Recyclable Mono-Material Backpack
Heimplanet Product | 2024
The Mono-Minimal backpack is based on the concepts of mono-material and design for disassembly in order to create a more sustainable approach for backpack design. The main structure of the backpack is made from a single type of material - polyester - to facilitate recycling. Any components that cannot be replaced with polyester must be easily detachable to allow for separation before the recycling process.
My role: I was responsible for conceiving and implementing the mono-material concept, design and development of the bag and the fabric and coordinating the development with our supplier.
Concept
Traditional backpacks are constructed from multiple materials that are sewn, glued or welded together. Often, the fabric is coated with PU or TPU to make the bag waterproof, which makes recycling processes complicated, energy-intensive or sometimes even impossible.
The main fabric, including the coating, is made entirely from polyester to avoid material mixtures. All other woven materials in the backpack are also made from polyester to minimize the need for extensive sorting during recycling. EVA foam for back stability and shoulder harnesses have been replaced by polyester 3D mesh.
The few metal components that cannot be made from polyester are designed to be removable or even reusable. However, even if they end up in the recycling process, they can be easily separated from the rest in common recycling systems.
Moodboard
Design
The Mono-Minimal follows a simple and clean design, inspired by the classic archetypes of Eastpak and JanSport and reimagined in a modern, Heimplanet-like way with clear lines and a thoughtfully designed shape. Its size and shape are gender-neutral. The backpack includes a few external pockets and a laptop compartment within the main compartment, offering a total capacity of 16 liters.
A small hanging pocket inside is perfect to keep essentials like money, headphones or hygiene articles safely stored within the bag, ensuring they remain accessible yet protected.
For storing small items securely, this discreet zipper is seamlessly integrated into the side of the bag, providing easy access while maintaining the bag's sleek and clean appearance.
The back panel and the shoulder straps are equipped with polyester 3D mesh. Thanks to its three-dimensional structure, the mesh offers exceptional comfort and serves as an ideal alternative to EVA foam for a bag of this size. The metal web adjuster can be easily removed by hand without the usage of any tools.
Fabric development
The main material is made from an in-house newly developed fabric consisting of up to 100% recycled dope-dyed polyester with a polyester based lamination. This design simplifies the recycling process.
I created the pattern to address minimum order quantity (MOQ) challenges that small brands often face. Our goal was to offer at least three color options for the bags, but recycled dope-dyed polyester requires a very high MOQ for the yarn beam. The solution was to design a pattern that combined different colours by using one base color (black) for the entire beam and adding other weft colours (burgundy and blue), enabling us to produce three color variations from a single beam.
