Case Study
Upcycling used advertising banners and tarpaulins into bags, pouches, and accessories.
COMEBAGS
Recycling of PVC banners and truck tarps into bags and upcycled products,
Project since 2012, Mannheim/Bruchsal, Homepage: www.comebags.de
A collaboration between:
Turning advertising banners into bags with a story.
COMEBAGS processes used advertising banners, mesh fabric, roll-up banners, flags, jerseys, and truck tarpaulins into bags, pouches, and accessories. The existing colors, prints, and signs of wear define the design, making each piece unique.
Since 2012, we have partnered with Lebenshilfe Bruchsal-Bretten e.V. for this purpose. In their workshops, products are handcrafted by people with disabilities. Since 2023, individuals in the penal labor system at VAW Bruchsal have also been manufacturing bags and pencil cases.
This allows materials to be repurposed for new products after their initial use as advertising media. A section of your previous advertising becomes an individual product linked to your brand.
One-of-a-kind pieces
through
recycling
Inclusive facilities
sew unique upcycled products
from used PVC banners,
mesh, and construction fence tarps
Repurpose
& produce together
Discarded advertising banners are cut and sewn into bags, pouches, and accessories. The existing material is preserved as part of a new product. Production takes place in collaboration with workshops for people with disabilities and VAW Bruchsal.
From 2015 to 2025, COMEBAGS received the LEA – the State Prize for Social Responsibility in Baden-Württemberg and was named an "Exemplary Company 2017" and "Exemplary Company 2020." COMEBAGS also received the City of Mannheim's Environmental Award in 2017.
The 4th star is ours!
The banner of the national soccer team, held up during the World Cup victory celebration at the Brandenburg Gate, was turned into recycled bags.
This video shows the workflow from the use of the banner to its processing at Lebenshilfe Bruchsal.
Google-optimized
homepage
The homepage is the most important communication tool for the project.
It presents the products and answers general questions.
Thanks to extensive SEO, the site has a very high ranking on Google.
www.comebags.de
Every bag is a one-of-a-kind piece
The resulting recycled products are high-quality. Each cut reveals a different section of the original motif, resulting in bags with an individual design.
