In 2004 Cora + Spink’s founder and designer, Tim Johnson, wrote a paper for his undergraduate degree exploring the unsustainable nature of clothing production and how changes in the production process – such as using reclaimed/recycled yarns and fabrics, and pattern design that reduces waste – could reduce environmental impact.

That paper started Tim’s journey to launching Cora + Spink’s range of long lasting, robust and ethically made backpacks, utility bags and wallets in 2014.
Tim took inspiration for the name from his adventurous great-great-great aunt Cora, who travelled Europe alone at the age of 19.

All the products are made using natural materials – cotton, leather and metal – most of which will, eventually, decompose. The waxed cotton canvas bodies of the backpacks will biodegrade within a year given the right conditions; the cotton inner linings can take from two weeks.

Designed in Worcestershire and made in India, each Cora + Spink product is designed around doing a job and how it can make that job easier, happier or better. The company also considers the people who make the products to be just as important as the materials. Since 2018, the company has used reclaimed or recycled cotton lining and trims in all its products; the cotton is handmade and sourced through a co-operative that gives back to the workers.
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‘We hold hope for a future where people will not only see the benefits of the things they own, but the benefits in the past and future of those people who make and recycle the products.’