Dezeen Showroom: Zurich-based bag manufacturer Freitag has designed the F707 Stratos, a foldable lightweight rucksack made from discarded airbags and truck tarpaulins.

The F707 Stratos rucksack, which has been shortlisted in the wearable design category of the 2022 Dezeen Awards, can be folded to be easily portable and can also be used as a shoulder bag thanks to an additional strap.

The airbag fabric was initially intended to be used in a truck, but failed a safety test and was rejected as a B-material.

The brand decided to give this textile a second opportunity while taking advantage of the airbag's initial function, to be foldable, and keeping its original tones: white, pale blue and light pink.

"Just like an airbag in a car, the airbag B-material that we used should be able to unfold as a backpack," the brand said.

The bag can be folded into a pocket made from tarpaulin normally used for trucks. Freitag has used tarpaulin and other reused material for previous accessories, but the F707 Stratos is the first bag in which it used the airbag textile as the primary material.

"We are usually quite familiar with recyclable materials from the street – discarded truck tarpaulins, car seat belts, and bicycle inner tubes are among our most important material components," said the brand.

"However, dealing with the airbag textile was not easy at the beginning, as we had hardly any experience with this material."

Other products shortlisted in the wearable design category of the Dezeen Awards 2022 include a collection of watches made from recycled coffee by Lilienthal Lifestyle GmbH and Elvie Stride, a breast pump that aims to make breastfeeding a simple solution for women.

Product: F707 STRATOS
Brand: FREITAG lab. ag
Contact: [email protected]

The photography is by Simon Habegger.

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