Upcycling bags that protect the oceans.
From bags that don’t give up.

Upcycling bags that protect the oceans

Global fish consumption has risen sharply in recent decades: According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , per capita consumption has roughly doubled since the 1960s – today we consume around 20 kg of fish per person per year. More than half of this now comes from aquaculture, i.e. from fish farms and no longer from wild catches.

Feed for these aquacultures is supplied in heavy plastic bags. Studies on plastic waste in the region show that precisely such packaging and laminate bags are among the largest sources of waste from fish farming – and that Southeast Asia is a global hotspot for mismanaged plastic waste ( Analysis of plastic pollution & mismanagement ).

At the same time, it is estimated that around 80 % of plastic waste in the ocean comes from land sources – mainly from open dumping and incineration of waste such as bags and packaging ( Jambeck et al. 2015 ).

This is exactly where Beadbags comes in: We transform this industrial material into upcycling bags, upcycling Backpacks and sustainable organization systems – made for your everyday life and for better oceans.

Second Life – our real upcycling model

In Southeast Asia, millions of tons of mismanaged plastic waste are produced every year – plastic waste that is not disposed of properly and often ends up in rivers and oceans. A large proportion is still openly incinerated. The consequences:

• Toxic gases harm people, animals and the environment.
• Microplastics enter rivers, lakes and oceans unhindered.
• Valuable resources are wasted instead of remaining in the cycle.

This is exactly where Beadbags comes in:

We collect the bags before they become an environmental crisis – and turn them 100% into premium upcycled bags and sustainable Backpacks. Production takes place in an inclusive, fair and value-based social enterprise in Phnom Penh, that works according to the standards of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) .

We also work locally and in Europe with initiatives such as the Lübeck chapter of Trash Hero : Our robust universal bags made from recycled feed bags have already been used to organize plastic cleanups – waste that would otherwise have remained in nature.

Our material heroes of change

What we upcycle:

• Fish food bags – made for tropical heat, rain, salt air and heavy loads. Perfect for making durable upcycled Backpacks and bags.
• Plastic construction bags – from the booming construction industry in Southeast Asia, transformed by us into robust upcycling bags and organizers.
• oceanbound plastic & recycled PET – plastic collected within a radius of up to 50 km from the coast before it ends up as litter in the sea; an approach developed by organizations such as the Plastic Bank and others.

This is what Beadbags is made of:

• Upcycled backpacks with a roll-top system for everyday life, work, commuting and travel – for example our Beadbags Ocean line made from oceanbound plastic .
• Upcycled bags for the city, office, university and adventure – from shoppers to messenger bags.
• Universal organization systems & transport bags such as SPACY, which sort luggage, laundry and equipment – from campervans to family laundry.
• Sustainable bags and sustainable Backpacks – unisex or specially designed for women, always with a focus on function, comfort & marine protection.
• Tampenjan Collection – Bags with recycled ocean straps , which were used as tension belts in German deep-sea ports and now have a second life as iconic shoulder straps.

More than fashion: your direct impact

Every Beadbags upcycling bag and every sustainable upcycling Backpacks means:

• no burning → 0 toxic gases from the saved bags.
• no discharge into water → less plastic in rivers, lakes and oceans.
• Maximum life extension of extremely robust industrial material.
• Premium quality thanks to hand production according to fair trade standards.
• Direct resource protection & marine conservation function in every product.

As an official endorser of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty and partner of the UN Ocean Decade , we are demonstrating our commitment: Our upcycled bags and upcycled Backpacks are more than products – they are part of a global solution to plastic pollution.

Material that won’t give up.
People who don’t give up.
And a brand that deserves the upcycling hero position because it has long since delivered.
beadbags transforms consumption into responsibility – and polluters into companions.