In my opinion, people wear "brands" more than they wear clothes.

Yes they have been around for 6 years to be more precise - thanks for pointing that out.

I guess I have been very lucky with my Matt & Nat purses and wallets - I've had most of them for over 3 years and they still look pretty sharp.

I think it's great to point out this alternative to leather. And they're bags are niiice!

And given that it's not leather, I wouldn't expect it to have the lifespan of the stuff (like pleather - and I know we've all had our own special experiences with that stuff!)

I guess everyone's experiences varies; but I've been nothing but pleased with the customer service I have received with matt & nat. I have bought over 5 bags online at different times (gifts, etc.) and always had efficient, polite customer service team help me out.

All of the bags were shipped on time, in the right styles and looked even better in person than on the site!!

I actually heard that they're launching a new site soon with a new and improved shop online section; and supposedly the new collection is hotter than ever (I saw a sneak peak in Elle Qc and LouLou this month)... CAN'T WAIT!!!!

I bought a bag from Matt and Nat for my girlfriend this year. Either they sent the wrong one or I ordered the wrong one (still not sure about that). Anyway, trying to send it back has been amazing. They provide NO customer service phone # I can find. I finally had to call and just randomly select someone from their company directory and have them connect me with someone.

THEN, that person said they'd email me some info on how to return the bag TWICE and they never have. JFC, I might as well just keep the bag.

Everything now is way over priced.

I've been waiting 7 weeks for my bag and am having trouble getting ahold of anyone from Matt & Nat. I really want my bag too. I was wondering if any of you out there that recieved the wrong bag got mine. It's a small Jorga Fox purse. Brown leather and yellow stitching (they call it Cognac with Mustard). If someone did please let me know I'd love to get it!!

If you are ordering online, there isn't supposed to be a phone number you can call. You email them, online, to the returns department and they will respond to you promptly. I have ordered from Matt & Nat on several occassions, and have a dozen or so pieces from them. I have had to do returns on 3 occassions and had no problems what-so-ever. They have very clear return instructions, and have responded promptly to all of my emails.

I returned my Matt&Nat purse to the store where I purchased it because the zipper had broken after only 3 uses. The store owner told me they couldn"t help me because they no longer carry M&N purses.She said it was because the purses always had some kind of defect.

well... i wish i had read this beforehand. i just bought a bag yesterday, i was surprised there was no paper of some sort in it with the warranty information.... i guess this is why.

*POSTED BY INDER BEDI OWNER AND FOUNDER OF MATT & NAT*

Bonnie,

First let me speak on behalf of everyone at MATT &NAT to express our sympathy and consideration for your situation. You are correct, our line has been going through a number of changes in the past few years. What started as a small local business a few years back is changing and evolving. But I can assure you that the brand is changing with our aspirations as designers, not as business people. We work very hard and strive to put together collections that are different, interesting, innovative. We care about MATT & NAT being a vegan line, this is an integral part of who we are, and like any designers we also strive for MATT & NAT to get international recognition as a fashion –forward design label.

The positivity message that you refer to has never been about marketing. It is something that I wrote 10 years ago when I was working out of my home/business apartment to launch matt & nat. It reflected the feelings that I had regarding spirituality as well as the world of fashion and how matt & nat would try to bridge the two.

We try our best as a company to conduct our business in a fair manner. We have become much more involved with charities both local and across North America, because we believe that helping others should be an important aspect of business, but our resources are not that of a large corporation. We are still a relatively small company been built over the last twelve years, driven NOT by dollars but rather by passion, design and positivity. We can only hope that our customers can appreciate the direction that we have taken and support our vision as a homegrown company; it matters to us, especially in our own backyard.

We have had to review our distribution recently in the context of our brand positioning. We did phase out stores in this process, if your family fell through the cracks, please contact me to see how we can help, I’m sure you know where to find me….

I too am a store owner that can totally relate to the previous store owner. Not only have we been "dumpped" but I have sugested many times to corporate and their regional reps to get a recycling program in place so there animal friendly bags don't end up in our landfil sites for next hundred years. I have to this day never heard a thing.

I get that they are going a diffrent direction but when I called to ask how to handle the switch over w\ my loyal clients, 1st I was put in touch w\ the US marketing manager, yet I am in canada, where he went on about the design and it very architual,and complex.This is the NEW direction the company was going.... Like it was way over my head and I was far to simple and my clients would never get it.Hmmmm was I totally insulted. I belive in change and that there is a place in the market that Matt and Nat will fit, I just think there business practices are in the toilet with how they handled all of this. I think their reputation has been built on loyal clients and store owners, which was TOTALLY and Completly ignored.
Good Luck, I to will never suport this company again, and really no matter how complex and amazing your fall will be, come on we are still talking about bags right??

I received a Matt and Nat bag as a Christmas gift last year. I have used it almost everyday and think it is a great bag. I have never had an issue with the quality of the bag and in fact, believe the bag looks cleaner and newer than some of my leather bags after this much use. I just purchased another bag from the web site and fingers crossed that this one comes with no problems too.

Well, I too am one of those store owners who was faithful to Matt and Nat and had a huge amount of sales that everyone in the chain of retail profited from. I stood back in shock and awe as Matt and Nat sent out a blanket form letter to most retailers that carried their product saying they were going in a new direction. Oh yes, here is the question? What did you base your decision on Inder? Was it the other products in our store? Just curious as neither you nor anyone in your company ever stepped foot in our shop.
Not a thank you or "up yours" after four years of supporting their product. Let me tell you poor innocent customers, the bags from Matt and Nat are about as ecologically sound as the plastic bags you throw into the land fill. The whole "Vegan" concept sounds lovely but the material which these bags are made from is a HUGE pollutant of our earth. The process to make vinyl which is really all they are made from is not an earth friendly one. If you want Vegan then use hemp, it's about the only product that is not only animal free but earth conscious. In case you hadn't noticed, vinyl bags have been around for decades, there is nothing special about the process which Matt and Nat uses to make theirs.
I have to applaud Matt and Nat for using the "Vegan" word in their advertising ploy. It not only works it seems to dull the minds of most label hungry shoppers. For Pete's sake I had a customer who was convinced you could eat their bags!! About the only thing I can guarantee from their bags is shoddy workmanship. These bags are mass produced overseas in who knows what factory and many a mistake is made. We had so many returns from customers due to breakage that on more than one occasion I had someone returning a bag while someone else was trying to purchase one at the till. Talk about awkward moment!
At any rate I would never carry their product again as it has gone up in price to the point of ridiculous while the quality has remained the same. Yes, they have great designs I will admit that but so do lots of other deserving more ethical companies. We have introduced many more lines to our store and they are flying off the shelves, so what was at first a problem is now a solution. Bye,Bye Matt and Nat.....

I am surprised at the voracity of some peoples comments about MATT & NAT. To the small business owners: I ask you this; Why would you rely on simply one line to carry your business? This does not make good business sense. You should be able to draw revenue in a more balanced way because there is more than one reason that can suddenly occur where you as the retailer can suddenly get the shaft. Lots of companies go bankrupt, sell out, merge, etc...

To all of the disappointed customers, what are your expectations? I would say M&N offer fashionable bags, that are not leather so they don't kill animals but aren't necessarily eco-friendly considering PLASTIC IS PLASTIC IS PLASTIC. Diapers anybody? So get off the soap box and be happy with your cute little bag at a not so bad price point.

I've recently ordered from Matt & Nat during their last sale and found their customer service outstanding. The last 3 times I received my order between 2 and 5 business days...that's excellent!!
I have to say I find I don't have to be as careful with M&N bags as real leather. They don't scratch as easily and they wipe clean with a damp cloth. I absolutely love my Matt & Nat's...

I do have to say that I've ordered more in the past when the prices were lower. Most people won't pay $100 for a handbag, and now the prices are $200 and up. I don't even know if their sale prices will be low enough for me now. Love the new feutre line, but why is it only available in black and brown....I know black and brown are classics and a lot of people like them... (sorry but I think they're boring.) I miss the plum, raspberry, and orange (the fire colours) ...they were beautiful. Love the new plum but theres only one purse and a handful of wallets available in it. Love to see more purses in this beautiful colour.
I just find the new line very mainstream, nothing that makes me swoon =) like Johnny Black, Julia and Vicious did...those were beautiful!! And the autobahn was a classic and now it's gone too!!

On a different but similar note, I know of a Candle company (that made absolutely awesome candles ) in Southwestern Ontario that just about put themselves out of business because they were only to be sold in "exclusive" stores.
Everyday people just found everyday candles in everyday stores and bought them instead.
When the Candle company tried to get back into the every day stores, they found the stores had moved on and didn't want them any longer.
I hope Matt & Nat doesn't get so pretentious. After all it's everyday people that fell madly in love with their purses and talked about them, and showed them to anyone who would listen. Well now if everyday people can't afford them....
Sometimes a more exclusive richer crowd is also a more fickle crowd. They love new things, novelty...and then they're on to the next new thing...
Hope Matt & Nat keeps us everyday people in mind....

i'd had a "positivity pouch" for years, loved its minimalist wallet styling and hip details, including the positivity mantra. so several months ago i shelled out more than i've ever spent on a bag for a matt & nat purse.

while stylish, my new purse began to flake away on its second time out of the closet, slowly shedding green vinyl everywhere. not so stylish. and since it's plastic, i was disturbed to find my cat licked some off the floor where it had fallen (the bag sheds more profusely than she does) the other day. so...into the dumpster.

i don't have a lot of money, and don't like to add to landfills, so take obsessively good care of my things. i was shocked to see this kind of shoddy workmanship masquerading as good for the planet. how good is it if i have to throw the bag away after a few months and buy another bag?

i will never buy matt & nat again, especially after reading this site. apparently the company's ethical business practices extend beyond the consumer to small-business owners.

the founder should be ashamed of herself for writing the above letter (and her lackeys who so obviously posted above about the great "customer service team") as damage control, rather than just making things right for both consumers and shafted biz owners by doing the following five-step recovery program:

1. admitting the issues
2. apologizing publicly
3. offering to replace consumers' shoddy bags with something that won't fall apart immediately
4. finding truly sustainable "vegan" materials for the line (hint: not petroleum-based plastics)
5. changing business policies so small-biz owners are honored

now that would be "choosing positivity."

While I do love the Matt & Nat bag designs, I have to say I was extremely disappointed when I bought what I thought was a "Canadian" bag and found a small tag inside that read "Made in China". Why are these Canadian designers outsourcing their manufacturing? Profit is the obvious answer. It is simply unethical false advertising for a company to tout their wares as "Canadian" when they are actually made in China.

And we all know how high the quality control standards are in China.

i think that everyone posting here needs a big glass of GET A LIFE during their next meal. my friends and i have been going to warehouse sales of matt and nat for years. the bags that are rejected, thrown around and trampled on. and theyre perfect. how old are all of you that are condemning a company for price and quality of online customer service? obviously old enough to have a part time job but young enough not to know anything about economics or human error. you think that if the company sucked so bad, that they could afford to hike up their prices? are you their ONLY customer who they so love to screw? shop at walmart, if you dont like it, and spend your money on school to improve your typing skills.

ps- spiritual, environmental or political messages are what YOU make of them. the value of them for YOU should not depend on how the rich owner of a company "feels". its ridiculous to even pretend that you know how anyone feels, so stop using that as the excuse to why your flavor-of-the-week rebellion against the world didnt pan out.

CONGRATULATIONS about the capitals. omitting something for speed is not the same as not knowing how sentence structure works, while bashing others for being senseless and stupid. message boards are pretty much the lowest form of communication, and every 5 years or so i vent that on one thats particularly ridiculous. considering you didnt comment on any of my other points, ill consider myself well- spoken. you and everyone else here just wait around for something to say, because the more people argue the more interesting your life becomes; point proven. the internet has become such an easy way to anonymously "judge" others, that no one makes any sense any more. people subscribe to blogs just to make sure that bands they hate see their "METALLICA SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" every time someone posts something... oh good show! you are really proving something there. NEWSFLASH. no famous person or otherwise has to care about you and what you feel, and are certainly not obligated to be transparent about how THEY feel to satisfy your psychological discrepancies.

POINT: grow up, and if you got the wrong purse or it fell apart, do what you can to fix the problem and then STOP BUYING

ps- i also forgot apostrophes... did you catch that? ;)

pps- if you knew what self-righteous meant, you would realize that i am the least one here.

For any leather repairs, try leather coronet.

heyy im a grade 7 student and i need some help to find some stuff about you guys if you can help me soon that would be great and please email me back brown_ed_cat@hotmail.com

Ahh now I know why there is rust on the zippers. I was so happy about the bag until I got home and really check it out. What a freakin' embrassement for 514 area code. They can sell all the Rusty Made in China to Bloomingdales. There are other tons of designers who are not trying to make a fool outta customers.

Can anyone give me the names of some good lines I should look into selling. I want to expand my boutique and would love some advice!!!
thanks in advance!

Savior - I'm sorry, I am a bit blog-stupid. I'm not sure how to email you?

This Message goes out to Laura, I completely understand about people wanting to see the "made in canada" label on the products. Heck, I would love to see it to. I produce goods as well. When I first started with my Idea, I wanted to produce only here in Canada. I was so stuck on that, I became stubborn. As I started to make my idea come to life, I started noticing that some of the processes I wanted to use were not available. For example I wanted to use hand embroidery to avoid using machines. I wanted to find a company that can provide me with hand works as opposed to machine works. Slowly...slowly... I started to realize that no one here can cater to my needs. AND when I did find a company that could cater to my needs, they wanted to charge more than an arm and a leg. To give you an idea, A product that was planned to cost me 10 dollars ended up costing me 22.50 right here. Not only people here dont want to offer hand works it is very hard, extremely hard.

I learned the hard way, because I ended up losing so much time that I lost opportunities for three buying periods, because everyone was sending me around in circles. So then I decided to re-think my production strategy. My heart was set to produce in Canada, but It just was not feasible. Cost wise, time wise and no one wanted to touch it. But... now, in India or China or Thailand etc... hand works are available all over the place, it was like a dream come true. Wow!!! Hand works available everywhere. At an affordable cost too! So Now yes, there are stories of outsourcing, dont know how it is being made, who is making it, how are the people treated. I think that the company that wants to produce needs to take action and make sure their products are being produced ethically. Thats all.

So when you see made in China or India, or Thailand or anywhere else, please try to think that maybe the product was not easy to make in Canada, maybe it was just more feasible elsewhere.

As for Matt and Natt, The concept is amazing, it is exciting to see a local company go international. I was not impressed to see all these negative remarks, but hey, the company is growing and learning at the same time, mistakes will be made, hopefully the mistakes will be corrected. Its only natural. I dont think that they are using Vegan as an angle, I think it is their brand philosophy and I think it is a great philosophy.

This is hilarious, 'interested', they don't even recycle you should see their garbage can overflowing with paper and plastic. And sweetie you're not fooling anyone, hand embroidery is available in north america, and europe just like the 'processes' to make an ugly pink PLEATHER bag... more more more...now now now...wake up.

Mat and Nat is terrible quality. I bought a wallet and the next day, the leather tore. I'll never buy another

First off... Why so negative? Everything you said was jerky.
Second- these bags DON'T fall apart quickly. They may not last as long as leather, but I've had mine 3 years and it looks great- hardly any wear. Maybe you just treat your bags like garbage.

Why be such a negative snob? Who even cares if they've been well known for 3 years or 5? Jeez...