CASE STUDY 3: Freitag

Freitag is an innovative company based in Switzerland that is producing everyday items from unique materials. The flagship product of Freitag is an everyday backpack made from truck tarps, but they are also making among other things phone & laptop accessories as well as everyday apparel. It’s an example of many layers of sustainability and circular economy, with both reuse and redistribution, creating products with a low negative impact on the environment.

With the best of the environment in mind, Freitag uses truck tarps, recycled PET, b-stock airbags or natural fibre fabric engineered by Freitag. All materials are used with cycles in mind. Tuck tarps are made from durable and long-lasting material, making the product last for many years to come. In turn, their clothes are made fully from natural fibres, including threads and selvedge, making them 100% compostable. Additionally, the fabric is made locally in Europe, and with as few chemicals as possible making it more sustainable. With production based in Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania and Switzerland.

In addition, they have a couple of systems in place to ensure the long-lasting of the product:

• Bag repair: you can send your damaged bag to Care Points, where it will be repaired or you can repair the bag yourself at home by ordering a repair kit with spare parts that are needed.
• W.A.P: Shopping without payment. When you have fallen out of love with a Freitag bag you can swap your existing one for a new one. After registering your bag online, you can view other swappable bags.
• In the case of PET-based products there is a take-back system in place where you can give back worn-out phone cases, and then they are taken apart and shredded. The batch of PET granulate is then used to make new products.

Compared to other less sustainable options, Freitag products are more expensive highlining the complexity of environmentally friendly products on the market.