One company is taking used sails from sailboats and creating something totally brand new: summer tote bags.

       Sea Bags, founded in Portland, Maine, makes unique tote bags out of locally recycled materials. Since 1999, the company says it has saved over 700 tons of material from going into landfills.

       “Our materials come from Maine firstl; New England, second; and [the] U.S.A, third,” it says on the company's website.

       Located right on the water on Custom House Wharf in Portland, Sea Bags employs 200 workers.

       MORE: 'Made in America' companies create new products from recycled material

       Employee Dillon Leary, who has been working for Sea Bags since high school, said he’s proud of his role in producing the bags.

       ABC

       Timeiqua Nixon has been a part of the Sea Bags design team for six and a half years in Portland, Maine.

       “We get to see the process from the very beginning,” said Leary, “Out of the thousands of pounds of sails that we're taking per year, every single one of those starts in this building."

       MORE: Sixth-generation company reinvents itself during pandemic: Made in America

       Timeiqua Nixon, who has been a part of the design team for over six years, said that pride goes into each product.

       “Everything is handmade. So I love that we just do it ourselves,” she said. “Which is, we’re the main source for it. We don’t have to outsource anything.”