GG2G “Saved and Made in the USA”

The next time you are driving past a billboard on I-95 in Connecticut, imagine this. You may well encounter the very same billboard again sometime soon — but in a state you may not recognize. If it is a billboard owned by brothers Bruce and John Barrett, there is an excellent chance that it will be re-purposed, perhaps as a designer bag.

In 2004, Dayan “Day” Moore started GG2G (the acronym for Green Gifts 2 Give and 2 Get) with her friend Alison Grieveson “to create accessories that were in keeping with their re-use & recycle philosophy.” Day was a guest speaker at a recent New Haven Green Drinks to which she brought samples of her bags and talked in particular about the challenges of finding local sources for the materials needed to fabricate her products. In her factory in Milford, Day manufactures two major collections.

ReVinylized® Bags are fabricated from recycled local billboards (those belonging to the Barretts). The billboards are cut locally, washed locally using a non-toxic cleaner made by a local company, and sewn locally. Day estimates that GG2G has diverted thousands of pounds of billboards from the landfill.

The Salvo! Collection is the newer, luxury line, offering bags created of vinyl scraps salvaged from a manufacturer of restaurant seating.

All GG2G bags are lined with 100% organic cotton created by Harmony Art. The webbing is made in the USA, as are the notions, whenever possible. A portion of each sale is donated to Farm Sanctuary. 

Dayan Moore is a 2009 Eileen Fisher Women’s Business Grant Recipient. Her eco- and animal-friendly accessories are carried in fine boutiques around the country.