A Better Bag for a Better World

At Fluf, we make lunch bags, snack bags, and other bags – simple, useful bags that look good, and feel good to use. They’re sustainable, always machine washable, and designed to make your life easier.

As with most good things in life, Fluf bags are the result of a lot of hard work, twists & turns, and perseverance. You’ll find our long story somewhere below (if you get that far). But first, here’s what we are all about.

Our Promise
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Our Story

Our Promise

( 5 part )

All Fluf products respect the people who make them, the people who use them, and the planet we all share. Our values guide everything we do. When you purchase a Fluf bag, you can be sure that what you're getting is:

1

Clean & Safe
Our stainable packaging

Our products are non-toxic, made with eco-friendly materials, and meet or exceed the highest international standards for safety.

Our stainable packaging
  • We use only 100% organic cotton, certified by the GOTS, and traceable back to the field
  • Our water-resistant lining is made with GRS-certified (Global Recycle Standard) rPET, and meets the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® – tested to the highest standards for harmful substances
  • All fabric dyes and inks are non-toxic, GOTS-certified, and strictly regulated
  • We adhere to a strict list of restricted toxins & endocrine disruptors: our products are free of BPA, PVC, PFAS, PFCs, phthalates, heavy metals, AZO, fire retardants, formaldehyde and more
  • Our products are regularly tested by independent 3rd parties (TÜV, SGS and BV) for toxicity, food-safety & quality to ensure they exceed the highest safety standards in Canada, the US and the EU

2

Sustainable
Global Recycled Standard

A sustainable business is one where profitability, concern for the environment and social commitment are in harmony – the ‘triple bottom line’ so to speak (people, profit + planet). In practice, here’s what that means to us:

Global Recycled Standard
  • Focusing on non-toxic, renewable and recycled materials:
    • Organic cotton: we use organic cotton because it is natural, renewable and biodegradable, and because it eliminates the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers, protecting people and the planet
    • Recycled polyester (rPET): rPET keeps plastics out of landfill and the oceans, requires 59% less energy to manufacture than virgin polyester, and lessens our dependence on petroleum as a source of raw materials
    • All inks and dyes are low-impact, water-based, and non-toxic
    • All cutting scraps are recycled, shredded and used to make new fabric
  • Accountability and transparency:
    • All manufacturing facility throughout our supply chain (from field to final packing) are GOTS-certified, which requires adherence to the strictest social and environmental standards
    • Dying facilities and rPET fabric are also OEKO-TEX® certified
  • No new plastic at any level of our supply chain (as of 2021):
    • Products: water-resistant lining is made with rPET – recycled water bottles/polyester
    • Packaging: products are individually bagged in 100% compostable packaging made from corn or other food starch
    • Shipping: orders are shipped in 100% recycled and/or compostable mailers, or cardboard boxes for larger orders
  • Company goal of achieving carbon neutrality by the end of 2022
We don’t profess to have it right, and this is a constant work-in-progress for us. There’s always room for improvement and that’s a central part of our mission: to perpetually seek to do better; to find ever more earth-friendly alternatives. Have ideas for us? Please let us know here.

3

Ethically Handmade
Ethically handmade by wonderful people

All Fluf bags are ethically handmade in a small, family-run facility in India, where we share a commitment to paying living wages, and ensuring fair working hours and safe working conditions for all factory employees.

Ethically handmade by wonderful people
  • Our GOTS-certified facilities guarantee a living wage and healthy working conditions for all employees
  • Throughout our supply chain, our fabrics are all woven, dyed and printed, and ultimately cut & stitched at independently accredited factories that meet rigorous social criteria
  • Working with non-toxic, organic materials also means that our workers are exposed to a drastically lower chemical burden than they would be working with other materials. This protects farmers, factory workers at all stages, tailors - and ultimately those that buy and use our products - from exposure to unnecessary harmful toxins and substances
  • No fewer than 12 pairs of hands work on each and every Fluf bag, and our production schedule allows us to create consistent and steady employment for our committed team of manufacturers

4

Essential & Useful
Making a sustainable world one snack at a time

We choose our materials very carefully, and work hard to achieve a delicate balance between sustainability and practicality.

Making a sustainable world one snack at a time
Above all, in order to be truly sustainable, a product needs to be functional, durable, and long lasting. Our everyday, seasonless bags are just that: practical and useful, easy to keep clean, and made to stand the test of time.

5

Making a Difference
Organizations we adore and support

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito” ~ Dalai Lama

We are a small business but believe in the transformative power of small actions, taken collectively. Part of our mission has always been to make bags that ‘do good’ by making a positive impact – both in our day-to-day business practices, and also by supporting organizations that are fighting for a more equal, more sustainable world.

Organizations we adore and support
Here are some of the initiatives we support:
  • As a woman-owned business (and as mothers of daughters), helping to advance the rights of girls and women worldwide is a cause close to our hearts. Through various different initiatives, we have had a long-standing commitment to Plan International’s “Because I am a Girl” / Girl Power campaign, which aims to empower girls by keeping them in school, out of unsafe marriages, and in control of their own futures. Currently, with each backpack sold, Fluf helps to send a girl to school for a day.
  • Local and national organizations combatting food insecurity and feeding hungry kids in our own city & country:
    • Toronto's Foundation for Student Success – helping to ensure that no child begins the school day hungry
    • Canadian Feed the Children – increasing access to quality education, provide families with greater food security, and build community resilience
  • Kids up Front, enriching the lives of kids by giving unforgettable experiences
  • World Wildlife Fund (WWF), working to conserve species at risk, protect threatened habitats, and address climate change

Watch a bag come to life

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Watch a bag come to life

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Our Long Story

( 2005 - Present )

Thanks for reading about our journey! We're thrilled you are here.

Our Founders

2005

It all began with a pillow.

In 2005, friends and co-founders Nathalie Butterfield and Terra Kushner shared a vision for creating a super-niche retail destination for one single product: the humble pillow (hence, ‘Fluf’).

Our original shop and pillows
We made lots and lots of pillows. Our store was filled with beautiful fluff – in the sense of soft, alluring plushness, not fluff of the superficial, trivial variety. Quite the contrary. From the start, Fluf had a decidedly un-fluffy goal: notorious as the textile industry was - and is - for its heavy reliance on toxic chemicals and unsustainable manufacturing practices, we wanted to create a pillow collection made entirely from natural and sustainable materials.
Our Founders

2005

Our original shop and pillows

It all began with a pillow.

In 2005, friends and co-founders Nathalie Butterfield and Terra Kushner shared a vision for creating a super-niche retail destination for one single product: the humble pillow (hence, ‘Fluf’).

We made lots and lots of pillows. Our store was filled with beautiful fluff – in the sense of soft, alluring plushness, not fluff of the superficial, trivial variety. Quite the contrary. From the start, Fluf had a decidedly un-fluffy goal: notorious as the textile industry was - and is - for its heavy reliance on toxic chemicals and unsustainable manufacturing practices, we wanted to create a pillow collection made entirely from natural and sustainable materials.
Rolls of Organic Cotton

2006

We searched high and low for the right materials.

First, we sourced a biodegradable corn fill (no easy task in 2006!) to give our customers a sustainable, vegan alternative to feather-fill.

Patterns and early concepts
We then set out to find a different kind of fabric: one without all the harsh chemicals. But in the department of inspiring, sustainable fabric prints, it was slim pickings at that time. So we decided to create our own.
Rolls of Organic Cotton

2006

Patterns and early concepts

We searched high and low for the right materials.

First, we sourced a biodegradable corn fill (no easy task in 2006!) to give our customers a sustainable, vegan alternative to feather-fill.

We then set out to find a different kind of fabric: one without all the harsh chemicals. But in the department of inspiring, sustainable fabric prints, it was slim pickings at that time. So we decided to create our own.
Our first prints

2007

We printed our own fabrics locally in Toronto.

In 2007, we designed our first fabric print and screen-printed 10 yards on a base of 100% organic hemp. At the time, 10 yards seemed like a ton – it was roughly enough to make 20 pillows.

Our fabric coming together
We called the print 'Fly' because we thought it was dang fine … and because we had plans for it to fly off the shelves and start a pillow revolution. Fly may have done more meandering than actual flying, but we were hooked and inspired to make more. Which we did –
Our first prints

2007

Our fabric coming together

We printed our own fabrics locally in Toronto.

In 2007, we designed our first fabric print and screen-printed 10 yards on a base of 100% organic hemp. At the time, 10 yards seemed like a ton – it was roughly enough to make 20 pillows.

We called the print 'Fly' because we thought it was dang fine … and because we had plans for it to fly off the shelves and start a pillow revolution. Fly may have done more meandering than actual flying, but we were hooked and inspired to make more. Which we did –
One of our first bags

2009

Suddenly, we had too much fabric.

We became addicted to designing and adding prints. Within a year or so we had about 10 prints in different colours - so now we needed to find new ways to use up all that extra fabric.

Our first bags
We started adding products: first handbags and then reusable shopping bags. We closed our pillow store in 2009 and moved into a *tiny* (300 sq ft.) studio to focus entirely on wholesale, designing fabrics and our new product line. And then an entirely new seed was planted …
One of our first bags

2009

Our first bags

Suddenly, we had too much fabric.

We became addicted to designing and adding prints. Within a year or so we had about 10 prints in different colours - so now we needed to find new ways to use up all that extra fabric.

We started adding products: first handbags and then reusable shopping bags. We closed our pillow store in 2009 and moved into a *tiny* (300 sq ft.) studio to focus entirely on wholesale, designing fabrics and our new product line. And then an entirely new seed was planted …
The lunch bag arrives

2010

And then we made lunch bags.

Around the same time, we had been asked to design a one-off, custom felt lunch bag.

The Fluf lunch bag is born
While we weren’t sold on felt as the ideal material for a practical lunch bag, we saw a future for a washable, organic cotton version. At the time, we had young kids just starting preschool, and lunch bags were overwhelmingly of the wipe-clean variety (read: stinky), and loaded with toxins and chemicals to make the surfaces shiny and oil-repellent. We knew we could make a better, safer bag for kids’ lunches.

In 2010, we introduced our first collection of lunch bags and stumbled upon a winning formula: a non-toxic, organic cotton, machine-washable lunch bag. There was nothing like it on the market.
The lunch bag arrives

2010

The Fluf lunch bag is born

And then we made lunch bags.

Around the same time, we had been asked to design a one-off, custom felt lunch bag.

While we weren’t sold on felt as the ideal material for a practical lunch bag, we saw a future for a washable, organic cotton version. At the time, we had young kids just starting preschool, and lunch bags were overwhelmingly of the wipe-clean variety (read: stinky), and loaded with toxins and chemicals to make the surfaces shiny and oil-repellent. We knew we could make a better, safer bag for kids’ lunches.

In 2010, we introduced our first collection of lunch bags and stumbled upon a winning formula: a non-toxic, organic cotton, machine-washable lunch bag. There was nothing like it on the market.
Snack packs arrive on the scene

2012

And snack bags.

A couple of years later, with the litterless lunch movement gaining momentum in schools - and a hard move away from disposable plastic baggies - we added reusable, fully-washable snack bags.

Our first snack bags
We made our last pillow (sniff) sometime around 2014. Today, we focus on lunch bags, snack bags, and other reusable bags - always made with sustainable materials and manufactured in an environmentally and socially responsible supply chain.
Snack packs arrive on the scene

2012

Our first snack bags

And snack bags.

A couple of years later, with the litterless lunch movement gaining momentum in schools - and a hard move away from disposable plastic baggies - we added reusable, fully-washable snack bags.

We made our last pillow (sniff) sometime around 2014. Today, we focus on lunch bags, snack bags, and other reusable bags - always made with sustainable materials and manufactured in an environmentally and socially responsible supply chain.
Always sustainable, organic, and ethically-made.

2013+

Always sustainable, organic, and ethically-made.

Our products have changed completely since we started out, but one consistent thread has followed us from the start: our commitment to organic, natural and sustainable materials.

Simply put, if it isn't sustainable we won't make it
… And we still feel warm and fuzzy when people say: “Wait. Didn’t you have that pillow store on Queen St.?” Opening the store mid-morning, fresh hot coffee and dreams of flight in hand … those were the days ☺.
Always sustainable, organic, and ethically-made.

2013+

Simply put, if it isn't sustainable we won't make it

Always sustainable, organic, and ethically-made.

Our products have changed completely since we started out, but one consistent thread has followed us from the start: our commitment to organic, natural and sustainable materials.

… And we still feel warm and fuzzy when people say: “Wait. Didn’t you have that pillow store on Queen St.?” Opening the store mid-morning, fresh hot coffee and dreams of flight in hand … those were the days ☺.

Welcome to the Fluf family.

Thanks for learning more about Fluf! We'll continue striving to reduce our carbon footprint and bring you the healthiest, most sustainable products, designed for the way you really live. We're glad you're here!

Shop Our Collection

Zipper Lunch

Zipper Lunch

Clean, Non-toxic, Washable Lunch Bags for Kids and Adults
Snack Bag Collection

Snack Bags

Eco-Friendly Sandwich & Snack Bags for School and Work
B Packs

B Packs

Old-School, Eco-Friendly Backpacks for Kids + Adults