Susan Bijl

The first two years Susan sewed almost 400 bags in her studio in Rotterdam. After this, the production increased, causing the brand to start working with other production facilities.

Since 2019, the bags have been made in China, where the brand has a close contact with suppliers. The brand works with several factories in China, some of which are members of Amfori BSCI. This is an organisation working to integrate the European Union’s stricter labour regulations into factories outside Europe.

Since the end of 2019, all fabrics are made from recycled materials. The recycled nylon is made from pre-consumer scraps, derived from production offcuts and undyed yarns. 

For the New Bum Bag and the New Backpack, Susan Bijl also uses 100% recycled polyester. This material comes from recycled PET bottles, and partly from recycled rest materials from clothes or bedding. 

Both the nylon and polyester are GRS-certified (Global Recycling Standard). This certificate shows that the product consists of a minimum of 20% recycled fibres. In addition, the label also checks certain environmental and social standards.

The factory where the fabrics are dyed is Bluesign© certified, so as a consumer you can be sure that no harmful chemicals are used. Susan Bijl also wants to make the water-repellent coating safer, which is why the brand is exploring options to replace their current PU (polyurethane) coating with a Bluesign© certified water-based alternative together with their manufacturer. In so doing, the brand is putting the safety and health of consumers and employees first.

Susan Bijl is also committed to sustainability in other areas. For instance, the brand opts for paper packaging to ship their orders and also offers a GuppyFriend laundry bag to combat microplastics.

Susan Bijl and Vincent van Duin are committed to reducing waste. They do this by working exclusively with recycled materials. By choosing synthetic materials, the brand also ensures that their bags can be used for a long time. Moreover, a large proportion of the bags are made of a mono material, such as 100% nylon. This ensures that the bag can be recycled after use.

In addition to recycled materials, the Dutch brand also uses their own scraps to produce new handbags and backpacks. To avoid fabric surpluses, the factories precisely cut out the patterns of the bags and backpacks. Any leftovers are incorporated into the finishes of the bags.

At first glance, Susan Bijl has a long supply chain as the bags travel a long way from China to Europe. Nonetheless, the brand addresses this by locating all steps of the production chain in China, and working with a limited number of manufacturers.

The handbags, shopperts and backpacks contain no animal materials. 

Not all vegan products are not harmful for animals. Bags made of recycled nylon can still spread microplastics when being washed. These microplastics come into the ocean and rivers and harm the environment and animals. Try to wash your bag as little as possible, or use GuppyFriend that catches microplastics.

The handbags, shoppers and backpacks have a timeless design that makes them seasonless. Susan Bijl loves colourful and eye-catching designs, and therefore collaborates with various artists and organisations to release temporary collections.

Susan Bijl’s bags are very light, making them easy to fold, but can hold a lot of weight. The shopping bags can carry more than 20 kilograms, so heavy shopping is no problem! The waterproof backpack has a laptop compartment and is completed with a strong zip. 

Is your bag or backpack broken? Then you can always turn it in to be repaired free of charge through the Care & Repair service. Your old bag will then get a new lease of life, extending the life of the materials.

Susan Bijl works transparently by sharing information about the used materials on their website. The production locations (read: regions) are also listed here, although unfortunately this does not say much about the exact working conditions at the factories.