Brands that Give Waste Materials New Lease of Life
Every year, the world throws away 2.12 billion tons of waste of all kinds.
Because of climate change and global warming, we start to see people caring more for the environment. Many are trying to reduce, reuse and recycle items.
One of the trends these days would be upcycling. It is a process where “old” products get transformed into something totally new, to be of greater quality which usually also tends to be of higher value.
I kinda have an obsession with bags, especially if they serve my needs or they’re a unique piece thats one-of-a-kind.
In recent years, I have been looking out for brands that create lifestyle bags made out of waste materials.
Freitag
Not a stranger to the upcycling community, Freitag probably was one of the first brands to create bags made out of waste products.
Started in 1993, Markus and Daniel, the founders of Freitag were looking for a waterproof yet functional bag, but there wasn’t any in the market.
Inspiration struck them one day, to create bags that were made out of discarded truck tarpaulins, bike inner tubes, and old car seat belts. They got started to work right at their apartment.
Shortly after, their first version of courier messenger bags were born. This was the Top Cat F13.
Fast forward to today, they have more than 80 models of products, ranging from bags of all kinds to accessories. Each item is a unique piece, as the main feature of the product comes from a piece of unwanted waste material.
Price range: $220 onwards
Airpaq
What started off as a student project in 2015 by Germans, Adrian and Michael, eventually became a KickStarter project in 2017.
The duo initially visited scrapyards for their project and came across airbags and seat belts, which they upcycled and created backpacks from it.
They had 509 backers supporting their initiative on Kickstarter, and they managed to raise a total of Euro 69,802 for this project.
Their reasons for upcycling airbags and seat belts were simple – these materials were build to last in tough situations. They make it the best materials to create something durable and of great quality.
3 years on, from a humble backpack, Airpaq has created a variety of bags that caters to every lifestyle.
Price range: $70 onwards
KitePride
This new kid on the block, not only reuses waste materials for their products, they also solve human trafficking issues by offering people jobs.
KitePride is a social enterprise location in Tel Aviv, Israel. They create bags from waste products from kitesurfing kites, sails, parachutes and wetsuits.
The founders saw the need to put a stop to human trafficking and forced prostitution in Israel. But for many, securing a job was not an easy feat, as they lack employability skills.
KitePride was then started and it provides a safe rehabilitation employment by creating these colourful upcycled bags. Every bag is unique, and they are handmade in a safe working environment by survivors of prostitution and human trafficking.
The materials used to make the bags are being saved from them going into the landfill.
Besides just creating the products and offering jobs, KitePride also welcomes volunteers and donations of unwanted kites and gears.
KitePride is associated with GlowbalAct, a NGO based in Switzerland that stands for social justice.
Price Range: $50 onwards
There you go. These are brands that care for the environment which you ought to check out today.
Let me know if you do come across other brands, that upcycle and create bags out of waste material.