This Weekend Bag Made From a Volvo Interior Is Actually Quite Stylish
The material is called Nordico and it’s a leather-free alternative that’ll debut in the Volvo C40 Recharge EV.
Automotive-branded fashion and accessories are usually extremely mockable. There's something about wearing a car logo splashed across your chest or down your leg that by definition is hilarious. But this eco-friendly and sustainable weekend bag from Volvo? It's actually pretty stylish if I do say so myself.
Volvo has teamed up with fashion designer 3.1 Phillip Lim and created a limited edition bag that's made from a Volvo-created material called Nordico: a new, sustainable interior material that'll debut in the C40 Recharge EV. The C40 will be bereft of leather and so is this bag; Nordico is made up of textiles created from recycled PET bottles and corks, as well as "bio-attributed material from sustainable forests in Sweden and Finland," according to a company press release.
The bag itself is medium-sized and appears to be offered in either off-white or gray. On the model, it looks a bit small for a weekend bag (I don't know about you but I bring a lot of products with me when I travel) but it does seem like a very nice work bag. With both a short set of straps as well as a shoulder strap, you can wear it a couple of different ways and it looks like it would fit a laptop pretty well. Volvo's release says it has "discreet storage" and "a special signature pouch."
Admittedly, access doesn't seem like the easiest thing in the world, as it appears that you have to first unfold the top and unzip it in order to reach inside, but besides that, the design is quite attractive. It's not particularly gendered, which means anyone can carry it. What I like most is that it doesn't have a screaming VOLVO badge stamped across it. The only place the brands have made themselves known is a discreet flap of fabric along one side of the bag, which reads their names in light-colored lettering. Subtle! I like it!
But what I really like is that this bag doesn't use leather (provided it can withstand the usual wear and tear). If there are good and sustainable solutions out there, there's really no reason to keep using leather. I just happen to because all of my pleather bags shred themselves to pieces after a while and have to be thrown out. Talk about unsustainable.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like this is a bag you can just walk into a store and buy, as Volvo says, "While the bag is not available for purchase due to the exclusive limited edition run, people may have opportunities to get hold of a limited number of bags through local market initiatives such as competitions, charity auctions, and giveaways."
But if you get a lead on this bag, do let me know. I'd love to touch it at the very least. Anyone who's ever shopped for a bag knows it's best if you can try it out in person first.
Got a tip? Drop me a line at kristen@thedrive.com.
