BearMade: Bags for A Better Life (and Planet)

Great new brand, BearMade, specialise in bags which set a new bar for quality, responsibly made, beautifully handcrafted products – but the whole ethos of the brand sets them apart too, with social goals to improve mental well being via getting outdoors, and a unique environmental approach: trees are planted for every purchase. A card sent with the backpack we ordered said it had allowed them to plant 25 trees and offset 400kg of CO2e (noting 50kg of CO2e equated to 124 miles driven by a car). Their broader goal is to plant 300,000 trees to help offset the 300,000 tonnes of clothing the UK population send to landfill each year.

Good, right?

The business was started by Oscar Boatfield a fly fishing guide who bumped his co-founder Nell and convinced her to come fishing with him; according to his blog on the site, she was intimidated by the equipment required, so Oscar had an idea to make a small bag to carry the bare essentials of fly fishing to make it more approachable. From there the idea for the business began – one which had mental health at the heart of it. Both Oscar and Nell had suffered with mental health issues and found getting back to nature an excellent way to help, an ethos which drives all the messaging of the brand.

The bags they now make are simple and functional, have little environmental impact and are heirloom quality. Essentially they’re one of those items that are so good that they encourage you to make efforts to use them properly; in this case, that means venturing into the woods with a bagful of food and hand sanitiser.

We got our paws on the Gouthwaite Backpack which is a real pleasure to use with some lovely details. The clasp is a wonderful little mechanism that’s sturdy and fun to use in that way only middle aged men can truly appreciate. Inside, the label was signed by ‘Amy’; the Suffolk manufacturers have a good eye for the personal touch. The whole thing is hardwearing and weatherproof and if something does happen to go wrong it comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Additionally we tried their Steve McQueen-esque (well, if Steve McQueen were wearing it) grey unisex sweater made from 100% organic cotton and made in a renewable energy powered factory – oh, and with embroidery by ‘Cheryl in North Yorkshire’. Cheers, Cheryl.

Talk about having all bases covered. Like we said, this lot set a new bar for quality and sustainable products and we are now their number one fans. Get involved and get outside.

Visit BearMade.