THE FREITAG MONO[PA6] BACKPACK: ONE MATERIAL, MANY CYCLES

Thinking and acting in cycles is integral to FREITAG’s DNA. Our vision is clear: we aim to design bags and accessories that are not simply made from used materials but are also circular. We’ve already achieved this by developing the compostable F-ABRIC clothing line and the circular CIRC-CASE smartphone sleeve. After three years of development, FREITAG is launching its latest innovation: the circular Mono[PA6] Backpack. It’s a functional, durable, water-repellent everyday companion made from a single material and fully recyclable.

To ensure that the Mono[PA6] Backpack can be recycled as a whole, it is made from a single material: polyamide 6, PA6 for short, better known as nylon. This mono-materiality is complex: in all, we needed 17 components made of PA6, from sturdy zippers and a water-repellent primary material to carrying straps, cords and buckles.

The Mono[PA6] Backpack has the high-quality features you expect from FREITAG: it’s robust, durable, and water-repellent. The search for an existing water-repellent fabric made from a single material was unsuccessful because such textiles have traditionally required an additional coating or membrane made from other materials. But because mono-materiality was our primary requirement, this was out of the question. Together with a partner, we therefore developed a new type of water-repellent fabric that is also a mono-material.

The Mono[PA6] Backpack is a lightweight, versatile, everyday companion that meets the myriad different needs of everyday urban life. The musette – a small, detachable bag – forms the multifunctional two-in-one centerpiece: it can be worn as a practical crossbody bag or serves as an additional outer pocket when attached to the backpack.

Only when we actually feed a product back into the cycle can it be said to be truly circular. The circularity principle only really works if you use your Mono[PA6] Backpack for a long time, give it lots of tender loving care, and finally return it to FREITAG. This way, it has as long and fulfilling an existence as possible and can be reused to make new stuff.

The idea behind our circular backpack is simple: it consists of a single material and can, therefore, be recycled as a whole. So, after a long life, it doesn’t end up in the garbage but returns to the material cycle. However, the circularity principle can only work if you do your bit: And that means using your Mono[PA6] Backpack as long as possible, looking after it and having it repaired, and then, when its time has come, bringing it back to FREITAG. From Zurich, the discarded backpacks are then sent to a recycling partner, where they are shredded as a whole and mechanically processed into PA6 granulate. The material can then be used to make new items, such as backpack components.