It’s our favorite time of year, where we recap all the fun and positive impact we’ve had to-date, as well as a vision for the future. Here’s what to expect from this exciting article. 

• Our community: total number of happy customers to-date and why that matters
• Artisan Power: a life-to-date headcount of our amazing artisan collaborators
• Tip Me: Our latest project that empowers you to tip artisans directly 
• Bags, Bags, BAGS: Top 3 most popular bags globally
• Looking Forward: a sneak peek at the amazing things on the horizon this year

Our Community

It’s hard to believe that this coming July, we’ll have been in business for twelve years, woohoo! None of it would be possible without our amazing tribe of customers globally, which, after crunching the numbers, totals 149,276 happy customers to date!!! We’ve shipped our colorful bags to over 64 countries and our biggest customer populations are the USA, Germany and Japan.

Artisan Power

Thanks to the huge support of the 149k amazing humans mentioned above, our community of artisan collaborators has also greatly expanded. What started with five families hand-making textiles 3 months out of the year back in 2011, has blossomed into a network of 500 artisans across Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia and Vietnam! We’re very proud of this number and are honored to be of service to these incredible creators of traditional textiles.

Our continued goal is to firstly ensure year-round project work of 10-12 months of textile creation for Ethnotek in our existing villages. Then, scale the total number of artisan collaborators to 1,000 people. And ideally adding a new artisan sourcing region every 2-years.

Tip Me

Have you ever sent a tip to the people who make your products similar to how you tip a waiter, barista or bartender? Well, you can, and we’re proud to say that Ethnotek is now the first backpack company on the planet to enable tipping directly to the artisans and sewing workers who made your bag! 

We’re thrilled to share that in just the first 23 days of turning the tip me project live (until the time of writing this), over 513 people have tipped the artisans who made the textiles in their bag. That’s 22 people tipping per day, and based on our forecast, there will be 8,000-9,000 tips to our artisan partners per year! Because these tips will be paid in addition to our usual fabric orders with the artisans, this is a double-whammy for our mission! You can visit our tip me project page HERE to learn more.

bags, Bags, BAGS!

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably cruised around our website and can see that we have A LOT of bags... bag sizes, bag colors, bag shapes, things that fit inside the bags, well, you get the point! Over the years, we’ve spotted some trends that might help you select the best-of-the-best  we have to offer. Heres are the top 3 most popular bags in sequence of quantity shipped to happy customers.

#1 Chiburi Accordion Wallet

The Chiburi Accordion Wallet with RFID blocker protects your credit cards from being scanned. It keeps your essential items safe, such as your smartphone, to carry on both your daily adventures and traveling abroad. This travel security wallet is a lifesaver, packed with features and pockets to stow away travel must-haves.

#2 Cyclo Travel Sling

The Cyclo Cross Body Sling Bag design is an innovative new take on the classic cross shoulder bag and is ideal for the jet-setter or urban commuter that’s looking for a minimalist carrying solution where everything can be accessed quickly. Traveling with it is awesome! One aspect of the Cyclo Cross Body Sling Bag that makes it so unique is its size. The cross body sling is scaled to fit passports, plane tickets and travel itineraries in the back zipper compartment and a long-sleeve shirt, books, tablet and headphones in the roll-top main compartment.

#3 Raja Pack

The Raja Pack is a great daily commuter that easily transitions to a weekend or carry-on adventure pack. The right-side zip pocket is great for gadgets and sunnies, the left side water bottle pocket also zips open to give access to the main compartment. It's heat venting back panel has a padded laptop compartment for 13-16" laptops and has side access so you can remove the laptop without having to take the bag off... Great for airport security!

Looking Forward

We have some killer new products that are currently under development and will launch later this year! We don’t want to give away too much, but here’s what to expect… We’ve designed a new Raja Thread that has a subtle sliver of artisan fabric on the side and a zip pocket with a built in organziser. This is a design that we think is one of our most functional Thread designs yet and it has a sleek minimalist aesthetic.  

We’ll also be launching four new Guatemalan artisan fabrics from our recent sourcing trip, have a look at these beauties below. All new designs launch in September so be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when they go live.

Well, that does it for this year's impact lookback! Hopefully it was informative and inspiring. Thank you all so much for the love, support and feedback over the years. Ethnotek is a concept and collection of products, but it’s our community and shared passion that shaped it into the global social enterprise that it has become. This is no small achievement and we should all be proud. WE made this together and WE will continue to grow it well into the bright and beautiful future. Here’s to many more years to come!

Big love ❤️ 

The Ethnotek Team