5 Ethical Designer Bags on my Wishlist [2023]

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I’m a Designer Bag Expert

I’m a bag fanatic. I blame my mama who got me my first Stella McCartney Falabella crossbody when I was 16.

In the years since I was 16, I only ever carried that bag, another Stella McCartney I bought independently and a MCM bag my sister gave me. Until recent times.

pink crossbody bag — My first Stella McCartney bag 😍

I knew I needed a new bag months before I actually purchased one. I was finally convinced to stop clinging to my Stella McCartney and find something new when my sister told me, “Your bag isn’t going to last very long if you keep using it every day like that.”

I begrudgingly agreed, but the problem was I didn’t want to buy a new bag! I was already 2ish years deep in my strict budgeting and I knew the bag I wanted did not match the budget I needed to maintain.

So I settled for a temporary crossbody and satchel that served their purposes. I wasn’t inspired by these bags, but hey they carry my crap so let’s roll with it.

As I write this, I’m looking at my temporary crossbody. I appreciate this bag for what it does. However I can’t wait to be in a financial place to replace it with something I look on fondly and not indifferently.

The bags below inspire and excite me. I’m posting them here as the first step to manifesting them in my closet.

Let’s manifest together!

Why Buy Ethical?

Designer bags that are made ethically are hard to find. While there may be a lot of brands that claim to be sustainable, they aren’t transparent about their specific sustainable/ethical actions.

It’s worthwhile to seek and support ethically made brands. These brands do their utmost to ensure their workers are treated equitably and they have a reduced impact on the environment. While those other “big name” brands do… what exactly?

I understand that certain designers have more name recognition than others. But at the end of the day what you buy and what you wear is an implicit co-sign with that brand’s values. And I for one don’t want to co-sign a brand who is reckless with their workers and the environment.

Our Brand Directory is a great starting point to find designers that align with ethical values!

We have a category for designer bags on our Brand Directory as well as many other categories and marketplaces to assist you in fashion shopping.

The bags below are curated from our Brand Directory. Each one of them is made by a designer that is clear on its stance against fast fashion. Thus each one of them is worth the investment!