The idea fueling Indy E.co started while I was attending CSU Long Beach, and it was simple: More recycled plastics in new products mean less plastics in our environment.

Indy E.co LLC was started by a CSU Long Beach student and looks to push all universities in the direction of environmentally responsible branding. We believe that product producers should be using recycled materials every chance they get and educational institutions should be at the forefront of this movement.

Indy backpacks are made using textiles consisting of 70% recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or rPET. This is a thick and durable nylon fabric woven from processed plastics that would have otherwise ended up discarded as waste.

At Indy E.co, we want to create university-specific items made with durable materials and a desirable design that alumni can carry beyond their years of study into their personal and professional lives. This will allow alumni to represent their schools not only with ballcaps and clothes but also with work and sport-ready backpacks. The students get a great product, the university brand is represented in the real world, and the Earth ends up a little cleaner.

No university should place its brand on products made with cheap, profit-oriented, wasteful materials. Indy E.co is here to help willing universities make the change into a cleaner industry.