Siblings turn old sails into practical bags

Argentinian brother and sister Marcos and Paz Mafia came up with the idea in 2012 and their recycled sail bags are launching in the UK this month

It was professional kite-surfer Marcos Mafia’s love of the extreme sport that inspired him and his industrial engineer sister Paz to turn old sails into accessories.

The pair began using sails from old kitesurfs, windsurfs and boats that would have ended up in a landfill and repurposed them to make bags, cases and wallets perfect to use in extreme weather conditions.

In 2012 the Mafia brother and sister founded Mafia Bags in their native Argentina selling their bags online. Demand for the product grew quickly and after raising more than $25,000 throw crowdfunding Marcos and Paz decided to move and set up in San Francisco in 2014.

It didn’t take long for Mafia Bags to take off and they were quickly across North America and Japan. Their success has been such that this month they are launching in the UK with their first outing in a pop up shop in TopShop in London’s Oxford Circus (the bags are already available in Britain to buy online).

The use of sails make Mafia Bags ideal to use in wet and windy weather thanks to the durability of the material and their designs are practical and simple, created for those with an active lifestyle.

As they are made of old sails, no backpack, tote, tube bag or wallet looks the same and so confident are the Mafia siblings that their product is made to last, each item has a lifetime warranty.

What’s more, if you want to donate your old sails you can contact Mafia Bags through their website (http://europe.mafiabags.com/).