Why we chose it: Resourceful, progressive, eye-catching

Dirtbags is quite possibly one of our favourite brands from our Green Gear Guide this year. Founded by a small group of passionate Lake District climbers in 2017, their business model is centred around turning stuff that’s destined for landfill into brand new products. Whether that’s a Berghaus jacket that’s been used and abused to the point of no return or fabric cuttings from the factory floor, this bunch will transform whatever they can get their hands on into bum bags, chalk bags, saddle bags, holdalls and more.

“No two products are the same.”

What we particularly like about all of Dirtbag’s products is that each one has a little reminder of its past life. The bumbag you can see pictured here, for instance, contains a Berghaus logo from an old jacket, a Gore-tex tab and Black Diamond branded buckles.

​​Each item they bring in for upcycling is washed, carefully unpicked and cut back into pieces. Toggles, zips, elastic and velcro are put to the side for later and even the scraps are put aside to restitch into things like zip pouches – so just about every single bit of fabric gets used. Of course this means that every single product is unique as well, with no two products the same and some zaney colour combos too.

Don’t expect these to be waterproof as none of the seams are sealed, but they have a good degree of water resistance.

Definitely a brand to watch.