Peak Design Travel Duffel Sustainability Report

The Travel Duffel earns an average longevity rating, with durability that feels well-matched to frequent travel but not true expedition abuse. The 600-denier shell holds up well to everyday scuffs, and the 900-denier waterproof bottom does a nice job protecting the bag when it’s dropped on wet pavement or gritty ground. Stitching and zippers feel premium, but long-term lifespan will depend on keeping it in its intended lane—airports, road trips, and moderate outdoor use rather than years of hard dragging and overloading.

Choosing durable outdoor gear is perhaps the most effective way to reduce environmental impact—the longer it lasts, the less it needs to be produced. Our proprietary longevity rating evaluates overall build quality based on factors such as materials, fabric denier, component durability (including zippers and toggles), real-world performance as reported by our field testers, and our experiences with the brand. Overall, we feel strongly that reducing overall consumption is a cornerstone of sustainability.

Standard colorways of the Peak Design Travel Duffel use a 100% recycled nylon exterior fabric, while the Coyote colorway contains recycled thread and fabric sourced from recycled fishing nets. Peak Design set the goal of sourcing 90% recycled primary fabrics, 30% recycled secondary fabrics, and 100% aluminum by 2027. Although the company uses a variety of recycled materials across its products, it does not report on its total use of these materials by weight.

Outdoor gear can be made partly or entirely from recycled materials, the most common being nylon, polyester, wool, and down. Some products include a single recycled component or a partially recycled fabric, while others are 100% recycled (generally excluding accessories like zippers, Velcro, toggles, etc.). For our sustainability ratings, we evaluate the amount of recycled materials in a particular product and assign points accordingly.

All the fabrics and webbing in the Travel Duffel are Bluesign approved. Peak Design is a Bluesign System Partner, demonstrating its commitment to the Bluesign System. By 2026, it aims to use 95% Bluesign-approved primary fabrics and 90% Bluesign-approved trims and webbing. The brand is also working towards using 85% Bluesign-approved secondary fabrics by 2027. However, Peak Design doesn’t disclose the total percentage of its products that integrate Bluesign-approved materials.

Bluesign Technologies, based in Switzerland, operates a third-party textile certification system that ensures materials are manufactured to strict environmental, chemical, and worker safety standards. A Bluesign-approved material indicates that it has undergone a rigorous vetting process based on the criteria above. A Bluesign Product goes the next mile, containing at least 90% Bluesign-approved fabrics and at least 30% Bluesign-approved accessories.

The Peak Design Travel Duffel is treated with a PFAS-free durable water repellent (DWR). Some Peak Design products use a PFAS-free DWR treatment. Peak Design has yet to disclose whether it has phased out PFAS entirely.

Waterproof and water-resistant materials often contain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) to help protect against moisture and stains. These synthetic compounds, also known as "forever chemicals,” are found in a range of gear categories, from jackets to footwear. They resist water, oil, and heat exceptionally well, making them ideal for outdoor use, but their nearly indestructible nature also means that they take an extremely long time to degrade, if at all. PFAS can eventually end up in everything from soil to drinking water and have been linked to a range of health issues.

The Travel Duffel is manufactured in a Fair Trade Certified (FTC) factory. Peak Design is an FTC partner brand that is working towards certifying 100% of its Tier 1 facilities. Fair Trade Certification ensures that factories adhere to rigorous social and environmental standards, including fair wages, safe working conditions, and sustainable resource management. FTC partner brands also pay into Fair Trade Premiums, a fund owned by workers who collectively choose how to use the money to improve their communities.

This criterion evaluates a brand's commitment to fair wages, safe working conditions, and reducing its environmental impact throughout the production process. Responsible manufacturing is most commonly demonstrated through certifications and membership in programs such as Fair Trade Certified, Fair Wear Foundation, Worldwide Responsible Accreditation of Production, and the Fair Labor Association. We also recognize brands that prioritize local production, such as those that manufacture primarily in the United States or Europe, to reduce carbon emissions, maintain better oversight of working conditions, and comply with strict social and environmental regulations.

In 2020, Peak Design reduced the amount of paper used in its packaging. It sources some Forest Stewardship Council-certified materials, but we were unable to confirm whether they are recycled. The brand aims to use 80% recycled and recyclable materials in its packaging by the end of 2025.

Packaging can add significant waste to an outdoor gear purchase and often ends up in landfills. Many brands are using recycled packaging and/or making efforts to reduce packaging altogether. For example, they may use a certain percentage of recycled cardboard or make efforts to use less plastic or paper across their packaging operation. In some cases, brands also use Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper products, which helps to ensure sustainable sourcing of forest materials.

Peak Design offers repair services under its limited lifetime warranty, which covers manufacturing defects and failures or breakages that make part or all of a product unusable. The warranty doesn’t cover failures or breakages resulting from misuse, cosmetic damage, factory second products, or apparel. If an item is unrepairable, Peak Design tries to replace it from its supply of open-box, gently used, or refurbished goods. We’ve been unable to confirm whether the brand provides non-warranty repairs.

Repair services extend the lifespan of outdoor gear and reduce overall consumption. Some brands offer comprehensive repair programs that can fix a wide range of issues, while others have more limited capabilities. If a brand's warranty policy only covers replacement, rather than repair, these programs usually do not meet this criterion.

Peak Design operates a platform called PD Marketplace, where it sells open-box, refurbished, and overstock products. PD Marketplace hosted a peer-to-peer resale service that allowed customers to sell and ship used gear directly to other customers until July 2025. The brand ended the program due to customer service challenges and the availability of other similar platforms. However, it is considering launching a used gear buy-back program in 2026 (at the earliest).

Resale and recycling programs help keep outdoor gear in circulation for longer and out of landfills. The most common form is a trade-in program, where consumers can exchange items for store credit, which is then resold. Some brands accept products back for recycling at the end of their life, thereby reducing waste. Occasionally, some do both.

Peak Design co-founded the Change Climate Project and has been certified to the organization’s Climate Label (formerly Climate Neutral) since 2020. The certification is awarded to companies that fund carbon-reduction projects equivalent to their annual emissions, while actively pursuing ambitious emissions reduction goals. Peak Design has tracked its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions since 2018 using Change Climate’s Brand Emissions Estimator tool and aims to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions 50% by 2030 (compared to its 2021 baseline year). However, the brand hasn’t set a target to reduce its Scope 3 emissions, which comprise approximately 95% of a company’s carbon footprint. The Science Based Targets Initiative hasn’t verified its Scope 1 and 2 targets, but Peak Design has completed several emissions-reduction plans and lowered its emissions intensity.

This criterion evaluates whether this brand measures its greenhouse gas emissions, along with its commitment to reduction and transparency in reporting. Typically, we require brands to follow established frameworks such as the Higg Index, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, or The Change Climate Project. Most companies use the widely recognized scope categorization system for measuring brand emissions. Those who earn the most points in this category have emissions reduction goals verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a global organization that helps companies set greenhouse gas reduction targets in line with the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C. To verify their goals through SBTi, companies undergo a rigorous assessment process and continual follow-up to ensure consistent progress towards achieving their targets.

Peak Design publishes an annual impact report that includes data describing its material use goals, manufacturing facilities, greenhouse gas emissions, and partnerships. The report is transparent and thoughtfully designed, although it lacks data detailing current low-impact material and chemical use statistics, as well as some of our other criteria.

An impact report is an important step toward transparency and accountability on the sustainability front. These reports vary in form but generally cover topics such as material sourcing, greenhouse gas emissions tracking, waste and water usage, supply chain analysis, and packaging efforts. For our sustainability ratings, we evaluate this criterion based on the depth and quality of the information provided in the report, and how often it is produced. Some brands produce their own impact report, while others are published by their parent company. In practice, we’ve found that reports produced by individual brands include more detailed information about their sustainability efforts.