Sick of choosing between style and function? These young ladies from Elephant Stripes are turning the luggage industry upside down

April 20, 2016 - New online start-up, Elephant Stripes, is revolutionising women's travel style, selling an amazing range of custom designed travel products in inspiring designs. Launched in March 2016 by two young women from New Zealand, they intend to take the male dominated travel & outdoor industry by a storm. They recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for their stylish Travel Packs.

"We believe your travel gear should be as exciting as your travels are!" Jordan Abrahams, Elephant Stripes Co-Founder.

As travel-lovers themselves Kiwi co-founders, Francesca Logan and Jordan Abrahams, got fed up with always having to choose between travel gear that looked good or that was durable and functional. "We noticed that most travel gear was made by men for men; with women and style as an afterthought. So we decided to do something about it" said Francesca.

Age was no barrier for Jordan and Francesca, who first started brainstorming the idea for the company while at Victoria University of Wellington at the age of 21. Now aged 23 the co-founders admit that while at the beginning they often avoided admitting their age for fear they wouldn't be taken seriously, they are now comfortable being young business women, with their ever-growing experience in the manufacturing and product design industries to back them up.

After launching their website at the beginning of March with their range of travel products, the company have just launched their travel packs onto crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter. On Kickstarter "backers" pre-order the packs, which are then manufactured and delivered to them by October at the latest. The pair chose this platform as it was a great way "to reach a large audience of people across the globe that could see our product, back our company and be first in line to receive the packs," said Jordan. It was also a financial decision to get the required funding needed for the first round of manufacturing. In return for their patience, backers are rewarded with up to 40% off the recommended retail price of the bags – the faster they get in, the better the discount.

The packs come in 2 sizes and include all leading-edge travel pack features, to name a few - front loading, a fully adjustable harness system, zip away harness, a dedicated laptop pocket, a built in rain cover, zip on daypack and an attachable side strap. The bags use high quality materials and YKK zips and buckles.

Jordan and Francesca found that of all travel products packs were the most in need of a "style revamp". "We were horrified by the mud-brown and boogie green shades on offer. When it came to female travel packs usually the only change from the men's packs was to 'shrink it and pink it'" said Francesca. Elephant Stripes' packs come in a choice of 6 unique designs covering many different styles from flowers, to Aztec to a black bag with a gold feature zip.

"We want our customers to be proud of their bag as it comes down the luggage carousel, and for their bags to be a visual expression of their style and personality while they travel". - Francesca.

They use a 'bag for bag' model – similar to the Toms and Warby Parker movements. For every bag sold during the Kickstarter campaign Elephant Stripes will donate a school bag to an Indonesian child in need. They have partnered with the Bali Children's Project, a reputable not-for-profit charity registered in the US and Indonesia.

This initiative isn't the only charitable aspect of this young company. Both Founders stress the importance of being at the forefront of the movement towards better business practices. The duo carefully selected their manufacturer in Indonesia that best aligned with their values, they set up a charitable foundation, The Ashla-Maia Foundation, which owns a portion of the business and they are in the process of moving to fully recycled packaging. They aim to broaden this aspect of the business and say in the future they want to use recycled fabrics, help out other female entrepreneurs and get involved in Elephant Rescue projects.