About Dabbawalla Bags
Colorful, fun, functional. Those are keywords for Dabbawalla. Frustrated by the lack of functional, appropriately-sized bags available for children, sisters Susan Givens and Carol Mack teamed up to create Dabbawalla Bags. The name Dabbawalla was inspired by Susan’s travels in India where she was fascinated with the complex system of lunch box delivery men known as dabbawallas. The mission at Dabbawalla Bags is simple: design fun, functional bags that appeal to both kids and adults while promoting social responsibility.
Strong, stylish and practical
Flexible and strong, crafted out of naturally insulating, water-resistant neoprene, Dabbawalla Bags are tough enough to take a lot of rough-n-tumble yet stylish enough to stand out from the crowd. And because they are completely machine washable, stain-resistant and eco-friendly, they are indisputably practical, too.
Responsibly made in Taiwan
Dabbawalla bags are hand sewn by a woman-owned and operated sewing facility in rural Taiwan where employees are paid fair wages and given family benefits. It is a beautiful facility, very open and bright, and working conditions are excellent, especially in this part of the world where it is very poor and women, in particular, don’t have as many opportunities. The bags are not mass-produced – each bag is produced by women who take great pride in their work. In addition, Dabbawalla has factored into each bag a small contribution that is returned directly to the facility employees that is essentially profit-sharing, which allows everyone to share in any success. Susan and Carol themselves make frequent visits to the facility to ensure working conditions are kept up.