FAQ MATERIAL

In their first lives, our products were truck tarps consisting of polyester fabric and PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Our recycling approach is about extending the life of this incredibly robust, water-repellent material. And we do that by giving it nothing less than a new, second one.

After tarps have spent an average of six years on the road, their longevity sometimes allows them to serve as bags for a period several times as long as that. By comparison: about 40% of all plastic products end up in the trash after less than a month.

If your unique tarp ever gets worse for wear, we can repair it for you. And if at some time in the distant future, you fall out of love with it, you can swap it with someone from the FREITAG community on our S.W.A.P. (Shopping Without Any Payment) – bag exchange platform.

You can probably guess what we're getting at: Keeping material in circulation for as long as possible makes it sustainable. And that even applies to a petroleum-based material like PVC.

Even today, every FREITAG bag is cut from a discarded truck tarp. But you don’t find the old tarps needed for around 500,000 FREITAG products a year lying by the wayside. It requires a major logistical offensive by a team of several people who bring 340 tonnes of used tarp material to the factory each year from within a radius of 2500 km.

That's why our truckspotters are constantly on the phone or prowling around rest stops across Europe trying to get their hands on the best tarps in the most sought-after colors from trucks, truckers and freight forwarders.

FREITAG bags are made of used truck tarps, and these, like many other durable commodities, are made of PVC. To ensure the safety of our products, we first give the tarps an ID for traceability and test them for various substances.

Truck tarps with questionable constituents are thus discarded right from the start . Before transforming the tested tarps into bags, we wash and disinfect them. This way, we can be sure to eliminate bacteria or mold.

But one thing doesn’t change: PVC remains PVC. And because of the plasticizers it contains, polyvinyl chloride – its full name – can be harmful if you repeatedly put it in your mouth. Therefore, it’s not advisable to put cables, floor coverings, raincoats, tablecloths and other PVC items in your mouth, our bags included.

For these reasons, we don’t recommend giving FREITAG products to children under three. Simply because with toddlers, just about everything ends up in their mouths. So you don't have to worry. As long as you don't chew, eat or smoke your bag, we'll vouch for it being safe.

If your FREITAG bag looks "dirty", it’s due to the natural aging of the tarp, which over the years is exposed to acid rain, the heat of the sun beating through the ozone hole, the acrid exhaust gases swirling around in traffic jams and the fumes from deep-fat fryers spewed out at a thousand European rest stops.

But your FREITAG bag is cleaner than it looks: All truck tarps are washed thoroughly at our factory. We’ve developed a proprietary procedure that gently removes all the dirt from deep down ands reveals the tarps’ true beauty. We achieve this by using a lot of rainwater that we collect from our roof and store in an underground tank, and by using as few chemicals as possible: We use an environmentally friendly detergent with an EU Eco Label.

You can use a FREITAG bag for your everyday food shopping without a moment’s hesitation. But you shouldn’t confuse it with a beeswax wrap, either.

We go to great lengths to test our used raw material for unwanted substances and thoroughly wash and disinfect it before turning it into bags and accessories. Nevertheless, an old PVC truck tarp isn’t suitable for storing unpackaged food. And in that respect, you can rely entirely on your nose.

Trucks tarps are tough. Seeing as your FREITAG bag used to be one, “tough” is also the secret middle name of all FREITAG products. The materials and workmanship can hold up to years of serious daily use in the urban jungle. And if you’re nice to your FREITAG bag, it’ll be your perfect F-riend for life (or almost that long). Functional, reliable, undemanding, never boring and unique worldwide. That’s FREITAG.

P.S. If you ever take a bag made by our calfskin and crocodile-recycling competition for a walk in the rain, you’ll see exactly what we mean.

Yes, FREITAG bags can be identified by their very own smell from the big, wide world. Most bags lose their special scent quickly after a bit of use. To speed up the process, take your bag out on regular bike rides and walks in the fresh air.

Think about your brand-new, virginally white sofa, which won't stay quite so white for long. Well, the same goes for your FREITAG bag: The lighter the tarp from which your FREITAG bag is cut, the more traces it absorbs from the environment. From the wearer's clothes, for example, because a lot of fabrics lose their color.

That’s neither your fault nor the bag’s, but quite natural and a scientific fact. But a little love and care, together with regular cleaning, can work wonders.

Do: Cleaning your FREITAG bag doesn’t call for any special care products. Water with a little soap or mild detergent on a soft cloth is quite sufficient.

Don’t: Our recycled materials are thoroughly cleaned before processing. The truck tarps, for example, are cleaned with rainwater in huge washing machines. However, once the seams and zippers are in place, you shouldn’t put your bag in a washing machine again.

Many of the materials we use, such as truck tarps, fabrics made from recycled PET or, in future, polyamide 6, are waterproof by their very nature. However, the zippers and seams that hold the bags and accessories together are not specially treated or sealed. As a result, the material has tiny holes and gaps that can let in the odd drop or two of water in heavy rain. In principle, then, our products are water-repellent but not entirely waterproof.

From 2014 to 2023, we produced F-ABRIC, a clothing line made of textiles developed in-house and containing bast fibers (linen and true hemp) and modal. The material was produced in Europe with minimal use of resources, is hard-wearing and fully biodegradable.

However, since we would now like to devote ourselves increasingly to closing various technical cycles – the development of a circular truck tarp and a circular backpack, for example – we will no longer be producing or further developing F‑ABRIC.