Designing bags from repurposed materials  

At the heart of what we do is providing you with a sustainable statement. Have a closer look at how we design our bags. When using rescued materials that were made with another purpose in the first place, you meet some challenges. Tarpaulin for example is very thick and stiff which makes it harder to bend and sew than other fabrics. That poses a natural limit to design features like the amount of pockets and shapes. Essentially, we have to start our design process upside down. We don’t draw up a design and find the materials after. Instead, we ask, what second life could this material have? So our Designer and Founder Helen works with a very explorative approach to the bag design. Essentially, she builds a bridge between what the material allows us to do while matching your needs for a durable, eye-catching bag. We need to wrap our heads around how the material could be used in the best way, which makes the process very creative and innovative. What all of our designs have in common is a minimalistic build-up and practical design focused on fitting your needs with an intention behind every little detail.

When you don’t use material sold by the meter, also the process from material to the bag is a bit more complex and many hands are involved. After being handpicked, the materials are cleaned, hand-cut, sewed together, quality checked, packed, and shipped to your doorstep. We love what we do, and every item has been made with love from our recycled and upcycled materials.

Upcycled and recycled materials

Surplus material from tarpaulin production

One of GRÜNBAG's distinctive materials is the durable and colorful truck tarpaulin. When producing truck covers, there will always be clippings and residual materials that cannot be used for the trucks. We save them from being discarded and burnt and take them into the sewing room to give them a new life as bags in all possible sizes and colors. The strong, waterproof material ensures a resistant bag that will only look better after a few years of use.

Life rafts

In a creative collaboration between GRÜNBAG and VIKING Life-Saving Equipment, we combine recycling and industrial design. The result is a completely unique collection of bags that we call VIKING Lifebags. VIKING lifeboats are of crucial importance for safety at sea and are therefore made of high-quality materials and have a functional and durable design. The lifeboats are used on some of the largest and most advanced ships in the world. As soon as the lifeboats have fulfilled their duty, they come to us at GRÜNBAG, where we transform them into beautiful, sustainable LifeBAGs. Now they protect your valuables from rain and wind and let every wearer stand out from the crowd.

Used white sails

We are often contacted by sports and yachtsmen who would like to donate their used sails instead of discarding them. We create a beautiful collection of sailing bags out of them. The white sails are made of tightly woven canvas that is both strong and durable.The sails also have a distinctive zig-zag stitching that adds beautiful, unique details to each bag and makes all of them one-of-a-kind. The recycled, white sails are thus both beautiful and stylish with fine, unique details. All bags are lined with white tarpaulin, which is a surplus material from the production of party tents in Denmark.

 

Reflex from rescue rafts

Reflectors help you become visible in traffic when walking or biking in the dark. Some of our bags have a reflective tape added just to increase your safety. Also at sea, reflectors are a life-saving part of the safety equipment, and it is precisely from discarded life rafts that we get the reflective tapes you find on our bags. We receive large orange life rafts that are no longer be used at sea from Viking Lifesaving Equipment. On these rafts, long reflective tapes are sewn on, which we peel off and give new life on our bags.

Used advertising banner

Advertising banners are used to promote companies, products or various events. The banners hang in the cityscape for a limited period, after which they are thrown out. With the often colorful patterns and exciting motifs, these banners can turn into beautiful GRÜNBAG bags. We therefore collect used advertising banners from different companies and turn them into 100% unique bags, often with a funny expression or a funny dispute. Some advertising banners are so-called mesh banners with a hole pattern that allows the wind to pass through it when, for example, it is hanging on a fence for a festival. The perforated material is not very suitable for bags, so we recycle it as inside pockets in both backpacks, shoulder bags and toiletry bags.

Recycled zipper

Our sports bags are characterized by strong white zippers. We have removed these zippers from discarded life rafts from Viking Lifesaving Equipment. The zippers are washed and adjusted in size to our bags. For our pencil cases and toiletry bags, we use zippers, which our sewing studio in Poland has cut in connection with other large sewing projects. They store all the remnants of zippers that can be used for the production of our bags. In this way, our seamstresses in Poland make sure to utilize every inch of their zippers instead of discarding the leftovers.

Thermal suit from the rescue service

At Viking Lifesaving Equipment the rescue personnel uses large thermal suits to keep warm at sea in all kinds of weather. The staff at Viking makes sure to sort the thermal suits that can no longer be used and send all discarded thermal suits to us. Even though the suits can no longer be used in the rescue service, the material is soft and can protect your laptops. We wash all suits, cut them and use them as lining in computer sleeves and computer pockets in our backpacks.

Recycled seat belt

Seat belts from cars are made of durable and at the same time soft, comfortable materials. They are designed to keep you safe in traffic. Most often, the seat belts have a longer lifespan than the car and they are simply too good to throw out! GRÜNBAG therefore collects seat belts from old cars that have been sent for scrapping. We give them new life as shoulder straps or handles on our bags. The seat belts are washed, sewn and inspected to ensure top quality.

Upcycled Leather

For the GRÜNBAG leather bag collection we use upcycled leather from retired furniture.We source the pre-loved leather from our partner Godt gjort in Northern Denmark, who cuts and cleans the material when the furniture has come to the end of its life. The durable, strong vintage material ensures a bag with its own character and beautiful look. We mainly use black and brown shades, but also have occasional statement items in scarcer colors like blue, red or white. Check out all our pre-loved leather bags here

Pineapple Fiber

Piñatex® is an innovative natural textile made from waste pineapple leaf fiber. Ananas Anam, the makers of Piñatex®, is a Certified B Corporation® that produces the material from the leaves which are the byproduct of existing agriculture. We use this soft material to line our upcycled leather laptop sleeve for optimal protection and a soft feel.

Buckles made of recycled nylon

In 2015, GRÜNBAG received a grant from the Danish Business Authority to produce specially designed buckles in recycled hard plastic, also known as nylon. These buckles have since then replaced buckles made in new nylon. Thus, we have come one step closer to making bags in 100% sustainable and recycled materials.

Recycled plastic fabric

In our search for a sustainable soft material for lining and straps, we are pleased to have found a recycled material made from 100% recycled plastic. It is also called recycled PET (polyester). This material can replace materials made from brand new plastic. In this way, we save on the earth's resources and CO² emissions.

100% reused cotton

As the world gets better and better at sorting garbage waste, methods are also being developed to tear the garment fibers apart so that they can be recycled into new textiles. In this process, the fibers are shortened and the finished recycled textiles get a structure that is slightly coarser than newly produced textiles. Our strong cotton bags made of 100% recycled cotton are both durable and washable.

Transport blankets made of fabric scraps

Most people are familiar with the gray transport rugs, which are used in many places, but few people think that this rug is made from leftover clothes that have been torn up and transformed into practical rugs. We use this sustainable material as soft insides in our computer sleeves or inside our backpack straps so that they become super soft and comfortable.

Belt strap from recycled nylon

For handles and backpack straps on our bags, we use meters of straps. For a long time, it has only been possible to obtain belt straps that are made in a conventional way from new raw materials. But now we succeeded in getting belt straps made from 100% recycled polyester. They are black, have the same abrasion resistance and are much better for the environment.

Belt strap from recycled nylon

Our GRÜNBAG logo plays a prominent role on many of our models. It is a statement about sustainability and durable bags. In addition to the well-known velcro closure with logo on many of our bags, we have straps with our GRÜNBAG logo woven in. For a long time, it has only been possible to obtain these belt straps from new raw materials, but now we have succeeded in getting belt straps made from 100% recycled polyester. They are black, have the same abrasion resistance and are much better for the environment.