Big Year // Big Changes: The Good Stuff of 2020

2020 was a lot. But amidst all the craziness, we made some pretty big changes at Junes – all which are helping us further our mission of saving the planet and helping women in crisis. 

For starters, our tagline. From the very beginning, we’ve always been crystal clear on our purpose, so it made sense to be upfront about it. The bag that gives back communicated our strongest held ideal as a company, but we’ve always been specific about exactly who and what we give back to and felt our statement to the world should do the same. The bag that gives back to women and the planet does just that. The simple addition defines exactly what we’re about and what every purchase supports. Internally, it serves as our guiding principle for every choice we make as a company – if it’s not advancing those goals, it’s not for us.

A statement was only the first step in solidifying our identity in the world. Next up: a new website! If you’ve been following along, you’ve surely noticed our new look by now and we hope it’s helped you learn more about our practices and activism, as well as made shopping for your favorites a little easier. We’re stoked to have grown to the point where we needed to organize and streamline and look forward to continuing to grow our little space on the interwebs to provide further support to our goals of improving the planet and lives of women.  Catch our monthly Journal entries to stay updated and educated.

 Probably definitely the biggest thing that happened at Junes, though, is the launch of our sustainable BioKnit™ fabric. While reusable bags themselves get more single-use plastic out of the environment, it has always been a goal of ours to create a biodegradable option. BioKnit is made from recycled plastic bottle fibers combined with a revolutionary new additive called CiCLO® that allows it to behave like natural fibers under long exposure to the environment. It’s a super strong and durable mesh made to do your heavy lifting for many years to come, then return to nature. Since it gets more plastic out of the environment, keeps more plastic out of the environment, and then doesn’t end up as plastic in the environment itself – it’s truly doing net good, allowing us to close the loop on our own product lifecycle and helping close the loop on the larger problem of plastic pollution as a whole. And by the way, it’s still totally recyclable through our #TradeUpJunes program, meaning our bags never have to leave the loop of usefulness and create no new plastics in the process. You can read more about BioKnit in our January 13th Journal entry. 

We debuted BioKnit in Matte Ivory, but we’ve been steadily adding new colors, prints, and artist collaborations across our bag styles. And if you’re wondering if we’re planning on going all BioKnit in the future…  a biodegradable fabric makes the most sense for our commitment to the planet, and we’ve been hearing nothing but good things from our loyal Junes carriers. So the answer is yes! Look for new colors, styles, and limited edition prints throughout 2021.

Speaking of new styles, we also added the Grande Tote to our lineup in 2020. You asked for a bigger option, so you got it sisters! We love using the Grande for trips (and hopefully more travel this year), and it makes a great beach/pool bag. We’d love to see how you’re using and styling the newest member of the Junes squad – tag us at #JunesFamilia on Instagram next time you take her out for a spin. 

Another big step for Junes has been launching with a few big, national retailers. Getting our bags in their stores and on their websites means more Junes on more shoulders, more plastic out of the environment, and more women lifted out of poverty and violence. We’re grateful to Urban Outfitters, Free People, and Madewell for supporting our mission and helping us reach a bigger audience of sustainable and socially conscious shoppers. Let us know when you see us out in the wild, and look for more local and national launches to come. 

That’s it, for now. But far from it for the future. We’re looking forward to all the possibilities a new year brings - more solidified in our identity, better aligned with our goals, and as fired up as ever to keep kicking a** for the planet and women.