FAQ

While we would love to say yes, the reality is there is no such thing as a 100% sustainable product. All materials—ours included—require natural resources to produce.

We look at sustainability as a spectrum. The more we can shift toward the sustainable end, the better, and we're constantly looking for ways to do so. This means sourcing responsibly, choosing eco-conscious or recycled materials, and being smart about shipping and travel to keep our footprint low.

For the most part, all of our bags are constructed with a recycled polyester main fabric and lining. The exceptions are our Cascades Collection, made from 100% cotton, and Hemp Cotton, a renewable 65%/35% hemp-cotton blend. New for 2020, all of our bags now use recycled zippers and are packaged with FSC-certified hangtags and header cards.

Yes! All Haiku bags are made with vegan materials, including some of the older styles that contain synthetic leather elements.

Dampen a cloth or soft brush with cool water and gently scrub with a bit of mild soap or diluted detergent. Hang to dry.

We advise against machine washing your bag, but we have had customers do so successfully. If you decide to try this, we advise using cold water and gentle detergent, using the delicate or hand-wash setting, and hanging your bag to dry. Since all washing machine settings are different, our warranty does not cover damage that may occur by using a washing machine to clean your bag. Please note that the following damage could happen as a result: 1) the water-resistant coating will eventually be compromised (after several washes) and 2) the hardware could rust/ruin. To ensure no damage, we strongly recommend spot cleaning and air drying only.

Recycled polyester is an amazing and versatile fabric that we've been using to make our bags for more than five years. Also called Recycled PET, or RPET for short, it is made from post-consumer plastic bottles. Curious which ones? PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is one of the most popular plastics in the world, used in plastic bottles and food packaging. A container made from PET will usually have those three letters or the number one stamped on the bottom, inside the universal recycled symbol.

Once the PET is made into fabric, it can enjoy a second life as all kinds of goods—clothing, shoes, and of course, bags!

We use Recycled PET for main body fabric as well as our linings; both are backed with a water-resistant coating.

This is essentially a trademarked brand of recycled polyester made by our textile partner in Taiwan. They specialize in manufacturing CYCLEPET, in addition to an entire line of recycled materials. The production process, as well as dyes and coatings, are all eco-friendly, non-toxic, and bluesign® approved—for instance, our water-resistant polyurethane (PU) coating material does not contain isocyanates. Production of CYCLEPET uses about half the energy as fabrics made with virgin petroleum. Not all recycled polyester out there in the world necessarily meets these standards, so we often refer to ours by the CYCLEPET trademark.

Our bags are produced by our longtime manufacturing partner in Indonesia. They have been making high-quality recreational bags for over 20 years, and our bags for more than a decade.

It is popularly believed that China is just where companies go to have goods made cheaply. While this belief persists for a reason, in our industry it is mostly a myth. Some of the most highly developed bag-making infrastructure is now in China, particularly in and around the port city of Shenzhen. Sadly, the infrastructure and skill set needed to bring many of our intricate designs to life is virtually nonexistent in the United States. While we would love to move production stateside, manufacturing in China allows us to deliver the quality of product our customers expect, at a price they can afford.

We have a close working relationship with our factory. Because of the infrastructure that our parent company provides, not only do we correspond with our factory on an almost-daily basis and visit at least twice a year, but we have a small development team based in Dongguan as well. We have a strict and robust code of conduct, and we check up regularly to make sure the factory is compliant. This requires that everyone is of legal working age, has a safe and healthy environment to work in, works reasonable hours, and is paid an adequate wage. We have a no-tolerance policy on child labor, forced labor, coercion and harassment, and severe health or safety issues.

How fast you receive your package depends on where you live and the shipping method you selected. There is always a 1-2 business day processing window—even if you chose Expedited shipping, you should still plan for about two extra business days before your package goes out the door. For example, any orders placed late Friday or over the weekend shipping via USPS (including 2- and 3-day Priority) will ship the following Tuesday.

To be eligible for a refund, you need to complete our returns process within 30 days of purchase from haikubags.com. After that period and within 60 days of purchase, you will only be eligible to return an item for store credit. If you'd like to exchange a product, you'll need to complete the returns process and place a new order for the item you want.

For step-by-step instructions, please go to: haikubags.com/returns-exchanges

Please note your package MUST have an RA (Return Authorization) number, assigned by us, written clearly on the outside of the box, otherwise we cannot guarantee that your return will be processed.

If a product is returned in an unacceptable condition, it will be returned to you at your expense. Some examples of unacceptable conditions include bags that are stained, have an odd smell, are covered in pet hair, or are missing tags.

Oh no! Send an email to orders@haikubags.com with a clear photo of the damage and we'll take care of it. Please note we are only responsible for purchases made through haikubags.com.

Start by logging into your Haiku account.

Our bags are guaranteed to be free of manufacturer defects for one year from the date of purchase. To start a warranty claim, please an email to info@haikubags.com with a clear photo of the PO tag sewn into the inside of your bag (this usually starts with "PO#XXXX" and can be found underneath the tag with our address) so we can verify that your bag is covered under our warranty, along with a photo of the issue so that we can determine if the bag needs to be returned to us or replaced.

If it needs to be returned to us, we will assign you an RA (Return Authorization) number. Please have this number clearly marked on the outside of the package to ensure that we can receive and process your warranty return.

Our warranty only covers bags purchased through authorized Haiku dealers. You can find a complete list of dealers here. If you're not sure, send us an email and we'll check for you.

Send us an email at info@haikubags.com, or call us at (417) 459-4259 ext. 6. For warranty and return policy questions, please see our customer service page.