Backpack Materials Update: rPET + A New Colorway

We’re finalizing the design of the new travel backpack – in fact, we’re meeting up with Chase this weekend for one last review of the pre-production samples. Now that the major elements are finalized, we’re incredibly stoked to be able to share some of the finer details we’ve settled on with all of you. First up is a new material selection that we’re very excited about.

Material Made from Single-Use Plastics

The exterior of The Backpack will be constructed using a material called rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) which is created from fibers that were once single-use plastics. These single-use plastics, mostly discarded bottles, are washed, chopped up and remelted to create fibers. Those fibers are then woven into a fabric to our exact specifications for texture, weight, color, durability, and waterproofing.

As a company that is continuously optimizing our supply chain to decrease the environmental impact of our products, we’re thrilled to be using a recycled material for our new travel backpacks.

We got to geek out over the entire fabric production process from thread, to weaving, to dying and coating when we visited our supplier last month. We learned a lot on that visit and got to see our own fabric coming off the line– all ready to be made into badass new backpacks for y'all!

The Pakt fabric suppliers

rPET fibers

rPET threads at the fabric manufacturer

Waterproofing and testing the freshly dyed Pakt Backpack material

Colorways

As you can see above, The Backpack will be available in a classic Pakt black, but we’ve also decided on a new and often requested colorway – forest-y, oliveish, army adjacent (official name to come) green! Here are both fabrics (black on the inside, closest to the spool) getting rolled up post-waterproofing, ready to ship off to get cut and sewn into bags.

Pakt's black and green rPET material being rolled up

A dismembered green backpack with notes on it

Making notes on a partially deconstructed green Backpack.