Media
Joint News Release
No CO2 in your luggage: New bike backpack from VAUDE with innovative polyamide from BASF
- New product based on BASF's Ultramid® ZeroPCF, a sustainable polyamide with a net-zero carbon footprint
- Use of renewable energies and alternative raw materials
The new TRAILCONTROL ZERO 20+ bike backpack from VAUDE, the leading manufacturer of sustainable outdoor clothing and equipment, sets new standards in collaboration with BASF. For the manufacturing of the backpack, VAUDE uses BASF's innovative Ultramid® ZeroPCF, a polyamide (PA) 6 with a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) of zero.
For the production of Ultramid ZeroPCF, BASF uses renewable electricity from the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm and attributes biomethane and bio-based feedstock from used cooking oil instead of fossil raw materials. The methodology follows an ISCC+ certified mass balance approach. The mass-balanced product has the same properties as the conventional product but outperforms it in terms of sustainability. “Thanks to all these measures and the benefits we derive from the efficient production methods of our BASF Verbund, we are reducing the CO2 footprint of the polyamide to zero,” says Marcel Schmitt, Global Strategic Marketing, Polyamide 6 at BASF.
“With this flagship project, we want to stimulate discussions about how materials with a carbon footprint of zero can contribute to climate neutrality,” adds René Bethmann, Senior Material Innovation Manager at VAUDE.
BASF had already announced the expansion of its polyamide product portfolio to include Ultramid LowPCF and Ultramid ZeroPCF variants in October 2024. The VAUDE bike backpack is now the first product to use Ultramid ZeroPCF. The expansion of the Ultramid portfolio is a further step in the sustainable journey of BASF’s Monomers division, which has already developed a circular or PCF-reduced option for every major product line. The division’s more sustainable offerings are an essential part of BASF’s path to climate neutrality and net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
BASF will present the VAUDE backpack and the broad polyamide product portfolio based on the “Choose to reduce“ approach to customers and partners at the world’s largest plastics trade fair, which will take place at Messe Düsseldorf from October
8 to 15, 2025.
Further information on Ultramid ZeroPCF can be found on the dedicated website.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €65.3 billion in 2024. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.
About VAUDE
VAUDE offers functional, innovative and sustainable products and services for mountain and bike athletes. More quality of life through sustainable outdoor products and forward-looking business practices - with this vision, the southern German family-owned company is committed to high ecological and social standards along its global supply chains and creates products, solutions and services that are environmentally friendly and fair. VAUDE (pronounced [fau'de]) employs around 600 people at its headquarters in Tettnang in southern Germany. VAUDE Newsroom
p-25-124
