FAQs

All of our products are manufactured in Nepal, a country rich in traditional techniques to shape fabrics.

Yes, all our products are waterproof. This does not mean that you can take your Bagmaya under the water but will protect your laptop and valuables for some time if rain catches you outside, or in case of liquid spillages.

Yes, each of our products is carefully crafted by hand in Nepal, using natural fibres. Because we don't use any industrial factories, each product is unique and it has the touch of its manufacturer.

Yes, all of our products are mainly made of natural hemp. We strive to use as much hemp as possible in the manufacturing process, since hemp is a very sustainable and durable fabric. Some of our products also contain natural cotton - this is to either obtain the quality and strength required, or for aesthetics reasons. Our brand tag is synthetic, not leather, as we wanted to ensure all our products are cruelty-free. We also use upcycled Nylon inside for waterproofing, and the padding is made from upcycled rice bags. The products also contain a minimal amount of metal, used for the YKK zippers, the straps adjusting pieces on the backpacks, the key hanger inside the Vik backpack and the magnets to close the top lid of the Dakhla backpack. We minimize the use of plastics, only limited to the Velcro for the laptop pouch, the water bottle pocket elastic bands, the zipper runners and the buckles for the bum bags.

Yes, our boxes are 100% recyclable. However, before you recycle the box, why not consider re-using it? As a brand committed to a circular economy, at Bagmaya we believe in re-using before recycling. So take that box, re-use it, share a picture on instagram tagging us @bagmaya_ and you can win a free takeaway!

Our boxes are made with 66% of recycled-based material. We strive to use as much recycled material as possible, but we also need to ensure that the boxes are strong and weather-proof so that our products are not damaged before reaching you. Because of this, we use 33% non-recycled, stronger material for the outside of the box.

We only use trustworthy shipping methods with tracking so that you can see where your products are at all times. On the checkout page, after you've entered your address, you will be able to see the shipping method available for you depending on your location.

Yes!

It depends on the shipping option you choose during checkout. In the UK, for Standard 2-3 days, you should receive your product within 2-3 days. For UK Next Day delivery, you should receive your product on the next working day. For Europe and the United States, it should take 3 to 6 days. For the rest of the world, it should take 8 to 12 days. Orders received Monday to Friday before 3pm will be shipped on the same day. Orders received on Saturdays before 12pm will also be shipped on the same day. Orders received Monday to Friday after 3pm, on Saturdays after 12pm or on Sundays will be shipped on the next working day. Please bear in mind that during busy periods (i.e. Christmas), it may take longer.

We offer UK Standard Delivery 2-3 Days for free and UK Next Day Delivery for £4. For Europe, Ireland and the United States we offer Standard 4-14 Days for £10 and Express 2-4 Days for £24. For the rest of the world we offer Standard 8-14 Days for £16. Please note that if you order from outside the UK, your country may charge you extra for duty and VAT at customs.

The way we source the workers right now is through a local partner in Nepal. As we are a small business, we do not own a factory/workshop. Our founders did a lot of research in Kathmandu to find a suitable partner that was aligned to our values. We’ve been working together successfully since we started in 2018. Before we signed our partnership with them, we visited their workshop to ensure that working conditions were good. But visiting once was not enough for us, so our Co-Founder is always present in the workshop when we are manufacturing our products, to ensure good working conditions are consistently met. Also, in case you are wondering, we didn’t stop any orders due to COVID-19.

The conditions are good and safe. All the workers involved in manufacturing our products get paid a fair wage too. Our brand was born from a desire to contribute towards social impact and empowerment in Nepal, and our Co-Founder is permanently based in Nepal to ensure these good conditions are met in our partner’s workshop.

All of our materials, including hemp, are sourced locally from Nepal. The hemp is heavily regulated by the Nepalese government to ensure its grown sustainably and also to ensure a zero content of THC (the illegal component of cannabis), otherwise we could not import it into the UK. We source the hemp directly through our trusted local partner, who we employ for the manufacturing process as well. As the hemp it’s heavily regulated by the government, we can trust its source. Having said that, we are always seeking to improve, and we have plans to establish closer connections with the farmers themselves, in order to help them get certifications that could help them, such as the fair trade and organic certifications. As we know the local practices, we are pretty certain that the hemp is organic, but due to a lack of local knowledge and resources, it hasn’t been certified yet (as you may know, certification requires a financial investment and a certain level of knowledge for the application, that most farmers do not have or cannot afford). We want to help them achieve this.

Yes! All our products are 100% vegan and cruelty-free. They are mostly made from natural hemp and cotton. Our brand tag is actually synthetic, not leather, as we wanted to ensure all our products are cruelty-free. We thought that the colour contrast of the dark brown of the brand tag looked great on our products, but we’ve realised that it’s causing confusion as to whether it is leather or not. Just to reaffirm, it is not leather – it is synthetic. We are actually thinking of making them with cotton fabric in the future to avoid confusion.

All of our dyes are done with flowers, only using natural dyes and no chemicals. All of our products are dyed in Nepal using Nepalese traditional dyeing techniques with flowers. As a result, each colour is also unique since every time we dye fabrics they can get a slightly different colour due to the properties of the flowers and the nature of the traditional technique which is done by hand!

You can look at the care labels inside the products. We recommend handwash in cold water, no tumble dryer, no ironing. We have actually tested them in the washing machine at 40 degrees celsius and they resist, but the colors may wash off as they are natural. Because of this, we recommend handwash in cold water, so they last longer.

We are planning to develop a process to upcycle/recycle the bags at the end of their lives. Although this is not currently in place, we are working hard to develop the process in a sustainable manner. And chances are, by the time your bag reaches the end of its life, we will have that process in place!

You can pay using Paypal or your usual credit and debit cards.

If you decide to return your Bagmaya products for whatever reason, we will issue you a full refund to the same payment method you used during checkout and for the total of the price, including the shipping cost you paid (if any). The full refund is only applicable when your return complies with our Returns Policy.

No, you don't need an account to place an order. You will have the option to create an account during checkout if you wish, so that you don't need to spend that much time next time you visit us – but it's not mandatory.

Once you've placed an order, we will email you letting you know when we've shipped your products, including a tracking number. You can then track your order just by clicking on the 'Track' link in the email.

You can cancel or change your order at any time before your products have been dispatched to you. If you have an account with us, you can cancel or change your order from your account. Otherwise, you can email us at orders@bagmaya.com with the subject ‘CANCEL ORDER’ or 'CHANGE ORDER' followed by your order reference (which you should have received in an email at the time of your purchase). We will then confirm to you via email that your order has been cancelled or changed.

You've got 60 days to return your product to us. In compliance with our Returns Policy, just email us at orders@bagmaya.com with your order reference.