Ethnotek bags

I had great fun in Korea. Me and my friends were on a 10 day vacation to Jeju island and Seoul and while I was doing some shopping in Myeongdong, one of the popular shopping districts in Seoul, I came across a gorgeous looking bag from Ethnotek.

I never heard of the brand before but when I saw it in Myeongdong, I was instantly in love with the design. And there were so many to choose from. But apart from the design, I was intrigued by the company’s philosophy in making high quality bags. Apparently, according to the website, they design and make high quality bags of all sorts that feature ethically sourced handmade textiles. By using those handmade textiles and designs, every bag you purchase from them directly benefits the local community that made those textiles. In other words, not only are you getting a bag that are well made,  you are also supporting the groups of artisan villages from remote places like Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia and many more and keeping their traditional weaving and embroidering practices alive.

I bought the Ethnotek Setia Bags with handwoven textiles made from a village in Guatemala. It’s exquisite. I love the use of the colors in every weave. I have an example of what the bags looks like at the top of this blog post. Socially responsible bags. I was sold. I immediately bought the bag when I learned of its philosophy, its origins and appreciating its unique traditional designs from various parts of the world. The bag is no doubt high quality. Made of ballistic nylon, that is mostly water resistant to most weather conditions, it even has it’s own poncho stored in a small slit under the bag that you can pull it out and over the entirety of the bag to keep it from the rain. This feature is very rare in a bag and something that I was pleasantly surprised to find out when I was rummaging through the bag and discover all it’s features and hidden pockets. In terms of size, it’s one of the smaller backpacks sold from Ethnotek. At 20 liters in terms of volume, it can easily store a 15 inch notebook within the padded pocket in the main compartment. It has a opening one of the sides, allowing you to access your contents from the main compartment without opening the top flap. This is super convenient in accessing your stuff while on the go.

I’m going to see how well this bag would hold up in the coming months. Already I am very tempted to get their bigger sized backpack called RAJA. It would be perfect for a weekend getaway, hiking, camping or anything in between.