Former airbag, now shopper: Freitag's latest stroke of genius

Never change a winning team. Freitag and motor vehicles, for example. It has been 31 years since brothers Daniel and Markus Freitag sewed together their first bag from a lorry tarpaulin, bicycle inner tubes and car seat belts. A lot has happened since then: international success, a flagship store piled up from 19 freight containers in the centre of Zurich, the development of a completely recyclable material for the company's own clothing line, political commitment, a recyclable smartphone case made from ski boots.

No, Freitag really isn't resting on its laurels. The latest example is their recently launched "airbags". For once, these are not made from lorry tarpaulins, but - as the name suggests - from airbags. Mind you, airbags that have fortunately never been used. They are also complemented by handles made from soft and supple tensioning straps.

This is how it reads in the press release. If you browse through Freitag's range of bags, there's no doubt about it. However, anyone who wonders how the simple impact cushions stuffed into the steering wheel or dashboard can compete with their famous predecessors, the colourful truck tarpaulins, obviously doesn't know enough about airbags.

Pastel colours, colourful stitching, special prints - there really is hardly anything boring about airbags, let alone monotonous. The fact that they also come in different sizes only benefits the design process. The result is the small "F700 Arrow" shopper, which holds 10 litres at 29 × 12 × 37 centimetres, and the spacious "F708 Firebird" model. Thanks to its size of 40 × 20 × 42 centimetres, it can even carry an impressive 40 litres. Both bags can be carried by hand using the short tension strap handle or over the shoulder or back thanks to the additional strap.

The "Airbags" have been available in all Freitag shops and online at freitag.ch since 12 June.