THE HAPPY BEAR COMPANY

Hello! My name is Mayra and I am the owner of The Happy Bear Company. I specialize in bags and accessories made out of mostly natural fibers or/or biodegradable materials. I design and manufacture all items myself; I do not mass produce. Some of my products are one of a kind, some manufactured to specific customer requests. I sell online on Etsy Marketplace and locally in Edmonton, Canada.

As the daughter of a professional seamstress, I started sewing for fun when I was a teenager. Many years later, after studying and working for a few years, I started sewing again to make totes, baby bags, flat cloth diapers and other baby accessories. I was looking for items made mostly with natural fibers and reduced plastic packaging, but could not find them in stores. And so began The Happy Bear Company. Through the years, I have expanded to create a variety of different items and accessories mostly focused on waste reduction from both the consumer and manufacturer's side.

 I work with natural and sustainable man-made fibers, recyclable and biodegradable materials as much as possible in my products. I love working with denims, hemp blends, cottons, leather and metal. The purpose: to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated at the end of a product's life, and also reduce micro-plastic wear from regular washing. I am also actively trying to incorporate quality repurposed materials and virgin manufacturing fabric scraps into new products to help reduce textile waste. I believe quality and style can go hand-in-hand with growing environmental responsibility. 

 I strive to ship my products plastic-free. Many cities and small towns simply do not have access to plastic recycling facilities. When compared to paper or metal, plastic can not be recycled as many times; too many types to sort, many degrade when exposed to heat or sunlight, etc. The quality of recycled plastic material is challenging to maintain over time. Demand is low and recycled material often rejected.

 Paper recycling is more established and in higher demand. For this reason, I try to ship my items using only quality recyclable paper envelopes, mailers and boxes. I also use paper based shipping tape which does not need to be removed from the mailer/box before recycling.

I do not use compostable mailers because some brands incorporate additives and binders that are not recommended for home garden composting. Also, many municipal composting facilities only accept food scraps. Compostable mailers are often placed by mistake into plastic recycling bins. This compromises the quality of the recycled plastic end product material as discussed above.