Bright Bin – Eco-Friendly Fun!

Lunchbox shopping prior to the start of the new year is not always a fun thing to do. Usually our son is quick to pick out the most basic lunchbox in black or blue. Sometimes he’ll surprise us and get a red one. Our daughter on the other hand always wants something with specific designs on them. She doesn’t like any character bags or things that are too “cute”. She’s really into peace signs but finding a lunchbox with a peace sign on it is easier said then done.

Imagine if your child could design their own lunchbox? Better yet, what if they could change the look of their lunchbox whenever the mood strikes them. Of course you wouldn’t want to purchase multiple lunchboxes. You would need one lunchbox that does it all.

Bright Bin offers an ingenious lunchbox that is ideal for kids who like to “mix it up a bit”. It’s called L’ Artiste and its perfect for my daughter who happens to be in an advanced art class.

When I first gave the bag to my daughter she was a bit put off by it. After all, it’s plain. She was thrilled when I handed her a package of colorful fabric markers (which came with the lunchbox) and told her to have fun decorating it.

My daughter’s friends are always writing all over each others notebooks and backpacks. I figured the L’ Artiste bag was going to be a huge hit with her friends because they could use the markers to doodle on her bag too.

The awesome thing about this bag is that the markers are not permanent and can be easily washed off when your child wants to change the look. You can easily wash it off in the sink but please keep in mind that is takes a bit for it to dry so I would recommend doing it when your child comes home from school. That way the whole bag is dry before you need to pack their lunch the next morning. I made the mistake of waiting until I went to bed to dry it off and it was still damp the next day. Thankfully I had a back up.

I appreciate the fact that the bag came with markers. There is nothing worst then getting something only to find out there is something missing that you have to purchase separately.

The bag its self is very well made. It features a large main section and a smaller section underneath, each with its own zipper. The bag features a handle, not a strap, which is fine for my daughter.

To make this lunchbox even better it also comes with a plastic container that has different compartments to house a child’s sandwich, snacks, veggies and fruit. The sandwich section is separate from the other sections so you don’t have to worry about things making the sandwich soggy or flatten it.

I should have taken photos of food inside the container but as you know trying to get kids up, ready and out the door for school in the morning is totally chaotic. Snapping pictures of a lunch is easier said then done. Ha Ha. a

Bright Bin only carries lunchboxes that are eco-friendly and conforms to, or exceeds, US and European safety standards. For example the lining of the Brigh Bin L’ Artiste bag is made with an environmentally friendly food-safe PEVA lining.

The purpose of the inner lunchbox (it does have a little handle) is to eliminate the need for plastic bags or other containers. Rather then put snacks in little ziploc type baggies which get tossed out at school and end up in landfills, you can just put a handful of the snack in the reusable inner plastic box. The same applies for other lunch time treats.

I was a little worried at first about the sandwhich in the top compartment not covered up. I didn’t want it to get stale. I do have a reusable sandwhich “bag” (made out of cloth) that I use. In order to give the Bright Bin lunchbox a chance I sent my daughter to school with an unwrapped sandwich. So far she’s only complained about it being stale (the bread was hard and dry as she put it) was once. So far it seems to be an isolated incident.

Bright Bin offers other Earth friendly lunchboxes too. All of their products are designed to be eco-friendly, affordable, waste free (no need for plastic bags), easy to use, non-toxic and to help save you money (you wouldn’t have waste money on sandwich bags or containers).

Bright Bin products are also very affordable. The regular lunchboxes are around $15, or $30+ when combined with one of the plastic lunch boxes that easily fit inside. The bag like the one we have is around $23.

You do not need to purchase a lunchbox to pick up the smaller, plastic box. If you currently have a favorite lunchbox but like the idea of not having to use plastic baggies or other containers you can simply purchase the plastic box.

You can save save 20% on the New Generation Lunchboxes until December 31, 2010 by using the special She Scribes discount code of shescribes11.

As a Mom who not only cares about her children but also the environment I truly appreciate these great little lunchboxes. I know my daughter loves the L’Artiste bag and has been enjoying coming up with different designs whenever the mood hits her. Sometimes she leaves the same design on her bag then after a few days she wants to do something new to it. It’s really a fun bag.

To learn more about Bright Bin lunchboxes please visit www.BrightBin.com. You can also follow them on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/BrightBin) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/BrightBin-The-New-Generation-Lunchbox/141756405848878?ref=sgm).

Kimberly

*I received a free sample product in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.