Ms. Bay, a Belgian brand founded in 2018, knows what it wants: making beautiful bags and wallets, which customers won’t have to feel guilty about buying and wearing. Given their passion for accessories that are both esthetical and ethical, it comes as no surprise that Ms. Bay refuses to launch seasonal collections. Quite the contrary: the labels invests in timeless designs, which it continues to refine and perfect.

Ms. Bay only works with biodegradable or reusable materials, such as recycled polyester (for the lining) and leather made from fish waste. And there’s no shortage of the latter: of all the fish that are caught, only 43% is used for consumption. The other 57% gets thrown away. Ms. Bay’s fish leather is vegetable-tanned – an environmentally friendly process that involves geothermal water (water heated by the earth’s energy). And nothing of this waste goes to waste either: the smallest scraps of leather serve as key chains or are used to reinforce the bags’ interior.

Because the label is an avid believer in fair trade and its positive impact on local communities, Ms. Bay accessories are handmade in India, in SA 8000 certified factories that ban child labour and forced labour, don’t tolerate discrimination, pay fair wages and offer employees training opportunities and other advantages.

In addition, Ms. Bay makes a point of recycling as much as possible and using recycled packaging materials, collaborating with other companies that donate their used cardboard boxes and plastic wrappings. Finally, the brand donates 5% of its profits to The Ocean Cleanup, a project aiming to clean the oceans of plastic.