FREITAG Releases the Entirely Circular Mono[PA6] Backpack

Ever innovating and looking to the future of our planet, FREITAG’s latest circular development is the Mono[PA6] Backpack. Known for their reuse of truck tarps, every part of this bag – from fabric to zippers to buckles – is made using only one material: polyamide 6. Known as a “mono-material,” the versatile plastic allows the bag to be easily recycled in one piece without the need for dismantling. When all available life-extending options, such as repair and reuse programs that FREITAG already has in place, have been exhausted and the Mono[PA6] has reached the end of its life, it returns via the brand’s take-back service to the open-loop material cycle and can be mechanically recycled into reusable raw polyamide 6.

However, making a backpack out of just one material is more complicated than it might sound. Circular Technologist Anna Blattert shares, “We weren’t interested in making simple carrier bags so much as functional, durable, and, above all, water-repellent FREITAG products made of just one material. We didn’t expect that a reduction in the number of materials would increase the complexity of the project – especially as regards sourcing – so drastically.” A total of 17 components made of PA6 had to be sourced, all with specific requirements regarding texture and properties, from a water-repellent primary material to zippers and solutions for carrying straps, labels, and thread.

Photo: Elias Boetticher

The search for a water-repellent fabric made from a single material yielded zero results, so FREITAG took the matter into their own hands. The brand joined forces with an innovative Taiwanese partner in the textile industry, working together to produce a triple-layered laminated material whose lining, waterproof membrane, and outer fabric are all made of PA6.

Photo: Elias Boetticher

FREITAG also took a collaborative approach to the Mono[PA6]’s design, working with Jeffrey Siu, a young British designer who references cycling culture and reinterprets it for urban logistics. “Polyamide 6 can assume very different forms; it can be robust or soft and used as a mesh or waterproof textile. Combining the diversity of a single material in a backpack while continuing to sustain the core of the FREITAG ethos with products suitable for cycling was incredibly exciting and challenging,” he shares.

Photo: Elias Boetticher

The Mono[PA6]’s musette – a small, detachable bag that pays tribute to a cycling accessory – is the centerpiece that allows one bike-compatible bag to be transformed into two. Wear it as a crossbody bag or use it as an additional outer pocket that can be attached to one of several points on the backpack.

Photo: Elias Boetticher

“What I like best about our Mono[PA6] Backpack is the musette… It can be worn or attached in many different ways and acts as the centerpiece of the design because it adds a high [level of] versatility and functionality,” says Tu Van Giang, Holistic Designer at FREITAG. “In addition, I don’t need to worry about unpacking and repacking my valuables, because depending on my plans, I can attach the musette to the backpack and then, maybe in the evening, quickly detach and just go with this one. Personally, my favorite way to wear the musette is to attach it to the front of the body for an unconventional look and also to have the important stuff right at hand.”

Photo: Elias Boetticher

By launching the innovative Mono[PA6] Backpack, the Zurich-based bag manufacturer is closing a material loop and getting closer to its vision of a truly circular economy. True, some minuscule components, such as the spots of adhesive for the lamination and the printing ink for the inner label, are not made of PA6. And glass fibers are added to the zipper slide for reinforcement. However, the amounts used of these materials are so low that they’ll be recycled along with the bags mechanically.

The first 1,500 units of the Mono[PA6] Backpack are made of virgin PA6, a non-recycled material. The aim is for the family to be made of recycled PA6 afterward. The goal is then for FREITAG Mono[PA6] products to have a long life and, whenever possible, find their way back to FREITAG and into the cycle again.

After returning to Zurich via the FREITAG take-back service, they will travel to the Institute for Materials Technology and Plastics Processing (IWK) nearby. There, the bags are shredded and processed into reusable PA6 granulate. The overarching principle is one of shared responsibility, where customers use their products for a long time, take good care of them, and have them repaired when necessary. And, of course, return them to FREITAG when the time comes.

Photo: Elias Boetticher

The FREITAG Mono[PA6] Backpack is available at the flagship store in Zurich, at the FREITAG stores in Tokyo Shibuya, Shanghai, and Seoul, in selected concept stores, and online at freitag.ch.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she's likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.

You can follow Kelly Beall on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. Read all of Kelly Beall's posts.