Selling Hope
![Madlug [Detail]](/assets/madlug.png)
I recently discovered Madlug, a travel bag business with a difference. Their story, which is clearly articulated and poignant, caught my attention.
Full disclosure, my son Ross Murphy, is an ambassador for the brand and has been hard at work taking beautiful photographs for the business’s web site and Instagram account.
Madlug’s story, and its purpose, is clear:
With every bag purchased a new travel bag will be given to a child in care to help them make their way with dignity.
Reflecting on the business’s founding principles, Madlug’s founder, Dave Linton, tells a story of how he was struck by the plight of a young girl in a wheelchair, who explained:
Health trusts don’t provide suitcases. Sometimes foster carers loan us a suitcase, but more often our belongings are moved in black plastic bin bags and we lose our dignity.
Determined to address this heartbreaking situation, Madlug was born, with a focused mission: to create ‘Make a Difference Luggage’.
From these humble beginnings, Madlug has grown into, “A movement of incredible people buying incredible bags so that new travel bags can be given to incredible children and young people in care.”
To date the company has given over 1,100 travel bags to children in care, helping – in a small, but important way – to give these children back their dignity.
Yes, Madlug is selling bags, but what they’re actually selling is something else: dignity.
We might be living in an age where UK CEOs ‘Earn 386 Times More Than Workers on the National Living Wage’, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a difference to others’ lives and, in the process, help to build successful businesses.
Madlug, and other companies like it, are selling hope, and hope is a precious commodity in the here and now.
Next time you’re looking for a travel bag, why not make a difference at the same time, and pick up a Madlug bag? You’ll be helping others in the process and making your own small dent in the universe.