All our leather items come with same sized dust bags from organic cotton. These dust bags will guard and protect your beloved, but did you know that these dust bags have a huge social impact – that is promoting women empowerment and education? We’ll tell you all about it in this blog, plus some tips to get the most out of your own dust bags.
Who are the Dust Bag Ladies?
Abdullah (an employee of the EMA factory) reached out to us about the initiative to provide work to a small group of women from Bhatpao – a village outside of Kolkata, India. Women from Bhatpao marry very young, usually around the age of 12-14 years. When growing older, many of these women are looking for more independency – being less reliant on their husbands.
As Bhatpao is a small village, it’s often a challenge for these women to find a job to combine to taking care of their children at the same time. Therefore, Abdullah created a working environment next to his own house with enough space for a group of 14-16 ladies who work about 4 to 5 hours a day. And the children? This little ones play around the working place, so that the women can keep a close eye one them! The ladies can multitask being a mom and working as an independent women, and being less dependent on the wage of their husbands.
(Power Women) Training Days
The small factory in their little town that Abdullah started is a life changer for the women – providing them with a stable income to take care of their family and to feel more independent! O My Bag help these power ladies with trainings on self-care, home economics and women’s rights. On their last India trip, our founder Paulien and production manager Jessica joined one of the training days.
The first training O My Bag organized was a big success. The women actively participated in the workshops, and felt comfortable enough in the small group to open up and share whatever was on their mind. O My Bag is planning to organize these trainings every 2 or 3 months, and to also involve the ladies husbands in these trainings in the future.
How to (re) use your Dust Bag?
What if you’re using your O My Bag on a daily base, and your dust bag is somewhere in the back of your closet? We have some ideas of how to get the most out of your dust bag – depending on the size!
- Small hair accessories, cord cables or almonds to bring as a snack to the office? These things work perfect when you have a smaller dust bag.
- When life gives you lemons… use your dust bag to carry them. Dust bags make sustainable shopping bags, to bring to the store or market. Goodbye disposable plastic bags, we’ll bring our dust bag next time.
- Bigger sized dust bags make perfect travel companions! They will keep your dirty laundry all packed up, and when you’re the lucky owner of two or more dust bags, you can even make a fresh dirty socks or undies system in your suitcase.
- Did you know that dust bags make perfect cloths for applying care products? The dust bags are washable, and a way to apply for example leather lotion to your loved leather bag.
How to (re) use your Dust Bag?
Do you have any ideas how to use your dust bag for multiple purposes? We can’t wait to hear all about it! Send us a message on Instagram and we’ll repost the best ideas.
Love,
Elise
