Fjällräven was born out of one man’s vision: a vision to make nature accessible to more people.
Åke Nordin was born in Örnsköldsvik, on Sweden’s High Coast, in 1936. Combining rolling hills, deep forests and sheltered coastline it was the perfect playground for a young, curious Åke. And it was on one of his many adventures that the seed for Fjällräven was planted, deep in Åke’s mind.
The idea arose out of necessity: to create a backpack that swallowed up gear, but sat comfortably on his back. Åke new there must be a way. With his mother’s sewing machine and his father’s tools, Åke created a wooden-framed backpack in his basement. And with it, the seed was sewn. 10 years later, in 1960, in that same basement, Åke founded Fjällräven and launched his first product for sale. Guess what is was? Yep, a backpack; this time with an aluminium frame.
And with nature being so important to us, here at Fjällräven, we’ve placed more and more emphasis on sustainable development; to develop on nature’s terms. Since the new millennium, we’ve launched Eco-Shell, our Down Promise and the Fjällräven Way – our Code of Conduct.
But whether we’re looking forward, backwards or sideways for inspiration, we’re always moving towards a common goal. Enabling and inspiring more people to experience nature was Åke’s vision and we now make it our mission. Nature is in our DNA. We simply can’t deviate from it. Without it, we’d be nothing. It is our past, present and future. It’s our forever.