Socially and ecologically responsible production

Fitz & Huxley is a counter-design to ever faster product life cycles and disposable fashion - in other words, "fast fashion". For us, sustainability is not a marketing buzzword, but a self-evident secondary condition of everything we do. We make beautiful, high-quality and functional backpacks - and that is the focus - but we and you would not be able to enjoy our beautiful products if they were not produced in an ecologically and socially responsible way. We deliberately don't plant trees or anything like that. Instead, we take care of a truly sustainable supply chain. To underline our high environmental and social standards, our production is SEDEX certified. In addition, we are working hard to further optimize the sustainability of our products by further developing existing materials and testing new ones, such as our new OCEAN line made from recycled ocean plastic. You can find more information here.

140 people and their families live from the production of our backpacks

Over the years, we have built up a family relationship with our production partner in India. Our producer is an integral part of the Fitz & Huxley story: only through the mutual trust and enthusiasm of our partner for our product concept have we been able to implement our backpack designs and at the same time meet the high standards we have set ourselves. We regularly visit the factory in India and work with the local team on the further development of processes and products. For us, it goes without saying that all employees should be able to make a good living from their work and that good and meaningful working conditions should prevail. Sometimes we hear the reproach as to why we produce in India and not in Germany. But: for us, an Indian family that lives from backpack production is just as important as a German one. Our Indian Fitz & Huxley team now has around 140 employees. That means 140 people and their often large families live from the permanent employment for the production of Fitz & Huxley backpacks and bags. We are very proud of that!

"In my early days I used to hop from one factory to another in search of work. Managing a group of skilled stitchers and looking after their livelihood was a big challenge as in most of the company there was not enough work. Since the day I shifted base and started making bags for Fitz & Huxley I never had to look back. This is the first time in my career that I have been working in the same place for more than a year. The credit goes to Fitz & Huxley for care and focus on our welfare. We also get our dues on time and support from the management."

- Najimuddin

"All of us are casual labor mainly into cleaning and packing of Fitz & Huxley bags. We are especially excited to see the huge range of colors of the bag and also it looks so cute."

- Sipra, Sultana, Tabassum, Munni, Ratna, Monjura, Sandya

"All of us here have made many kinds of bags in the past but being a part of Fitz & Huxley production team gives us more thrills. The brand is young, the owner is young and we are young."

- Saddique, Shakeel, Imroz

- Najimuddin

"All of us are casual labor mainly into cleaning and packing of Fitz & Huxley bags. We are especially excited to see the huge range of colors of the bag and also it looks so cute."

- Sipra, Sultana, Tabassum, Munni, Ratna, Monjura, Sandya

"All of us here have made many kinds of bags in the past but being a part of Fitz & Huxley production team gives us more thrills. The brand is young, the owner is young and we are young."

- Saddique, Shakeel, Imroz

Use of natural, sustainable materials

Our products are made from high quality, natural or sustainable materials. We use genuine leather and cotton to produce beautiful, high-quality bags that look better and better over time. Our quality assurance team checks every single backpack before shipping to guarantee the quality of our products. Products that do not meet our standards are not discarded, but given the chance of a second life. For our vegan customers, we have a selection of products in the typical Fitz & Huxley design, where the leather is replaced by cotton. After a long development period, we are proud to present our collection made from recycled ocean plastic: with this product line, we are proving that protecting our planet, responsible use of resources and beautiful and functional design do not have to be opposites. You can find more information here.

Bags made to last a long time

Has your bag already accompanied you on many urban adventures in your city? We try to make our products as durable as possible, but after a while it can happen that the buckle no longer works perfectly. That's why we offer colored cords and replacement buckles so you can use your Fitz & Huxley for years to come. You can find more information about our care tips here.

We give products with flaws a second life

Products with minor blemishes, such as scratches on the leather or small stains on the canvas, are not simply thrown away. We believe that the raw materials used in production are far too valuable to completely discard the products due to minor blemishes. That's why we keep these backpacks and give them a second life by selling them at local weekly and design markets. We also donate some of these "B-goods" to people in need to give them a little joy.

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A team of friends

Hello lovelies,

I'm Lars, the founder behind the Berlin backpack label Fitz & Huxley. The idea for Fitz & Huxley was born in 2012 when I was looking for a stylish non-sports backpack for every day and couldn't find anything nice but fully suitable for everyday use. As long as I searched, there was nothing without plastic-like materials but with enough storage space and that also convinced me visually. I began to make contacts in India through friends and after a long search I found a production partner who shared my ideas of beautiful, high-quality, natural materials and could meet my high demands on environmental and social standards. The first prototypes were created and I became more and more sure of myself. I gathered my courage and my savings and ordered 400 backpacks. For three months, I was feverish every day and then flew to India myself to inspect the first production batch. To my great disappointment, the first backpacks produced didn't look nearly as good as the prototype and I didn't know exactly why. I was devastated.

[...continued below...]

Over the next few days, I checked every single backpack and analyzed the problem: while the seams, rivets and leather on my very first backpack in Berlin were perfect, here the leather had been scratched during the production process, rivets were partially damaged and the reinforcement of the backpack was not sewn straight, so that some backpacks did not look radiant and beautiful but sad and creased. The sum of the details made all the difference. I rebooked my flight and stayed in India for another three weeks to repair or replace the backpacks together with the production team. That was in 2016 and since then I have never tired of demanding the highest standards and demonstrating what distinguishes a Fitz & Huxley from an ordinary backpack - an object that you carry on your back to transport things from A to B.

Just like our products, the team is the sum of its parts: we live a culture of openness and trust where it's all about the best products for our customers but also a sense of purpose for each and every one of us. It's always great to bump into a Fitz & Huxley on the street and it makes us proud to see how far we've come as a team of friends. Since we started in 2016, we have been doing one thing above all: in the spirit of slow fashion and as a counter-design to the many sporty variants, we make beautiful backpacks from high-quality, natural materials paired with functionality for every day. And we do this with all our passion and sense - in Berlin, the most exciting city in the world (at least for us). 🙂

Kind regards,

- Lars