Made with a Purpose: Handmade Bags from India

Reshma is offering the Good Indian Girl community 20% off the Made With a Purpose handbags. Just use code GIG20OFF at checkout to receive your discount. Learn more Made with a Purpose below. 

Reshma Thakkar witnessed the struggles faced by Indian girls and women firsthand on family trips to her native land. Born and raised in the United States, she felt compelled early on to do something for others who had not received the same opportunities she had. Fortunately, a highly-successful career as a healthcare IT consultant allowed her to sponsor the education of two young girls in the town of Vrindavan. After learning a relative of one of her girls was being forced by her parents to marry and leave school, however, she knew that something had to be done right away to keep others from the same fate. After a great deal of soul-searching and many sleepless nights, an afternoon spent helping her parents prepare for a move provided the spark she needed to begin turning her dream of helping others into a reality.

On that day, Reshma’s mother mentioned being unable to decide what to do with the large number of old saris she had accumulated over the years. Reshma then recalled that the school her girls attended operated a center where local women could learn to sew to generate extra income for their families. Why not take the garments along on her next visit to see if they could be repurposed into useful, attractive items like bag and pouches to be sold overseas? The proceeds would provide the women who created them with fair wages, as well as help pay for materials and equipment the center needed to continue to operate. It seemed like a win-win situation: saris would be recycled, people would purchase beautiful and unique handicrafts, and women would acquire earning potential they might never have realized they had.

To learn more about Reshma and Made with a Purpose, please visit www.madewithapurpose.com or follow them on Instagram at @stitch4change.

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