Landfill to backpack: Kiwi brands repurpose truck curtains

Leading New Zealand makers of high quality goods, Offcut and Cactus Outdoor, have teamed up to release a very limited-edition backpack made from misprinted truck curtain which would’ve otherwise ended up in landfill.

Truck curtain is extremely heavy duty and waterproof, making it the perfect material for a backpack which can withstand whatever life throws at it.

“Truck curtains are designed to withstand high winds, pouring rain, harsh sun, and bitter cold — so this bag is as close to invincible as you get,” Offcut co-founder Adrien Taylor explains.

“At Offcut, we’ve been spending the past three years making caps and other products from fabric offcuts destined for the dump.

“We’re passionate about stopping resources ending up in landfill so thought we could apply our philosophy to these discarded truck curtains to create something epic.”

The truck curtains were initially made for KPH Transport but never made it on the trucks due to printing issues in manufacturing.

“We decided to buy the curtains and called on the experts, Cactus Outdoor, to apply their almost 30 years of know-how to construct what we reckon must be New Zealand’s strongest bag,” Taylor says.

“We’re so chuffed with the result. This is a bag which looks amazing and is over-engineered to be used everyday in every environment: from the city to backcountry mountains.”

The backpack, named the Hi-Rolla, has just been released online here. A very limited number are on presale for delivery in June.

“Offcut and Cactus Outdoor share the same passion for creating extremely high quality products with the smallest possible footprint,” Cactus Outdoor Chief Operating Officer, Gregg Hagen, says.

“Although working such a heavy duty material has given a few of our machinists some minor nightmares, we’re delighted with what we’ve created.”

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