The document provides descriptions of different styles of reusable bags made by the Khmu people, including the Beach, Pahk, Sidh, Noy, Beng, Lehm, Ving, and Muang styles. Each style has distinct design elements and color combinations using materials like JungleVineTM and organic cotton. The styles range from more subtle natural tones to brighter colors and patterns, allowing customers to choose a bag that fits their personal style and tastes.

1. BeachColorful and refined. That’s the way to think of our new Beach style. Designed with use on California beaches in mind, but at home on a shopping trip to a classy boutique or in the supermarket, the Beach borrows elements from the Beng: Darker shades of continuous bands wrap around the cargo sack. Varying brighter colors fill the channels between the bands. Khmu concepts of color coordination then are subdued to create a presentation that reflects modern design. Blending of organic cotton threads into the JungleVine™ foundation of the straps softens the feel on bare shoulders. Otherwise, entirely pure rich beautiful JungleVine™.

2. Pahk — Popular Bag StylePahk is the world’s most popular Nature Bag style. Its simple elegance adds a subtle sustainable accent to casual and formal attire and everything in between. Never out of place, the Pahk fits into an elegant evening on the town or a hike in the countryside. The rich earth organic tones of JungleVine™ are unimpeded by added color. A satin-like luster is radiated from each individual cord under most lighting situations. Our cosmopolitan European friends predict that the Pahk soon will be an essential purchase for customers of exclusive boutiques in Berlin, Paris and other European style centers. It’s made entirely of JungleVine™ except on a few bags where the straps have small amounts of undyed organic cotton blended in to add a softer feel against bare skin. The Pahk is the style of Nature Bag that can be used to carry almost anything almost anywhere.

3. SidhIf you want to add small bits of coordinated color, the Sidh style is what you are looking for. Natural dyes change JungleVine™ from its earth tone shades of tan to brown to colors including dark green, yellow, gold, blue, orange and black. Then the Khmu makers use the dyed vine for making the seam and tassels and usually also for small narrow interrupted highlights running the length of the straps. There is no mixing of colors on any individual bag, with a single color or variations of that color used exclusively. The color is so minimal and isolated that there is no impairment of the rich satin-like luster from the organic JungleVine™. The entire bag including strap is strong sustainable JungleVine™.

4. NoyThis style permits your Nature Bag to be more conspicuous. It takes the colors used in the seams, tassels and straps of the Sidh style and adds them to bands that wrap around the bag’s cargo compartment. These color bands can be wide or narrow, single or multiple, near the seam, near the opening or at the center. The result is a bag with a presence that speaks louder than the Sidh or the Pahk. Yet there is no aesthetic problem of making certain that colors are coordinated to both western and Khmu tastes. A single color or variations of it is used exclusively on any Noy style bag. Many who prefer to remain inconspicuous but also add a little bit of cheer through color to those around us find the Noy a perfect solution. Typically elegant enough for use during a night on the town, but also respectfully proclaiming sustainability at the supermarket checkout, a Noy style bag will find itself on your shoulder in a variety of situations. All JungleVine™ including the strap.

5. BengIf you want to be noticed and make a strong statement with your sustainable, organic eco-friendly bag, the Beng style Nature Bag might be your most useful tool. Usually including the narrow black bands of the Lehm, but with added bands or blotches of almost any color, the Beng stands out from the crowd. Thick brightly colored cotton thread usually also is used in the seam, tassels, around the opening and on the strap. Sometime Khmu makers will leave short segments of the thread fastened at one end only so that there are short tassels on the strap or cargo walls. When you receive your Beng style bag, look closely for a single seemingly whimsical piece of brightly colored cotton thread attached to a segment of JungleVine™ on the cargo container. This is the mark of the bag maker, something showing the maker’s pride in her creation and forever branding her craftsmanship. Straps can be of JungleVine™ or organic cotton.

6. Lehm — Masculine TouchThis is the American sponsor’s favorite. Narrow dark-colored bands circle the cargo compartment of organic JungleVine™. The bands can be in groupings of 2 to 5 and can appear at several places. The bands usually are black or dark dark brown and rarely are other hues. Seams and tassels can contain thick bright cotton thread and strips of cotton fabric. Occasionally some bright cotton thread wraps the opening. The overall appearance is handsome and refined, with a masculine touch. Carrying a bigger-sized Lehm style bag around a modern Asian city is guaranteed to bring lots of looks and frequently a compliment from either gender! Some of the most unlikely fans have included Sikh tailors in Bangkokand college students in Singapore. If you are older and want to meet younger peopler, the overall effect of the Lehm style can be magical. The fashion world might not be ready for a man carrying a bag when wearing a tuxedo, but when it is, it will be the Lehm style. Straps can be either JungleVine™ or organic cotton.

7. VingIf you want a reusable sustainable organic bag that challenges the imagination with new and unusual combinations of hues but does not “shout” too loudly, then consider the Ving. Virtually all of the cargo container is of pure natural toned JungleVine™ except the Khmu add bright colors of cotton thread usually near the opening, but sometimes also in the seam and on the strap. While some of the colors do not mix well from a traditional western point of view, their use is sufficiently minimalistic and dispersed that the most traditional individual tastes are not offended. Most Ving style straps are organic cotton, although some are JungleVine™, and a few are made from bleached factory cotton. Cotton straps frequently have lines of color, usually red, that run lengthwise. This is the style of bag most frequently seen being used by the Khmu today. Organic cotton straps sometimes are reused on a Ving style bag from an earlier Nature Bag.

8. MuangMuang style goes one step further in sustainability than other Nature Bags making it the ultimate ultimate green carrying device. It uses recycled fabric, primarily cotton, in the seam and main tassels. The Khmu take clothing that is no longer wearable and salvage portions of it that remain strong. This clothing itself usually is second-hand or third-hand, acquired from Chinese traders. When incorporated into a Muang style Nature Bag, the result can be colorful and eye-catching or refined and handsome. In addition to the recycled fabric, the other design characteristics of a Muang style bag can be like the Beng style, with lots of color including dyes on the walls. Or it can be like the Ving style with mostly natural toned JungleVine™ but also thick bright cotton threads circling near the opening. Some Muang style bags resemble the Lehm style with black or dark colored bands wrapping around the bag but no bright colors dyed into the bag walls. Muang bags have either cotton or JungleVine™ straps. Present a Muang style bag at the supermarket check-out lane and the resulting conversations will lead to new acquaintances as you explain how organic JungleVine™ is linked with reused clothing to create a reusable bag that is both organic and recycled.