In my organizational behaviour class we took a look at TerraCycle, a company that specializes in producing goods out of recycled materials. TerraCycle was not the first time I had come into contact with this type of business though: Zurich’s equivalent is Freitag bags.
Started in Zurich by the Freitag brothers out of the need for really durable bags, the company is not renowned for building stylish bags, wallets, etc. out of truck tarps, seatbelts and bike wheels. The aim of the bags is to use recycled goods to make fun, strong bags that translate well into everyday life.
Over the years, Freitag bags have become a style staple in the Swiss streets and are now spreading their way across the world. In fact, one can even be seen exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
With the continuous rise of the green-trend, the future lies in companies like TerraCycle and Freitag that look towards sustainability by using materials that are no longer in use and otherwise just adding to the mass amounts of waste we create. Should corporations not have some social responsibility towards out planet??
If only more people believed that one truck’s junk could be another man’s treasure!
[please visit www.freitag.ch for more information]