PARIS — For two decades, Freitag’s installation of 19 decommissioned freight containers stacked into a rust-streaked tower in Zurich’s former industrial district has stood as a retail landmark.

The store celebrated its 20th anniversary in September, and the Swiss bag-maker is using the milestone to mark its next step with the launch of its Reference line, a range of four bags created to push its upcycling upscale with a more refined, minimalist design.

The brand, founded in 1993 by brothers Markus and Daniel Freitag, is one of the OG sustainable labels. They started by making discarded truck tarpaulins into one-of-a-kind bags before “sustainability” was even on anyone’s radar.

The Reference line, which launches Thursday, now expands on that circular materials philosophy, moving it forward as sustainability may be more well-known as a buzzword, but is currently challenged in the consumer marketplace.

“We prove that upcycling and elegance are not a contradiction,” said Freitag chief executive officer Janine Weiz-Bühler. “Used truck tarpaulins are every bit the equal of classic luxury materials when worked with the dedication and refined craftsmanship Freitag built over the past three decades.”

The company’s Zurich flagship remains the brand’s retail expression. Originally intended to be a temporary installation, the store opened in 2006 and eventually received permanent approval in 2014.

A Repair Kiosk opened beside it in 2025, turning the site from a conventional shopping destination into a hub for repair and circular services.

“To this day it remains not only a bold architectural statement, but a tangible embodiment of our purpose: ‘we think and act in cycles,’” said Markus Freitag.

Freitag now operates 30 stores worldwide, primarily in Europe and Asia, alongside a network of around 200 retail partners and its online store.

That retail strategy has since expanded well beyond selling bags. Stores also serve as hubs for repair, rental, resale and swapping events.

But the economics of a circular model are not straightforward. Upcycling its core raw material costs roughly three times more than buying new material, said Markus, because the tarps must be sourced from across Europe, quality-tested, disassembled by hand and washed before production.

But the company sees that labor-intensive process as a commercial differentiator because it creates bags with individual character rather than standardized production.

“We call the approach ‘profit for purpose’,” Markus said. “Economic health is the foundation to amplify our positive impact, and financial success is not the ultimate goal, but the engine that gives us the independence to go for bold innovations.”

The company is consequently pursuing value growth without relying solely on higher volumes.

“Pure volume-driven growth definitely clashes with planetary limits,” Markus said. For the brand, he added, growth means “elevating our omnichannel distribution and expanding our global community to gain visibility for a good purpose, rather than just pushing more product.”

“At the same time, we have to be honest — operating in an ecologically responsible way does put pressure on margins,” he added. “However, that individual character [of each bag] creates a very strong personal connection with our customers, transforming the major operational effort into our greatest brand strength.”

The Reference line is the next step in expanding that value growth and brand loyalty. Each uses hand-selected, monochrome truck tarp and is manufactured in small series through European production partners.

The range is intended to reach new customers who may not immediately vibe with Freitag’s traditionally colorful and utilitarian aesthetic.

“From a commercial standpoint, the relaunch of Reference represents a strategic expansion of our lineup into an even more premium, more minimalist segment,” Weiz-Bühler said. “The elevated, understated design language allows us to attract entirely new target audiences who value quiet quality and versatility in their daily lives.”

Still, the company is careful not to frame Reference as a rebrand.

“This isn’t a shift in our market positioning or a rebrand — rather, it expands our versatility,” Weiz-Bühler said. “We want to demonstrate that sustainable design solutions belong in every segment.”

The three-R slogan of sustainability — reduce, reuse and recycle — is embedded in the product itself. Each Reference bag comes with a detachable repair kit made from the same tarp as the bag, including original lining and sewing thread, so the owner can repair it years later if needed.

“While we aim for cost-neutrality with these services, the overall ecosystem value — keeping products in circulation and building trust — makes them a solid long-term investment,” Markus added. “Ultimately, it helps us build even deeper customer relationships and brand loyalty that money can’t buy in standard retail.”

The company’s overall goal is to move from upcycling into genuine material circularity. To that end, it’s developing a “circular tarp” with industry partners that could eventually be recycled at the end of its life. The first prototypes are already being road-tested.

It’s also experimenting with mono-material products. Its aptly named “Mono” backpack is made entirely from a single recyclable material and can be shredded and processed back into polyamide-nylon granules at the end of its life.

But the company acknowledges that circularity is structurally difficult for fashion. Rental and repair are labor- and cost-intensive, while recycling requires specialized infrastructure that does not yet exist at scale, plus closing the consumer awareness gap.

“Some brands still treat sustainability as an afterthought or a pure marketing tool. When a brand just wraps a sustainability story around its existing business model, it inevitably hits a wall because the underlying engine remains optimized for volume, rapid obsolescence and margin maximization,” Weiz-Bühler said.

“True sustainability cannot simply be bolted on, rather it must be the starting point for every product design and operational decision. Of course, all of this is easier said than done…[but] we hope Freitag can serve as an inspiration for a more future-proof way of producing and consuming,” she added.

The brand hopes to build on the current, well, climate. After Europe’s hottest summer on record, extreme heat has become a major talking point.

“This makes our model even more relevant: as the climate challenges are getting more pressing and greenwashing faces well-deserved scrutiny, people are seeking out sustainability pioneers with authentic substance and experience,” Weiz-Bühler said.