you. While the bags are fairly unisex, If you have a strong 'boy' or 'girl' preference, please add that in the notes upon checkout, or send us an email and we'll pick one with your needs in mind.
Measures 24 x 24 inches Machine wash/tumble dry
With the 'greening' of school lunches in an effort to reduce waste, our culture has embraced the Bento box. But never until now have we seen beautiful Furoshiki so readily available, in which to wrap them in. If the Japanese are genious enough to come up with the most practical way to carry lunches (ie, bento boxes) then wouldn't it make sense that the bag they carry it in is perfect too? We think so!
These Furoshiki are easy to use, and oh so versatile! They get lots of compliments and our kids love carrying them.
The knots are a bit tricky (read impossible) for the 3 year olds to learn, but 5 and up has a good grasp on the tying method. Unless you have one of those crazy "knot obsessed" kids like we have, then you could probably start a little younger!
A bio about the birth of ECOlunchbox, in founder Sandra Ann Harris' words:
My kids were in preschool when I started the daily battle of the lunch. What to pack? (Answer: healthy stuff they’ll eat!) How to pack it? (Answer: containers they can open & close and that don’t fill up the garbage can!).
Trouble was my kids couldn’t open a lot of the little tight-lidded plastic containers I used for cut fruits, yogurts and other snacks. So I often resorted to plastic baggies because they were cheap, easy to open/close and contained things both wet and dry. But I wasn’t happy with the waste we were creating. I tried using recyclable wax paper bags, but sandwiches dried out and wet stuff, like cut fruit, turned the wax paper to mush, creating a big mess.
My next experiment in lunchware was with the cute Japanese bento boxes I discovered in San Francisco’s Japantown. My daughter especially loved the Hello Kitty designs! These bentos were really decorative and fun, but wouldn’t fit sandwiches and the plastic hinges broke easily. And I wasn’t interested in continuing to use plastic.
Bad news on plastic and its danger to people and the planet kept emerging as the years passed. At that time, hard plastics (like the Nalgene bottles) were believed to be generally safe. The squeezy plastics (like Ketchup and mayonnaise bottles) were to be avoided. Yet studies were showing that even the hard plastics could pose health hazards.
I yearned to avoid the throw-away plastic baggies, the plastic Tupperware food containers and the plastic/vinyl lunchboxes sold at the big-box retailers that are so ubiquitous. But as I searched high and low in sporting goods stores, big-box retailers and online, I was unable to put together a lunch kit that met my needs. I wondered, "What is the best way to pack a lunch?" That was when, about five years ago, I resolved to develop a lunch kit for kids ages 3 to 103... something healthy for people and the planet.
What I’ve come up with is a back-to-the-basics solution. The kit starts with a 100% cotton, machine washable bag with matching cloth napkins. Inside the bag, which can be converted from shoulder bag, to sling bag to backpack, are reusable bamboo utensils, and a two-level stainless steel ECOlunchbox sized to fit a sandwich. What have I left out? Plastics. Disposables. Vinyl. PVC. Lead. And, of course, the lunch. That part is up to you!
I hope you and your family enjoy using my ECOlunchbox Kit. After all, it’s healthy for people and the planet. What could taste better than that?
Sandra Ann Harris Founder
The beautiful fabric measures 24 X 24 inches.
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