FAQ

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Shipping & Returns

When will my order arrive?

It usually takes 1-2 business days for your newly purchased Melina Bucher handbag to ship. Please keep in mind that this excludes weekends or holidays. Once your order has been shipped, you will receive the shipping confirmation with your tracking number via email.

Area Shipment Time Pricing
Germany 1-2 business days (Mo-Fr) Free Shipping
EU, UK and Switzerland 2-5 business days (Mo-Fr) Free Shipping
Rest of Europe 2-5 business days (Mo-Fr) €20 flat fee
United States & Canada 10-15 business days (Mo-Fr)
3-5 business days (Mo-Fr)
€20 flat fee
Express: €50 flat fee
Rest of the World 10-15 business days (Mo-Fr)
3-5 business days (Mo-Fr)
€20 flat fee
Express: €50 flat fee

Can I order a gift wrapping?

Our precious Melina Bucher handbags come to you in luxurious magnetic boxes and are carefully wrapped in their respective dustbags.

Gift Boxes magnetic


Additionally, you can order an extra gift wrapping and a personal message card by leaving a comment during checkout.

Do you ship internationally?

We ship internationally to bring joy to our Bucherbabes all around the world. You can find more information on shipping and returns here.

When will my order ship?

It usually takes 2-3 weekdays for your newly purchased Melina Bucher handbag to ship. Please keep in mind that this excludes weekends or holidays. Once your order has been shipped, you will receive the shipping confirmation with your tracking number via email.

My international tracking is not updating, and I cannot wait to receive my bag!

Don’t get frustrated, babe! International orders usually take 10-15 weekdays to arrive. Our delivery time is calculated based on contracts with our shipping partners and may be delayed due to custom office inspections.
For more accurate tracking information you can check your local post office’s online tracking or directly contact your local post or customs office.
If you have tried contacting your local post office and still were not able to get any information, contact our team at info@melinabucher.com. We are happy to help you!

Will I be charged customs?

Please note: All international orders outside the EU are subject to customs and duty fees as defined by the country of import. Customs and duty fees are not included in your order and shipping total. Melina Bucher is not responsible for fees associated with import. All fees must be paid by the parcel recipient.

How do I track the delivery of my order?

We love your excitement! Once your order ships, we will send you an email with your tracking number - so you can spy on the journey of your new bestie 24/7 😉!

Do you accept returns?

Sending and returning packages is a huge environmental issue in the fashion industry, so please carefully consider if you want the product and check the sizing information on the product page. If, however, you aren't happy with your order, you can send it back within 30 days of receiving the package.
Please make sure that all received items are in their original and respective packaging. Melina Bucher® is not responsible for any returning fees. We recommend sending your return using a carrier that offers tracking services.
Please send your order back to:

Melina Bucher®
G6, 15
68159 Mannheim
GERMANY

Once your return is received and quality checked, you will receive a refund for the items minus shipping expenses.

My product came in damaged!

We are sorry for the inconvenience!
Please contact us within 48 hours of receiving your package for items that are defective, damaged, or wrongly shipped. Any item that is believed to be defective or damaged may only be exchanged for that same item. Please hold on to all items until further instructed for a solution.

Sustainability

Which materials do you use?

Before launching a new collection, we carefully evaluate different vegan leathers until we find the perfect combination of haptic pleasure, durability and performance. For our Trudy, Indy and Angel bag we are working with a vegan leather that is a PU / vinyl material made in Turkey and organic cotton. Synthetic PU-based leather on average has only a fifth of the environmental impact of traditional leather, according to the HIGG Index. It is not readily biodegradable though. We still decided for this material, as it is a high-performance material from the automotive industry. It consists of different, carefully considered layers and its protective surface is water-repellent, stain resistant and easy to clean. Therefore, it is a highly durable material, which is a sustainability factor we realy value.
We are well aware that plastics are not the ultimate solution for our environment. Which is why we worked for two years on our BAILEY bag made with MIRUM - a 100% bio-based, plastic-free vegan leather. MIRUM is the material powered by nature: it contains only natural raw materials and zero plastics. For lining we use a recycled cotton / cotton blend as well as a circular leather stitching thread. We are eager to constantly reinvent ourselves and work with different material innovators on truly sustainable innovations. The major goal is to make fully circular products in the near future.
Find out more about our materials here.

Where do you manufacture your products?

Melina Bucher handbags are designed in our headquarters in Germany and are handcrafted in selected European manufactories. To reduce transport routes, the production of the bags is concentrated around one area. BAILEY is handcrafted in the Ubrique region of Spain. Trudy, Indy and Angel are made in Istanbul, Turkey.Transparency and traceability are integral parts of our business. We attach great importance to traceable supply chains and a partnership network.
You can discover more about each step of the supply chain in our interactive transparency map.

What about shipment and packaging?

We try to minimize our transport links as much as possible by working in a European supply chain (except MIRUM® vegan leather) by concentrating our manufacturing in one area.
All our handbags are shipped to us by truck instead of plane. The product shipments to our customers are CO2 neutral (DHL GoGreen). For the shipment to you, we use recycled cart boxes and paper-based tape with vegan glue as well as bio-based international invoice cases. The paper we use in our office is Cradle-to-Cradle Silver certified by Gmund. No plastic on our watch!

What is your design approach to ensure sustainability?

Longevity and multifunctionality play a central role in our exclusive collections. The bags are characterized by a timeless, sustainable design. Our designs are carefully developed in 3D. They are handcrafted piece by piece in our family-owned manufactories and made out of finest, vegan leather.
Our timeless key pieces are handcrafted to last you for a lifetime.

Is vegan leather more sustainable than real leather?

Ecological sustainability has many dimensions and there is no large data body on direct comparisons between animal leather and vegan alternatives. Also, there is a huge variation between different vegan leathers or animal leathers depending on where they are produced, which type of processes are implemented and which energy mix is used. MIRUM®, the 100% bio-based and plastic-free vegan leather we use for our BAILEY bag, emits up to 40 times less CO2 than animal leather and 17 times less than PU leather. It also needs no water nor chemical dyes during closed-loop manufacturing. And it is circular by design, meaning cuttings, scraps, and worn-out MIRUM® can be recycled into new MIRUM®, closing the production loop. As it is biobased and bioneutral, MIRUM® can ultimately rejoin the Earth’s nutrient cycle, closing the natural loop
Scientific studies also show that PU-based synthetic leather has a much lower environmental impact in production on different criteria like CO2-emissions, water usage and energy usage. You can learn more about the different sustainability of animal leather and vegan materials according to different criteria in our magazine.

What are you planning to further increase your sustainabilility efforts?

The Melina Bucher brand is redefining luxury: with its consistent emphasis on sustainability and transparency, it is already setting a mark.
We are never satisfied though! Our vision is to launch fully circular certified products in the near future.
In addition, we are working on bringing a made-to-order approach with the help of 3D to life. This allows production to be more closely linked to actual demand. Thus, we are also able to respond more specifically to customer needs.
So stay tuned, there is a lot more to come 😊!

Product & Care

What is a vegan handbag?

Animal welfare is very dear to our hearts. This is why our products are 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and PETA-approved.
In order for a handbag to be vegan, its manufacturing process has to rely solely on animal-free components. All materials used, including adhesives and dyes, do not contain animal derived ingredients.
As Melina Bucher considers itself a vegan company, we additionally use animal-friendly materials for our packaging: your Melina Bucher handbag is shipped in a recycled card box wrapped with paper-based tape and sealed with vegan glue.
Furthermore, the paper in our office and our marketing materials are vegan and circular certified (yes, paper can include animal components. And yes, it is disgusting!).
Find out more about our compassion for animals here.

Is a vegan handbag simply a faux-leather bag?

Not at all! Faux-leather is a term used to differentiate the material from leather, which in Germany is defined according to the RAL 060 A2 norm. Faux-leather can mean any material imitating leather. It is also used for leather which is coated with more than 0.15mm of other materials.
Buying a faux-leather handbag does therefore not ensure that the product is animal-friendly. A vegan handbag is manufactured using solely materials, adhesives and dyes that are free of any animal ingredients.

You are a designer brand – why don’t you use genuine leather?

We are particularly keen to change the perception of leather as a luxury good.
Commonly used materials such as leather, wool, and fur do not align with our ethical and sustainable values. Those materials are not only harmful for animals, but also have a huge negative impact on the environment and the people involved in the production process. Luxury of the next generation is working with next-generation materials – Melina Bucher is therefore working with materials that are utilizing bio technology and are powered by nature. Mirum®, the progressive vegan leather we use for our BAILEY bag, is 100% bio-based, plastic-free and feels highly luxurious.
However, the use of sustainable and ethical materials does not come at the expense of quality. It inherently comes with water-repellant properties and is stain resistant and easy to clean.
Find more information on our material here.

How can I clean my new handbag?

Our vegan leather is a very innovative and highly durable material. You do not need any wax or sun protection to keep it beautiful for a long time. It is easy to clean - for common stains just use a soft cloth and water.

Note: Always try cleaning method in a hidden area first to determine result. We are not responsible for any damages incurred while cleaning. So keep your baby safe!

What is special about your dust bags?

Our signature dust bags keep your precious Melina Bucher bag safe and are also an eyecatcher!
Dust bags tend to just lie around once you unwrapped your bag. Since we value sustainability, we want to give them a second life by upcycling them in an eco-friendly manner. Hence, our dust bags have handles and are designed as additional shopping bags you can use for grocery shopping.

Trudy Dustbag Upcycling Indy Dustbag Upcycling Angel Dustbag Upcycling

About Melina Bucher

What values does Melina Bucher stand for?

Melina Bucher handbags set a statement - high-quality products, fully vegan and sustainable. Our mission is to combine finest craftsmanship with next-gen materials and high-end design with compassion. Transparency and traceability are integral parts of our business.

Animals: We believe that animals are not worth any less than other beings – they all have different personalities, share love, have families and desires. That’s why we think people have no right to harm them in any way. All of our products are 100% (PETA-approved) vegan and cruelty-free!

Sustainability: We embrace sustainability in every aspect of our company. For instance, our manufacturers exclusively use sustainable materials (PETA-approved). Transport routes are kept short by a 100% European supply chain. Longevity and multifunctionality play a central role in our exclusive collection. Melina Bucher bags are characterized by a timeless, sustainable design.
Every detail matters: For packaging we use paper-based tape with vegan glue and our dust bags are designed to be reused as shopping bags.

Transparency: Melina Bucher believes transparency is a crucial factor in order to change the fashion industry. Therefore, we put information out in the open. For instance, our European supply chain is 100% transparent. Check out our transparency map here.

Innovation: We use the most innovative and luxurious materials for our handbags. We were one of the first brands worldwide to launch handbags made with MIRUM® - the progressive vegan leather that is powered by nature. MIRUM® is a first-of-its-kind material that is 100% bio-based and contains zero plastics. We are also actively involved in material development with different startups and work in research projects with German universities concerning sustainable material technology.

Redefining luxury: Melina Bucher rethinks luxury by combining ethics with high-end design aesthetics. We want to promote a new way of luxury which is not only an alternative but constitutes the modern, innovative approach to fashion. Our products merge smart design and sustainability. We intentionally developed a counter model to fast fashion; Melina Bucher bags are engineered to last a lifetime.

Where is Melina Bucher located?

Our headquarters are located in Mannheim, Germany.
Our packaging and print products are all made in Germany, with the exception of our luxurious magnetic boxes, which are made in Belgium.
Our product manufacturing is concentrated around the Instanbul area.

For more information check out our interactive transparency map.

Who is behind the brand?

Melina Bucher
The woman behind the brand is Melina Bucher herself.
Melina is an animal-loving high-fashion enthusiast with a heart of gold. She is based in Mannheim, Germany, where she also achieved her master’s degree in Management. She is dedicated to merging empathy and luxury into a balanced whole. With her first collection she contributed to the sustainable fashion revolution and challenged the fast fashion industry. And there is more to come. For more information about Melina Bucher check out her personal message here.

Payment

What payment options do you offer?

At Melina Bucher you can use the following payment methods to pay for your order:

Will I be charged with international banking fees?

The final total you see during checkout is in Euro (€). Once your bank pulls the funds, it will take into account the current exchange rate. Depending on your bank, it may charge additional fees for foreign currency transactions.
Please contact your bank for further information.

Is Payment Security ensured?

Our Melina Bucher Website is hosted by Shopify. Shopify is a Software as a Service platform that ensures payment security. Shopify also uses the latest TLS Version (1.2) in order to provide communications security, so you can feel safe about your data.

Stores & Press

Where do I send press inquiries?

You can send your press inquiry to press@melinabucher.com
For more press information and links to released articles on Melina Bucher please visit our press page.

Can I find your bags in stores?

You can find Melina Bucher on Zalando. Our timeless pieces are also shown in selected partnership stores. For an overview of stores carrying our designer bags click here.

Pop Up Stores:
We regularly set up pop-up stores. Last, we had one set up in Mannheim, Germany. Here are some impressions:

Pop Up Store MannheimPop Up Store Q6Q7

I want to work with Melina Bucher. How can I contact you?

If you are interested in working with us, you can send us an email to info@melinabucher.com or use any of our other contact options.
We are excited to hear from you!