Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

17" MBP bag and sleeve: sweatshop made and leather need not apply

eastercat

eastercat

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 3, 2008
3,323
7
PDX
I'm looking to purchase a bag and sleeve for a 17" Mac Book Pro. Unlike most other posts about this, I have slightly different wants.

Wants:
-No animal skins
-Not made by slave labor. Prefer if it was made in the USA by a union, but willing to settle for manufacture in a country that has decent labor laws (e.g., Germany, England, etc.). Fair trade bags would work in lieu of the above.

Would like:
-briefcase style (no wheels)
-sleeve without a zipper (to avoid scratching)
-fits under an airplane seat
-space to hold a binder or some folders

The reason I need help is that it's easy to tell if a bag is made from animal skin; but, most web sites don't list the country of manufacture.
For example, I can't find any information on Booq's web site on country of manufacture.
So for people who have ordered bags and can look at the manufacturer's label, I would greatly appreciate additions to my consideration list.

Thank you,
Esther

Bags and sleeves under consideration:

Red Oxx Metro Briefcase
http://www.redoxx.com/product_categories/4/products/19-metro-briefcase

Tom Bihn Empire Builder
http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/TBP/TB0730

Waterfield Cozmo Bag-medium
http://www.sfbags.com/products/cozmo/cozmo.htm
(they can make a vegan version in 1-2 weeks)

Tom Bihn Horizontal Soft Cell Size 1 16.5 × 11.4 × 1.8 inches (420 × 290 × 45 mm)
http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/300/TB0374

Waterfield Laptop Sleeve Size 17-2
http://www.sfbags.com/products/sleevecases/sleevecases.htm
 
I have used Waterfield's sleeves and Cargo (not Cozmo) bags: I think they satisfy many if not all of your criteria; I am not sure a 17in would fit in a medium Cozmo? They will tell you pretty quickly.

Waterfield products are top notch quality and the company is a delight to deal with!
 
I don't think you could find a sleeve made from animal skin if you tried.. hell, i've never even seen a leather case but if your after all that ethical, vegan stuff then foofbags ship all over the world, look great (save that garish pink monstrosity) and i gather are handmade and whatnot. ;)
see: http://foofshop.com/
 
I'll be receiving this on Wednesday....for a new 17" MBP

https://www.acmemade.com/theclyde.html

Is made in the USA using ballistic material. The better quality sleeves have material between the zipper and sleeve; so I wouldn't rule them out....I think Isis sleeves are one option. Also, it seems the sleeves with memory foam (versus neoprene) are recommended for their ability to provide some of the best protection.

If you haven't already, you might want to perform a forum search for bags and/or sleeves...that's where I was able to gather lots of links...good luck
 
wait, isn't MBP parts made in china? Why such a fuss? But I just got my DC Skatebag, ugly as heck but I like the orange inside and it seemed to have ample room. Can't wait to try it out when I get home.
 
What do you have against poor people? They would like to make a case for you too.
 
your laptop is 'sweatshop' made, no matter what Apple says, and you're looking for a 'non sweatshop' bag, ironic, huh?
 
Your laptop was made by underpaid asian workers who simply know how to put part A along with part B.

You make me think of people that supersize a McDonald's trio, yet drink a Diet Coke.
 
Just because it is made in China does not mean that it is made in a sweatshop. That is a very poor stereotype. Am I also to make the assumption that just because someone likes fried chicken they are african american?
There are some very well run, clean, and hard working factory/factory workers in China who are simply trying to better themselves and the lives they had living a subsistence living in the rural areas in China. And yes, I have seen this all first hand.
 
Wirelessly posted (Apple Communication Device: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

Tom Binh's your man. I've visited his store many times. You walk right past the sewing room to get to the retail room. I can personally attest to not seeing any children, locked doors, or guards with whips. They actually looked happy. :) good quality bags from a good quality company.
 
Wirelessly posted (Apple Communication Device: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

If Apple products were made here I would've had to trade in my car for my mbp.
 
As an owner of the waterfield bags, I can without a doubt say they are the best bags (non leather) available. The quality is outstanding, the best detail I have seen, and the customer service is better than that of the dealership where I have leased 4 German cars....
On top of that, it is made in the USA, by Americans. Do you pay a premium? Yes, but I would beg you to find a cheaper bag of the same quality, slave labor or not.
Their products have thought and care put into them, you can't go wrong.

Get a mombo combo, everything in it was very useful. It came with a great sleeve for my laptop, (with a flap) and the extra latch on case to the sleeve is handy too if I only have my laptop to cary around.

As much as you don't like leather, the leather skin cover (we own one in Gold and one in Beige) look terrific and give it a slightly more professional look.

Whatever your taste, you can't go wrong with waterfield.
 
Used rubber

usedrubberusa.com

No sleeves, but have a variety of bags. Stylish, expensive, made in US from recycled rubber (inner tubes from truck tires, mostly). They're small and not union.
 
Update and thanks

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Although some of them won’t work (due to logistical or aesthetic reasons), I still appreciate them nonetheless.

For those who have wondered, no one in the archives seems to care where their bag was manufactured. In addition, most of the web sites don’t think it’s all that important either (e.g., Apple.com).

So thank you for all your help.

If anyone has any more suggestions or knows about the bags I’ve mentioned (e.g., how easy it is to carry, how big it is on a 5’4” woman), I’d appreciate your posts.

Thanks so very much,
Esther

**The rest of this post goes off topic, so please scroll past if you don’t want to read.

I don’t have anything against poor people making my goods. That’s why I have no problems buying fair trade. I just want to make sure that the person making my bag, shoes, clothing, or anything else works for a living wage in humane conditions.

As someone who’s buying their first Mac, I would love to have the choice between a Mac made in China and one made in America by a union shop. If that option was there, I’d happily pay extra for the union-made computer. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. And because I want a Mac, I can’t go to a local shop to have them build me a notebook (and that doesn’t get into the issue of sweatshop parts).
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060612-7039.html (talks about conditions in the iPod factory)
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/209004/ (discussion about the iPod factory)
 
So you will take underpaid labour as long as it doesn't cramp your lifestyle? You really do deserve a Mac :p

Fear not, there is a manufacturer offering a product to meet the selective of commitment and needy of style. Zaum Lab bags are handbuilt and made of vinyl. Of course a bleeding heart would know that the environmental cost of manufacturing PVC is an issue, and the environmental cost of disposing PVC is also high. The Portabile Grande fits into your requirements.
www.zaumlab.com
https://id305.securedata.net/zaumlab.com/merchantmanager/index.php?cPath=6_46
As the online shop indicates, be prepared for a lead time.

As far as I know, Barry's Farm stuff isn't made in China. I believe the guy half is a member of this very board.
www.barrysfarm.net

For the messenger look, Chrome offers made-in-USA bags.
http://www.chromebags.com/products/bags/computer/

Anything else I can recommend off the top of my head involves leather, China or is very butch.

One which I am not sure whether they involve China or leather:
Melissa Beth Designs - http://www.melissabethdesigns.com/. I would suggest emailing them for details.
 
eastercat said:
As someone who’s buying their first Mac, I would love to have the choice between a Mac made in China and one made in America by a union shop. If that option was there, I’d happily pay extra for the union-made computer. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. And because I want a Mac, I can’t go to a local shop to have them build me a notebook (and that doesn’t get into the issue of sweatshop parts).
Click to expand...

Actually this is hilarious. You have these moral standings but you rillly rillly rillly want a Mac, so screw 'em. But hey, whatever you need to tell yourself I guess. Hard to take the moral high ground when you simply HAVE to have something, right?
 
Swissgear: the various flavors that say either 17" or 15" will do. Every Swiss bag that I bought was for a 15" book, but since they were sized for both Mac and PC my 17" MBP fits in them just fine, even with the Incase sleeve. For me, Swiss offers the best of price, strength, and style.

Incase: for the sleeve, the best I can find by far that won't break your bank account, and does it's job well.

**OR**

If you can afford it

Booqbag: The price is high, as is the quality. You won't go wrong, and I may even find myself grabbing one because the biggest issue I have with my current Swiss gear is the lack of pockets for portable HDDs. Swiss has plenty of space and compartments, but pockets are lacking, and Booqbags have plenty of both.

They also sell some great sleeves.

p.s. Never owned s Booqbag but worked with a colleague that did. He had a 17" MBP with the Python.

p.p.s. Don't worry about sweatshops, everything you own and touch will be made in a sweatshop, you most likely won't be able to avoid it. I don't like the idea either, but I don't like the pollution that is thrown up from cars, but I can't stop driving, or afford a hybrid. And yes, your Mac was made in a different country, most likely not a sweatshop (the real sweatshops) as is most of the components and even the boxing material.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back