You’ve never heard of this.

Tree bark, woven into cloth.

Say what?!

Ok. Picture a shredded wheat biscuit. Then shrink the strands, and make them finer and tawnier. Flatten them out. Touch them. They’re surprisingly soft, right?

Now (ahem), stop stroking. Add a colorful embroidered scene, a button closure, and a shoulder strap.

Or, picture the material widening into a hat: one with a floppy edge, and an earthy texture. From far away, it looks like beautifully weathered leather, doesn’t it? You won’t see that coming and going.

Organic and sustainable.

The material is called lubugo. It’s made from the bark of a mutuba tree. It’s resilient as heck (up to recently, they used them to shroud and preserve the dearly departed). It’s the color of deer hide (but since it’s made from a tree, we can assure you no deer were harmed). And it makes you want to touch it.

Go shopping! »

The loveliest thing of all?

Ugandans didn’t get how precious lubugo was, until they started fashioning it into wallets, purses, and hats…and watched the delighted faces of visitors. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said the visitors. (As will you.)

Ugandan fashions are like that. A hat made of banana fiber. Apple green sisal earrings. A wallet fashioned from a vintage fabric called kikoi, descended straight from Ugandan princesses. Bright, flowing scarves.

Read about what it means to be Made in Uganda.