15 Brands Like Freitag for Sustainable Bag Lovers
You find the tarp bag you want, sleep on it, come back the next morning and someone else has it. That's how a one-off works. Freitag has been cutting bags from used truck tarps since 1993, runs around 60 models, and pulls every piece from a different tarp, so the exact colour break you liked existed once.
These 15 brands like Freitag are where to go when the bag sold, or when the Swiss price is more than you want to put into a shoulder strap. We checked every price on the brand's own store this week and flagged the currency each time, because six of these picks sell in euros, pounds or Canadian dollars. Four brands from the last version of this list came out, and we say why at the bottom.
Quick comparison: the full list, what it costs and who it suits.
| Brand | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Matt & Nat | $95 to $215 CAD | Vegan bags with a recycled lining |
| Rains | €69.90 to €199 | Rain that doesn't reach your laptop |
| Baggu | $14 to $32 USD on reusable bags | The cheapest way onto this list |
| Rareform | $85 to $125 USD on backpacks | The closest match to the tarp idea |
| Pinqponq | €34.90 to €289.90 | Recycled PET with a Fair Wear audit |
| ECOALF | Mid-range | Recycled materials across bags and clothes |
| Ucon Acrobatics | €84.99 to €149.99 on backpacks | Berlin roll-tops from a B Corp |
| Timbuk2 | $99 to $345 USD | A messenger bag you spec yourself |
| Patagonia | $169 USD on the 55L duffel | Recycled fabric plus a repair network |
| Everlane | Mid-range | A plain work tote |
| Mafia Bags | $46 to $238 USD | Bags cut from retired sails |
| Corkor | £37 to £95 | Cork in place of leather |
| Fjällräven | Mid-range | A backpack that outlives the trend |
| State Bags | $32 to $238 USD | Buying a bag that funds something |
| Tote & Carry | $50 to $350 USD | Loud luggage in a matching set |
Matt & Nat
Matt & Nat is the Canadian vegan label to look at if you want the recycled-material story without the industrial look. Regular prices run $95 CAD for the ERIKA Crossbody up to $215 CAD for the DEAN Backpack, with the ARIES Backpack at $155 CAD and the RIYA Clutch at $110 CAD. Stock rotates through sale hard, and half the homepage was marked down when we checked.
The material claim sits on the lining rather than the outer. The brand's materials page states that "all of our linings are made of 100% recycled plastic bottles" and puts the count at about 21 bottles per bag. The outer is polyurethane, and one range uses PVB made from recycled windshield glass resin.
Best for a reader who liked the recycled premise of a tarp bag and wants a crossbody that reads as plain black leather from three feet away. The range covers backpacks, totes, weekenders and briefcases.
Rains
Rains is the Danish label that solves the one thing a tarp bag already solves, which is water, and it does so with a coated fabric rather than a salvaged one. The Box Bag Micro is €69.90, the MSN Bag Mini runs €69.90 to €79.90 with 13.5 litres of space, the Trail Mountaineer Bag is €139 at 26 litres, and the Texel Cabin Bag tops the range at €199.
Every bag uses the same coated material, so the finish is matte and the colour is flat across the whole catalogue. The Texel Duffel Bag Small is €139 and holds 43 litres, which makes it the closest thing here to a weekend bag you could take on a wet platform without a second thought.
Prices are in euros from a Danish company, so check shipping if you're ordering from the US. Best for a commuter who wants one bag for the whole winter.
Baggu
Baggu costs less than any other brand on this page, and the reusable range is where to start. The Standard Baggu is $16, the Baby Baggu is $14, the Big Baggu is $20 and the Pleated Baggu is $32. Prints change constantly, which is most of the appeal.
One thing worth checking before you click: the Standard Baggu Set of 3 is $48, the same as buying three singles at $16. The set saves you nothing beyond the colour pairing someone else chose, so build your own three if you'd prefer the prints.
There's no salvaged-material story here of the kind Freitag tells, and the bags are light shopping bags rather than structured carry. What Baggu does is replace the plastic bag at a price where owning four isn't a decision. Best for a reader who wants colour in the bottom of a tote for under $20.
Rareform
Rareform is the closest match on this page to what drew you to a tarp bag, because it takes the same idea and points it at billboards. The site puts the material plainly: "Billboards aren't paper or painted... they're made of a fabric like vinyl." Every bag gets cut from a different sheet, so the graphic on yours came off one specific roadside advert.
The Everyday Backpack is $125 and the Mini Everyday Backpack is $85, both with side slip pockets and a trolley sleeve. The backpack collection alone lists 822 products, because each colourway is its own listing. Smaller pieces start around the Charlie Pouch at $35.
You can filter by colour and by pattern type, which matters more here than on any other brand in this list. Best for the reader who wants the one-off graphic and would like to pay under $130 for it.
Pinqponq
Pinqponq is the German pick with the most audited supply chain on this list. The brand describes fabrics "made 100% from recycled PET bottles" and carries both bluesign and Fair Wear Foundation certification, the second of which covers factory labour conditions rather than materials.
Backpacks run €129.90 to €289.90, bags run €34.90 to €149.90 and accessories start at €14.90. The range splits into daily, travel, office and children's packs, with crossbody and hip bags underneath, so the catalogue is deeper than it first looks. There's a small clothing line alongside it.
Read the two certifications separately, because they answer different questions. Bluesign covers what goes into the fabric and Fair Wear covers who made the bag. Best for someone who wants both answers in writing before they spend €130 on a commuter pack.
ECOALF
ECOALF is the Spanish brand that took the recycled-material argument across a whole wardrobe, and the bags are one shelf of it. The accessories menu covers handbags, backpacks and travel suitcases, sitting next to sneakers, denim, dresses and outerwear.
We're leaving specific bag figures out, because the store was running a summer sale of up to 40% off when we checked and the crossed-out prices were doing the talking. The apparel gives you the band: a t-shirt listed at £45 down to £27, a sweatshirt at £89.90 down to £53.94. Bags sit in the mid-range for this list.
The trade-off against a tarp bag is directness. Freitag hands you one salvaged sheet with a visible history, and ECOALF engineers recycled input into a finished textile that looks new. Best for a reader who wants the bag and the coat to come from the same place.
Ucon Acrobatics
Ucon Acrobatics makes the quiet version of a city backpack, cut in Berlin from recycled textiles. The Tristan Packable Backpack is €89.99, the Alison runs €84.99 to €99.99, the Hajo Roll-Top starts at €109.99, the Kumo Flap-Top is €139.99 and the Stellan tops out at €149.99.
The construction detail is the interesting part. The brand designs mono-material where it can and replaces foam padding with recycled textile felt, which makes a bag easier to recycle at the end. Coatings are PFAS-free. Ucon Acrobatics is B Corp certified, says it has run independently for 25 years, and puts its recycled total at 75,250kg of textiles.
Shipping is free over €119 with 90-day returns, both useful when you're buying from outside Germany. Best for the reader who likes the roll-top shape but finds a printed tarp too loud for the office.
Timbuk2
Timbuk2 has been making messenger bags for San Francisco bike couriers for decades, which puts it closest to Freitag on purpose rather than on material. The Classic Messenger Bag starts at $119, the Tuck Laptop Backpack from $99, the Parkside Laptop Backpack 2.0 at $109, the Authority Laptop Backpack Deluxe at $179 and the Never Check Expandable Backpack at $249. Luggage runs up to $345 for the FreeStyle Carry-On Plus.
The custom programme is the reason to shop here over a stockist. You pick the panel colours yourself, which gets you the one-off feeling of a tarp bag through choice rather than through salvage. A Custom Classic Messenger starts at $139, about $20 over the stock version.
The old version of this article credited Timbuk2 with a lifetime warranty. We couldn't find that on the site this week, so we've dropped it. Best for a cyclist who wants a flap bag that fits a 16-inch laptop.
Patagonia
Patagonia publishes the most precise material breakdown on this page, and the Black Hole Duffel 55L is the one to look at. It's $169, and the spec reads "100% postconsumer recycled polyester ripstop with a matte, postindustrial recycled TPU-film laminate." The lining is recycled polyester with a PU coating, the webbing is recycled nylon, and the bag comes out of a Fair Trade Certified facility.
That laminate is what makes a Black Hole feel like a tarp in the hand, stiff and slick rather than soft. Removable padded shoulder straps turn the 55-litre duffel into a pack for an airport run.
The aesthetic goes outdoors rather than urban, so a Black Hole in a meeting room looks like you came from a trailhead. What you get instead is a repair network that will take the bag back and fix it. Best for the reader who wants a recycled claim with a percentage attached to it.
Everlane
Everlane is the plainest option here, and the bag range splits into totes, backpacks and weekenders. It's the pick when you want a work bag that draws no questions in the office.
Everlane's shop blocked our automated price checks this week, so we're not publishing figures we couldn't read on the page. The bags sit in the mid-range band for this list, under what a leather handbag costs and above Baggu. Our full write-up on the brand lives in brands like Everlane if you want the wider range.
There's no salvaged material and no one-off graphic, which is the whole point of buying here rather than from Rareform. A factory list and a plain black tote answer a different question than a truck tarp does. Best for a reader who wants the bag to disappear.
Mafia Bags
Mafia Bags runs the same mechanic as Freitag with a different salvaged material, cutting bags from retired sails. The brand's own account starts in Buenos Aires in 2012: "We made our first bags using an upcycled sail," after the founders went looking for something to carry wetsuits in. Sailors donate the sails, and the bags are cut and sewn in California.
The Corse Tote 2.0 starts at $75, the W PACK is $175, the Deep Blue Bag is $234 and the TUBO is $238. Smaller pieces run cheap, with the MINI MAFIA at $46 and the ALL IN at $54. A San Francisco base opened in 2014 and a Tokyo distribution point followed in 2016.
Sailcloth behaves differently from tarp. It's lighter, it crinkles, and the panel markings come from weather rather than from print. Best for a surfer or sailor who wants the salvage story to come from the water.
Corkor
Corkor swaps the recycled argument for a renewable one, working in cork harvested from Portuguese oak. The site describes it as "a natural, renewable, and biodegradable material," handcrafted and "responsibly made in Portugal," and cork bark grows back after stripping, so no tree comes down for a wallet.
Prices in pounds run £37 for the Slim Bifold Wallet, £50 for the Cork Wallet With Coin Pocket, £53 for the 14-inch Laptop Sleeve, £60 for the 16-inch and £95 for the Laptop Briefcase. Journal covers and portfolios sit in the same band at £29 to £50.
Cork feels nothing like tarp. It's soft, matte and warm, closer to suede than to vinyl, and it wears in rather than scuffing. The catalogue leans small goods rather than large carry, so the briefcase is the biggest piece. Best for someone who wants a vegan work bag with a texture people ask about.
Fjällräven
Fjällräven is the Swedish outdoor brand whose Kånken backpack turned into a city bag by accident, and it earns its place here on longevity rather than on salvaged material. Bags sit in the mid-range for this list.
Fjällräven's store blocks automated checks, so we're not quoting prices we couldn't read on the page. Buy from the brand's own site or a stockist you know, because the Kånken is copied more widely than any other bag in this article and the fakes turn up cheap.
The pitch against a tarp bag is that a Kånken looks the same after five winters as it did in the shop, where a Freitag ages visibly and is meant to. One is heritage-outdoors and the other is industrial, and both are built to be the only bag you own. Best for a student who wants a squared-off pack that survives a bike rack. Our backpack brands like North Face list covers this end in more depth.
State Bags
State Bags attaches a donation to every purchase, which is a different model from every other brand here. Its own wording: "For every bag sold, we donate a percentage of the proceeds to American families in need... in the ways they need it most."
The Beverly Tote runs $158 to $188, the Wellington Weekender is $198, and the Logan Carry-On Suitcase sits at $228 to $238. Kids' packs come in far lower, with the Kane Mini Bundle at $32.30 down from $38. Many pieces use recycled nylon and polyester, and you can add embroidered initials or velcro charms at checkout.
The look is softer and more playful than anything cut from a truck tarp, and the range runs to diaper bags and duffles as well as backpacks. Best for a parent buying two bags at once who wants the money to do a second job.
Tote & Carry
Tote & Carry is the loudest brand on this page and the only one selling matching luggage sets. Statement Weekender Duffles start at $50 in the sale, down from $120, travel sets run $120 to $310, and the NY Onyx Travel Set is $350. The site was running up to 40% off site-wide when we checked, so the crossed-out figure is the one to read carefully.
Set your expectations on materials before you buy. Tote & Carry's site talks about finishes like smooth and velvet rather than about recycled content, and we found no sustainability claim to check, so treat this as a design pick instead of an eco one.
What it gives you that Freitag can't is a suitcase, a duffle and a tote in the same colour. Best for a reader who wants an airport set that photographs well and costs under $350 in total.
What Came Out, and Which One to Buy First
Four brands from the last version of this article came out. PAX has gone, and livepax.com now redirects to a GoDaddy sale page. Pitillera turned out to have no site of its own at all, and the old link pointed at an Etsy search page rather than a brand. Nixon's Bags & Accessories collection carries belts, wallets and t-shirts across 29 products with no backpack or travel bag in it. Vagabond does sell bags, at $200 to $470 in plain leather and suede, but a Swedish shoemaker's handbag line has no recycled or salvaged content and belongs on a different list.
If you're buying one bag, buy on the material story you want. Rareform and Mafia Bags do what Freitag does, cutting one-offs from billboard vinyl and retired sails. Patagonia and Pinqponq put recycled input into a new fabric and publish the percentage. Baggu and Corkor sidestep the argument, one by costing $16 and the other by growing back.
For more in this direction, bag brands like Telfar covers the design-led end, our brands like 4ocean list handles accessories with a cleanup promise attached, and the sustainable brand collection gathers every label we've checked across categories.
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Written by
Spencer Lanoue
