Our AAH HAA! moment

Three years ago I started with a simple idea: to design beautiful casual bags and compete with names like Kate Spade - quite ambitious!  We called textile and bag companies in North Carolina, New York and Los Angeles only to find out that a large number of family-owed business have shut down due to foreign competition.  The response from the majority of people we talked to was: "we don't make things in the USA anymore and most production have shifted overseas".  First of all, with a bad back, I really couldn't handle the travel.  Most of all,  I was hearbroken.  I looked around department stores and all I could find were imported merchandise.  To sympathize with the companies that went out of business, I started shopping around to look for Made in USA bags.  That was a challenge.  I couldn't find any in stores.  And it hit me - what is the economic impact of importing all these goods?  What is the carbon footprint of bags that travel thousands of miles to get here?  Most of all, what will happen to this country if all the products we bought were imported?  Will our children and grandchildren still have jobs 10-20 years from now?

I grew up in a country where there were limited job opportunities and people had to leave their families to go to other countries to find jobs.  Will my grandchildren have to do this, too?  This was when I had my AAH HAA! moment.  I decided to create a line of casual reusable bags that were made in the USA.  People laughed at my idea.  I started a small line of canvas bags with a logo that is true American - the apple pie.  We gave the bags to our friends and families and for a while they were even embarassed to use them.  I couldn't even sell them because they thought it was too American.  That was 3 years ago.

Last year, a Japanese buyer bought all our I'm made in America bags at a Gift Show.  They get it.

Today our line has grown.  Our following has grown.  We launched the Clean Conscienceâ„¢ brand to take the product line to the next level.  Using recycled materials and keeping all sourcing and production in America - we are offering consumers a smarter and greener choice.  We believe that maintaining a healthy balance between supporting emerging economies and our domestic economy - should be our ideal goal.

Our products are made using America's recycled trash; factories, textile mills, fabric dyers, weavers, label makers, webbing makers, cutters and sewers from all over the USA.  We realize we are just a small fly on an elephant carrying out a very simple goal.  But we believe we have created a buzz for the past 3 years.  You see, we are not only green - we are also red, white and blue.