New: our most sustainable satchel, the ‘Natural'
Nowadays, all of us are very aware of the environment.
With our latest bag, the OldSchoolBags ‘Natural’, we introduce our most sustainable bag:
- vegetable tanned leather (so no harsh chemicals have been used)
- locally made (in the Netherlands, in the village of Kaatsheuvel to be precise)
- no unnecessary transport from very faraway countries (less pollution)
- directly from the maker to the customer (support your local entrepreneur)
Leather satchels can be improved
Many satchels, especially those made outside Europe, have not been made in a sustainable way (in terms of materials and labour). There is a good chance that the leather of these bags have been tanned in a way that is bad for the environment.
This is definitely not the case with our latest leather satchel, the OldSchoolBags ’Natural’.
It’s a satchel for the hard work and is produced in a fair way! This beautiful leather satchel is therefore perfect for teachers.
Tanning leather is a polluting process. Many bags are often made of cheap leather. This is very bad for the environment. Many harmful chemicals (think arsenic, formaldehyde and chromium) are needed to make leather from animal skins.
In the Netherlands (and throughout Europe) there are strict rules for this, which have already made this much better.
Outside of Europe, where most bags come from, this happens less so. The chemicals used are often discharged into nature untreated. This causes a lot of damage to nature (see this blog) as environmental regulations in these countries are less strict.
In particular on the leather part, there’s a lot of improvement still possible.
Sustainable production process
We have chosen for a different route (from the moment we started our company) and opted for a more sustainable production process.
We were very excited when we discovered the Primavera line from the company Dutch Leather Vision in Dongen, the Netherlands. They are our supplier of the vegetable tanned leather used for the (aptly named) OldSchoolBags ‘Natural’ line. This means that no aggressive chemicals have been used for the tanning of this leather.
When OldSchoolBags was founded in 2012, we immediately started with local production. The new satchel line ‘Natural’ (also known as teacher bag) is also produced in the Netherlands (in Kaatsheuvel). This saves a journey of 10 to 19 thousand kilometers by ship or plane (from India or China).
The leather is transported over a distance of 8 km (from Dongen to Kaatsheuvel). The satchel is then made by hand by local craftsman and women. For this we use a workshop that has been producing leather bags since 1962.
Because our bags are locally produced, the lines remain short and we have a good overview of what happens during the production process. Once the bags are ready, they are sent directly to the customer. A fair and responsible process in which we do not unnecessarily pollute the world.
Large, sturdy leather satchel
These are large bags, have a width of 39cm (XL) or 41cm (XL+) and have three large compartments.
You can easily store two binders (or an 8cm thick office binder) in the middle compartment. The bag has a lockable zipper pocket, two front pockets and a shoulder strap. This shoulder strap is adjustable in length so that you can adjust it perfectly to your body.
Especially for teachers
Many teachers use our leather bags. We know about the large amount of books, folders, laptop etc. that they have to carry with them every day. We have taken their feedback into account and optimized this new bag in such a way that it meets their demands.
As a result, we have released the school bag ‘Natural’ in an extra large version. You can choose between the sizes XL (which fit two normal binders) and XL+ (which even fits an 8cm thick office binder).
The satchels are very robust and very sturdy. After all, teachers have to take many books and notebooks with them every day.
With the OldSchoolBags ‘Natural’ you buy a bag which will last for many years. And if there is something wrong, we are happy to repair it in our workshop in Kaatsheuvel.
