COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION
In recent years, there have been various product collaborations and material developments. Below, we’re pleased to show the results of these partnerships, some ongoing, others already completed.
In 2020, as part of the quest to ensure that our bags aren’t merely recycled but also recyclable, we began developing a circular truck tarp as an alternative to the existing one made of PVC.
To this end, we gathered relevant partners from our entire European supply chain together at a round table. This cross-competitive dialogue resulted in joint development initiatives involving various working groups.
In 2021, we continued to work with partners on various material combinations and produced the first tarp prototypes. In 2022, we pushed ahead with various approaches to material development and, in tandem with the chemical company Covestro, the tarp producers Heytex and Rivertex, and the tarp assemblers Bieri we sent the first tarp prototypes out on a road test.
To ensure that all manufacturing steps and chemical components can really be described as circular, they are evaluated by our innovation partner EPEA - Part of Drees & Sommer using the Cradle to Cradle® method.
Our circular F385 CIRC-CASE protective sleeves are produced from recycled ski boots and at the end of their service life can be recycled again and again. For this innovative product development, FREITAG cooperated with several Swiss partners:
All production steps take place in Switzerland within a radius of 150 km from Zurich. However, the necessary product know-how first had to be built up collectively. And the effort has proved to be worthwhile for us and our partner companies.
We have a lot in common with Brompton, the London-based folding bike pioneers: cycling, quality and functionality, plus the fact that both companies still manage to produce in two of the most expensive cities in the world.
This close relationship has led us to work together on new, viable solutions for urban mobility and to launch the result of our labors in 2021: F748 COLTRANE, the FREITAG backpack that rotates through 90° and attaches to any Brompton folding bike.
Secrid and FREITAG is the meeting of two originals, small in themselves but with enormous charisma. The tried-and-tested Secrid Alucard Protector is precision-designed and manufactured and features secure storage for up to six credit cards.
The card protectors used for our partnership passed their functional quality control with flying colors, but we decided that minor surface flaws meant they were aesthetically sub-standard. So the Cardprotectors were given an asphalt laser design and lovingly encased in a recycled truck tarp from FREITAG.
For years now, we have been extending the lives of our bags with our repair services. In 2022, our first two local repair events stressed the idea of collaboration and conveyed the importance of repairing in a context that went beyond our products.
In 2022 and 2023, the F-Store Shibuya in Tokyo organized their first collaborative repair events. Together with brands Patagonia and The North Face, which are also located here, the event offered free repairs for clothing and accessories independently of the brand.
In October 2022, the F-Store Milano put on a bike repair event with the local social lab, Paralello. At this event, interested bike owners were shown how to repair their bikes themselves.
We can only achieve a circular economy and progress towards sustainability by working with others as a team. For this reason, we’re a member of various political and economic initiatives and associations. In a process involving exchange with other companies, we are thus committed to cross-sector and socially relevant initiatives.
As a member of Swiss Cleantech, we’re committed to a climate-friendly economy. All its members have signed a nine-point charter as the basis for a vision to make Switzerland CO2-neutral by 2050 at the latest.
We are part of the Circular Globe advisory committee. The eponymous assessment process is a guideline and model for evaluating the circular maturity of organizations and serves as a compass for them to align with the circular economy.
As a co-founding member of the Made in Zürich Initiative, we aim to make Zurich more visible as a production location and to strengthen urban production companies.
We are a member of Circular Economy Switzerland. The network sees itself as a platform for coordination and exchange. It uses projects and events in pursuit of its goal to provide the impetus for a new, nationwide movement towards a circular economy in Switzerland.
We have a voluntary agreement with the Energy Agency of the Swiss Private Sector on targets to save energy. The Agency helps SMEs to implement energy efficiency and CO2 reduction measures.
We collaborate with the Swiss Textile association’s sustainability task force. The association comprises around 200 internationally active Swiss SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and aims to ensure that the textile industry remains internationally competitive.
As part of the steering committee of the Sustainable Leaders Initiative, we aim to ensure that Swiss managers have the resources they need for a balanced and ecological transition.
We are a member of the SBA 2030 Alliance (Swiss Boards for Agenda 2030). The Alliance pursues the goal of anchoring sustainability, and in particular the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, as a priority with the boards of directors of Swiss companies.
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