In 1924, totes was founded in Oakley, Ohio. The plant was moved to Loveland, Ohio in 1942 where the very first totes rubber rain boots were manufactured. These rubber rain boots, called "totes" to emphasize how portable and easy-to-carry they were, eventually became the company's most popular product. In 1961, Brad Phillips, a Chicago businessman, bought the company and changed the name to totes, Incorporated. In 1970, totes introduced the first easy to fold collapsible umbrella in the United States and it quickly became a hit.