Recycled bags with a positive impact!

Ragbag is a brand that stands for recycled, fair and fashionable bags and accessories, manufactured in the beautiful south of India. Our Ragbags are made from large tea bigbags, carefully collected by ‘rag pickers’ and produced by a group of women in our workshop in a picturesque village in Tamil Nadu.

Our story: east meets west

Ragbag was founded in 2005 by designer and entrepreneur Siem Haffmans after a trip to Delhi for a conference on sustainable design. During his stay in Delhi, fate crossed paths with Anita and Shalabh Ahuja, founders of Conserve India, who had developed an innovative process to convert plastic bags into colorful bags. Inspired by this meeting, Siem asked designer Ellen Sillekens to create a collection of bags. A few years later, our own workshop was started in the south of India. Since then, the Ragbag collection has expanded to include the collection made from recycled tea bags.

Our story: sustainable bags for a fair price

Ragbag products are made from wasted materials collected by ‘rag pickers’ in India. The collected teabags are cleaned and processed into new products with a higher value, or ‘upcycling’.

Ragbag is a brand that follows fair trade principles. We pay a fair price for our products, so that the ragpickers, the people in the workshop and their families have a good income.

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Ragbag Awards

Our story: Award-winning concept and designs

The bags for Ragbag are designed by talented Dutch designers. These designers contribute to the unique style and creativity of Ragbag’s products, making them both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly.

Ragbag has won several awards:

  • Nomination “Green Product Award” 2016
  • Nomination “Most Sustainable Brand in the Netherlands” in 2013
  • ‘Brands with a conscience’ Award in 2009
  • Nomination ‘German Design Award’ in 2007
  • First prize ‘Egg of Columbus’ in 2006
  • Winner of the European Business Award for the Environment in 2006
  • Nomination ‘Dutch Design Prizes’ in 2006
  • Second prize ‘Business in Development’ in 2005

From rags to bags

The heart of Ragbag’s creative production lies in the south of India. Here the ‘rag pickers’ work to collect large tea bags, also called ‘big-bags’, from various tea factories, restaurants and hotels. While the women are busy washing and cutting the material, the men are sewing the bags with care and precision.

More about the production