Celebrating cultures around the world!

At Ethnotek, our mission is to keep culture alive by creating high quality laptop and travel bags that feature ethically sourced handmade textiles. Your purchase sustains employment for the art of hand printing, weaving and embroidery with our partnering artisan villages in Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Ethnotek is so much more than just a bag! It's a celebration of culture, it's a community, it's a global movement! Come join the Tribe, together we can keep culture alive!

Ethno - tek

Ethnotek is the fusion of two entities: Ethnology and Technology.

[Ethno]

Ethnology - Anthropology dealing chiefly with the comparative and analytical study of cultures.

[Tek]

Technology - The methods and tools that a society has developed in order to facilitate the solution of its practical problems.

Threads™:

Most Ethnotek bags can be customized via the removable front panel called a Thread™. Each Thread™  is created from handmade textiles that are sourced in person and purchased directly from the artisan or craft village in which they were created. We are continually scouring the globe to find textiles that embody the vibrancy and beauty of the people who create them and the traditions they represent.  We release new Threads™ regularly, allowing you to update the look of your bag without having to buy a new one entirely. This puts a whole new meaning to changing your threads!

Thread™  sourcing takes us on some pretty hairy adventures! What makes the mosquito bites, food poisoning and trench foot worth while is the overarching goal of the company; to provide our artisans with access to a sustainable worldwide marketplace, which they would otherwise not have access to. 

Keeping Culture Alive: 

The one thing all of our weavers and artisans have in common is the fact that their craft is disappearing. Every year they see less and less local demand for their fabrics due to low yield and long lead times. Traditional techniques are quickly being replaced by machines and factory labor in major cities, drastically reducing the amount of jobs and industry in the regions where it is needed most. By creating new demand for these traditional handcraft practices, we are in a sense forging an effort to keep them alive and well and in the same villages from which they came. 

Cultural Preservation: 

The last and most important part of our mission is to spread the idea that we should all celebrate each other's differences more often. The only way culture can stay alive is if we keep it that way. Culture runs deep; from the tribes of Yunnan Province, to the Subways of New York City. From the Ghats of Varanasi to the Cafes of Paris. To ensure the survival of these incredibly interesting differences we must learn about them and retell their story. This is why we see our bags as a flag. A flag that you wave which says, "I care". To end this point with a quote: "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.