Luxury handbags are a niche of the fashion-forward world. To the outside eye, it might be hard to identify a high-end bag, but to those on the inside, they can spot a label a block away. Brahmin bags are among the most recognized on the runway.
The company was founded in 1982 in the Northeast United States. In the early days, the brand struggled to find its footing but eventually landed window displays in upper-end department stores like Marshall Fields and Neiman Marcus.
Brahmin hosted its original factory in Taunton. Shortly after, they moved to Padanaram and ultimately landed in New Bedford. In 1994, Brahmin purchased a 22,000-square-foot facility in Fairhaven. From their Massachusetts headquarters, they still design every bag today.
Today, the brand is still family-owned and operated. It sells in over 750 retail locations across the US. In the last decade, it has expanded its reach globally. Has this had any effect on its manufacturing operations? We investigated to find out.
Verdict: Are Brahmin Bags Made in the USA?
Brahmin Bags are primarily not made in the USA. However, a few bags are still assembled domestically.
Brahmin isn’t a brand that is upfront about its manufacturing practices. On product pages, you most likely won’t find any information about the origin of each item, not even an “imported” label. For a bag that costs $400, that seems like a key bit of info to leave out.
Materials for the bags are also sourced globally:
According to the brand, the vast majority of their bags are made of genuine cow leather, which is mostly sourced from either Texas or Italy:
But as for manufacturing, we couldn’t find a single thing on the website to tell us where these bags are being made. We know that they have a large facility in Fairhaven, but there’s no mention of this at all on their website.
Some older news reports and features stated that all bags were made at the headquarters in Massachusetts, but those publications were too dated. Others still said everything was made in China. It was time to take it to the source to find out for sure.
So, we called the customer service line for Brahmin and spoke to a representative. Here’s that conversation:
AA: Hi, I’d like to know where your bags are made?
B: Our factory is in Massachusetts and all designs are created there but only some handbags are made there. When the company expanded, bags started to be made overseas, too.
AA: Is there a way to shop just US-made bags? Like a category on the website?
B: No they don’t have it set up that way, but that could be because the same design is made both in the US and overseas so there’s not a way to distinguish between them.
AA: Is there a specific place overseas where the bags are being made?
B: it’s all over, I’m not sure. When I was first hired I thought it was all at the Massachusetts factory, but then I learned the company expanded and things are made overseas. You can check the inside of the bag and the tag to find out where it was made.
So, some bags are being made here in the US. Which ones though, your guess is as good as Brahmin’s. The representative stated that you could check the interior tag to know where a specific bag was made.
For as much as Brahmin is charging for their bags, you’d expect to at least know where it was made before you click the “purchase” button. At least if you’re shopping in person, you have the option to check the interior tag, but chances are high that it will say China.
Popular American Made Brahmin Bags
- A few bags were made in the US, but identifying them is impossible without checking all physical tags.
Popular Brahmin Bags Not Made in the USA
- Hallie Bag
- Fiora Bag
- Caroline Bag
