STUFFORHUMANS

sustainable, vegetable tanned, retro leather satchel messenger bag
ABOUT US
Frustrated with a lack of genuine leather bags that we loved, looked great, that we knew would last, and that we knew were free from toxins and unethical practices, we decided to make our own. We wanted them made with as little impact as possible on the humans that make them and the planet we live on.
Our name came from that same conversation. How quickly and seemingly wantonly we are destroying our environment through our desire for fast fashion, the latest gadgets, a pair of shoes for every outfit, sequins and sparkles. An endless stream of products seem to be finding their way into our homes, all over-packaged and very little of it with any information as to how it's made, or it's impact on our health.
We don't want to choose between having stuff or keeping our planet beautiful. We believe that with a little effort and care it doesn't have to be stuff or humans, we can make stuff for humans without causing harm to people or planet.

We source from factories and producers that we are welcome to visit, and welcome to talk to the people that work there. If we don't like the vibe we look elsewhere.
The people who hand-make our bags work at a recently audited and fully compliant [to international standards] workplace in Vietnam. They are paid living wages and work normal, regulated work hours. We visit regularly, have met the people who make our bags and have done a photoshoot on site.
We use vegetable-tanned leather to limit the use of toxins prevalent in modern tanning methods. The leather is tanned in Italy, by experienced artisans, so we know the quality of the tanning is as good as it can be, and with care, will last a lifetime.
As much as possible of the hide is used, including the belly [which may result in some wrinkling of the leather]. Luxury leather brands discard as much as 80% of the hide as the 'imperfect' leather is considered unusable. Even a tiny mark from an insect bite is considered a blemish!
The handle and piping inserts are cotton rope.
The sleeve padding is organic, silk waste product from a small farm a few hours from Saigon.
The hang tags are made from locally-sourced, recycled paper products.
The cotton dust bags are made by a local workshop [click here to see a video about them].
We endeavour to reduce our carbon miles where ever possible, from sourcing local products to delivering directly to our customers.

We love animals. We really do. But ultimately we decided that vegetable-tanned leather was a better option.
Vegan leather has a much shorter lifespan, uses a number of chemical processes for it's production and, perhaps most importantly, it is normally a type of plastic. It continues to off-gas during it's lifetime, doesn't biodegrade and eventually breaks down into microplastic, migrating into our waterways and food sources. The plastic absorbs hormone disruptors and heavy metals and is thought to contribute to a number of serious health problems in humans and animals.
In addition, the hides of our vegetable-tanned leather are waste product from the meat industry, the tanning process doesn't release toxic metals into rivers and land masses, and our leather supplier is committed to using a more sustainable process for the de-hairing of the hides.
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