Made by Women, Carried by the World: The History of Women in Bag Making
There is something quietly powerful about a bag. It holds the things we cannot do without. It goes where we go. And for centuries, it has been made by women.
This Women's History Month and on the heels of International Women's Day, we want to celebrate that history and share why it sits at the heart of everything Hold Everything does.
Women Have Always Made Bags
Long before fashion houses and factory floors existed, women were the makers. In medieval Europe, women embroidered small purses to carry coins and keepsakes. In West Africa, women wove baskets using techniques passed down through generations. In South and Southeast Asia, the art of hand-stitching fabric into beautiful, useful objects has been a female tradition for thousands of years.
These were not hobbies. They were skilled, valued crafts, but as industrialisation took hold, bag-making moved into factories, often separated from the women who had defined it. The artisan became the anonymous worker.
A Fairer Chapter
The fair-trade movement began to push back against this. Pay people fairly, trade transparently, put the maker at the centre of the story. For women in artisan communities, fair trade was not just about wages. It was about dignity, visibility, and a livelihood that could genuinely change a family's future.
This is exactly where Hold Everything belongs.
The Women Behind Every Bag
Our bags are handcrafted by the women of Sreepur Village in Bangladesh, a charity supporting single mothers and their children since 1989. These women arrive having experienced extreme poverty and hardship. Through the Village, they find safety, training, and a skill that earns them a real income. Every bag you buy goes directly back to those women and their children, with complete supply chain transparency.
When you carry a Hold Everything Bag, you carry their story. That is our fairer way to carry.
Be Part of It
This month and every month, we think the best thing any of us can do is choose to carry with purpose. We would love you to be part of that.
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