What if we relocated the manufacture of our bags?
Since its launch in 2021, Lubay's mission has been to create aesthetic and sustainable bags and accessories, designed and manufactured in Belgium without any material of animal origin and having the lowest possible environmental impact, while respecting animals, humans and the planet.
In 2021*, 61% of bags and luggage sold worldwide were made in Asia. In 2015**, China alone concentrated 49% of exports in the leather goods sector.
Unsurprisingly, in 2021 it was the leading exporter of travel goods and handbags to the rest of the world*, leather goods often made from chrome-tanned leather or alternatives containing PVC, phthalates, etc
Besides having to import goods from the other side of the planet, production in these countries raises big questions:
-
Animal suffering (intensive farming, slaughterhouses).
-
The ecological footprint linked to mineral tanning (water and environmental pollution, health hazards for workers, etc.) or to the composition of alternatives (PVC, etc.).
-
Human exploitation: workers in the textile industry still too often work there in opaque conditions, with hours and for a salary that we would consider unacceptable here.
Of course, we will not change the world alone but try to give meaning to all this, from our studio in Baillamont, in the Ardenne Namuroise.
The future is turned towards durable and quality objects, made of solid and long-lasting materials, which can accompany us over time in order to limit our environmental impact.
This is why each work leaving our studio is designed and made with particular care, to accompany you for years to come.
Unfortunately, there is not yet any material made from fir tree waste from our Ardennes forests!
The field of alternative vegetable materials to leather is constantly evolving: new raw materials, new manufacturing processes, new companies…
Always looking for the best, most virtuous products, we constantly reassess the raw materials we use according to all the criteria already mentioned: solidity, environmental and human impacts, production sites and therefore transport impacts, etc.
We refuse to overproduce and make large series. Instead, we strive to work more "on demand" to avoid unnecessary dormant stocks of products and raw materials.
We are at the antipodes of "fast-fashion" and do not offer seasonal collections, such as "summer 2023", nor winter or summer sales.
We want to guarantee fair and equitable prices throughout the year.
Avoid at all costs animal leather and its disastrous impacts!
More than obvious, it immediately seemed necessary and fundamental to us that our creations do not contain any product of animal origin.
​
Not using leather is a way of fighting against animal exploitation and suffering on the one hand and against the environmental, human and social issues associated with conventional tanning on the other.