Mavis by Herrera

Mavis by Herrera is a women-owned sustainable luxury accessories brand based in San Diego, California, founded by Mavis Carolina Herrera. The label designs convertible handbags, totes, crossbody bags, and accessories built from recycled plastic and upcycled leather, with a philosophy the founder describes simply: minimalist by design, generous by necessity. Every Mavis by Herrera piece is meant to expand with the life of the person carrying it, converting from a compact bag into a full tote so that fewer products need to be bought, used, and discarded over time.

The Story Behind Mavis by Herrera

Mavis Carolina Herrera grew up in San Quintin, Baja California, where she spent her early years helping her father support children in need in the surrounding community. That experience of finding abundance with very little shaped the values she later built her brand on. After immigrating to the United States and working through significant language and cultural barriers, Herrera sold her car to fund the brand’s first collection. The first three months produced zero sales, but she continued building the company on faith in its mission, eventually growing it into the recognised sustainable fashion label it is today. Herrera now describes the brand as “what started as a dream” that “has become a beautiful community” of customers and artisans.

Products From Mavis by Herrera

The Mavis by Herrera catalogue spans several categories built around versatility and longevity:

• Convertible handbags that transform from a compact bag into a full-size tote
• Mini and full-size crossbody bags
• Handwoven resort tote bags made from recycled plastic
• Clutch bags and leather goods, including bag straps and chain straps
• Sustainable straw resort hats
• Jewelry, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings

Each piece is handwoven by skilled artisans, many of whom work from their homes, ensuring dignified compensation alongside flexible, community-centred employment.

Sustainability at Mavis by Herrera

Sustainability runs through every stage of the Mavis by Herrera production process. The brand is 100% women-owned and self-funded, and produces in small, mindful quantities rather than mass-manufacturing to reduce excess and overproduction. Recycled plastic and upcycled leather form the backbone of its materials sourcing, keeping waste streams out of landfills and into long-lasting accessories. The brand also runs a “Bag Retirement” program that allows customers to return older pieces back into the production cycle, supporting a more circular model of ownership rather than a disposable one.

Beyond materials, Mavis by Herrera ties its commercial success to giving back: a portion of the brand’s work supports artisans directly and funds initiatives benefiting children, echoing the founder’s own childhood experience of community support in Baja California.

Why Mavis by Herrera Belongs in the Green Directory

Mavis by Herrera reflects the kind of small, founder-led, values-driven business that Prakati’s Green Directory exists to highlight: a woman-owned brand turning recycled and upcycled materials into long-lasting accessories, supporting artisan livelihoods, and building a genuinely circular product cycle through its Bag Retirement program. It is exactly the kind of low-footprint, community-rooted enterprise that the broader Green Directory was built to surface for conscious shoppers.

Customers can explore the current Mavis by Herrera collection, learn more about the Bag Retirement program, or reach the brand directly through its official website.

Designed for Long-Term Use

A defining feature of the Mavis by Herrera approach is durability built in from the design stage rather than added on afterward. The brand’s signature convertible silhouette, a bag that expands into a tote, exists specifically so customers need fewer pieces overall: one accessory does the job that might otherwise require two or three separate bags. Pairing that design philosophy with recycled plastic and upcycled leather means each piece carries a lower material footprint at the point of manufacture, and a longer useful life once it reaches the customer.

This focus on versatility and material circularity is consistent with the wider shift many independent accessory brands are making toward genuinely sustainable production, rather than treating sustainability as a marketing label layered on top of business-as-usual manufacturing.