Edition four: Nurturing worth, value and dignity.
No child should carry their life in a bin bag! How the deep purpose of providing children in care with self worth and dignity is driving a business.
Aristotle’s quote, ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’, is often used by the Excitable Soul to help explain the intangible nature of our purpose. Accrued life experiences that you assign meaning to, that colour the way you see the world, that help make you who you are, and consequently shape your purpose. It was my great pleasure to interview Dave Linton, the founder and CEO of Madlug, the bag company with a difference. The subsequent conversation seemed to epitomise this quote. I am very excited to kick off this edition of the Excitable Soul blog by exploring Make a Difference Luggage's deep, purposeful nature and the extraordinary journey Dave has navigated.
“Every 15 minutes, one child or young person enters the UK care system.”
Dave’s origin story for the company passionately describes how, after listening to a young person in care explain that most children carry their belongings in black bin bags from home to home, Dave knew he had to act. Having previously read "Start Something That Matters" by Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Shoes, he was inspired to create a solution through a ‘buy one, wear one, help one’ business model. With just £480 to invest, Madlug was born.
Madlug (Make A Difference Luggage) Has a clear purpose: to provide children in care with their own quality bag so they know they have huge worth, huge value and dignity because no child should carry their life in a bin bag. Over the last nine years, they have given over 110,000 pack-away travel bags to children and young people in care. In my conversation with Dave, I set out to unpick why this, which inspirational people and what experiences led to the development of this award-winning business?
“People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around.” – Terry Pratchett.
In all my research of Dave and Madlug, I could not find anything about Dave’s experiences growing up, or if he had a personal experience of the care system. Anything that explained why this specific marginalised group in society is so close to his heart. This is, as it turns out, intentional. Dave told us that he does not share his ‘back story’ often, as he does not want to manipulate, does not want his story to be the narrative of Madlug.
While these stories are not public-facing, they do go some way to explain why Dave is curious, interested in innovation and a constant advocate for the underdog. Dave explained that he had been on the edge of care after losing his father at a young age; he was brought up by his mother and significant people, his neighbours and friends that became ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles’. His experience gave him a huge drive to help pass on the same support and opportunities that had shaped him. So, when he started youth work, he was particularly drawn to the young people who ‘weren’t getting it easy’—those children who, without support, centres may have asked to leave. Being a youth worker became his heartbeat and if circumstances had been different, he’d have retired happily as one.
During his 20 years of youth work experience, navigating funding applications was challenging, partly due to his dyslexia, but it pushed him to become highly skilled at finding creative solutions. Determined to provide meaningful experiences for his youth groups despite financial limitations, he learned to think outside the box and resourcefully utilise whatever was available.
As demonstrated by winning awards like the Social Enterprising UK Consumers Award and the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Dave says he has always been an entrepreneur without realising it. His journey led him beyond the conventional route of formal certifications; however, he always fostered a natural curiosity and urge to solve problems. He is actively looking for opportunities to learn and cultivate his growing interest in leadership.
In a video for starting entrepreneurs, Dave encourages people to look for their black bin bag moments, urging them to find social stories as a driver for business. He chose not to set up a charity, as he felt it would introduce competition into an already limited pool of resources. Instead, by building a business, he could tap into a different market and reach a broader audience. This approach allowed him to create a sustainable impact without competing for the same funds as other charities, aligning with his vision to make a difference uniquely.
“We are on the side of the young people; let’s champion their value and worth,”
When I asked how his purpose has guided him through developing Madlug, Dave spoke eloquently about building the business—selling quality bags to fund the donation of bags—and creating meaningful change at the same time and in equal measure by providing dignity to young people in care with a new bag to carry their belongings. He noted that companies founded on a strong purpose can sometimes get sidetracked by their success, losing sight of their original mission. This is part of the reason that Madlug retains six dedicated team members to maintain integral relationships with all stakeholders, including the local authorities.
In addition, he explains how they are often encouraged to branch out into other merchandise to position themselves as a fashion brand. Dave explains that their purpose holds them fast; selling bags for bags is true to the story that defines them.
He further explained that as a business, it is easy to fall into the trap of ‘what’ you make, to stop them drifting into just talking about the bags they make, they remember why they are different. They have a simple story and want to share that. They want to talk from the heart. This has helped them to make decisions such as launching their new YouTube videos, More Than a Bag, in which each episode explains the purpose and rationale about why Madlug exists and what it does, and developing their Madlugger podcast. This is an opportunity to talk about people’s experiences for fifteen minutes because, as they say, ‘the true hero of our story is our customers.’
Approximately 107,000 children are in care across the United Kingdom, reflecting an 8% increase over the past five years.
As a customer of Madlug bags myself, I was exceptionally proud when the bag I customised with embroidery was mentioned in their stories on Instagram. What struck me profoundly while talking to Dave, who said he remembered the post, is that this conversation came easily. The security and joy that comes with being in alignment with your purpose. When we shared our experiences of spotting Madluggers on the street, an experience that Dave recounts as a highlight of his journey, up there with being invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party and taking tea with Richard Brandson, he talked about Madlug bags being a vehicle to empower people to wear something that speaks without words, to an unseen group within society, a way of saying ‘we care’. To me, that sentiment, the movement that Madlug is creating, is more than the sum of its parts. It is value, it is worth and it is dignity.