EDM Sustainable Business 2022
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
BUSINESS<br />
Issue 1, <strong>2022</strong>
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AUTUMN/WINTER <strong>2022</strong><br />
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Editorial<br />
Look,<br />
we f****d up.<br />
The sad truth: humanity is not invincible, but<br />
vulnerable beyond all measure. According to the<br />
activist group Avaaz, we have roughly eight years<br />
left to lower our CO 2 emissions by 50 percent, stop<br />
species extinction and prevent complete ecological<br />
collapse.<br />
<strong>EDM</strong> Publications sees it as its mission to provide<br />
its readers with the best possible information and<br />
tools they need to become part of the change in<br />
the 2020s. This <strong>Sustainable</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Special is a<br />
first step, even if we can only scratch the surface<br />
of an extremely complex topic that ranges from<br />
diversity, labor and social aspects to CO 2 reduction,<br />
circular economy and logistics, the decoupling of<br />
growth and resources, and the general change in<br />
consumption and the associated mindset, leading to<br />
the essential question: “How do we want to live?”<br />
In this special issue, we give a forum to people who<br />
are experts in their field, but also to those who took<br />
the threat seriously and took action at a very early<br />
stage, long before “sustainability” and “business with<br />
purpose” were on everyone’s lips and in corporate<br />
press rooms.<br />
Today, Gen-Z consumers expect no-bullshit<br />
marketing from companies - and brands are<br />
responding. A new “honest, not perfect” attitude<br />
is emerging among communications teams,<br />
addressing the fact that failure is part of the process.<br />
The Dutch eyewear brand Ace & Tate even dared to<br />
title its blog post about the company’s sustainability<br />
efforts with a brutal “look, we f****d up” and address<br />
the mistakes made along the way. We will need this<br />
radical transparency and honesty in the decades to<br />
come as we will all make mistakes as we try our best.<br />
Not only do we share one planet, we share<br />
responsibility. In our case, this means the<br />
responsibility to observe, assess and inform. With<br />
this first <strong>Sustainable</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Special, we hope to<br />
make a small contribution to the considerations and<br />
actions to be taken by you, the decision makers.<br />
Your <strong>EDM</strong> publishing team.<br />
Content<br />
1 Editorial3<br />
2 The Elephant in the Executive Suite4<br />
3 Sustainability Reporting7<br />
4 NXT <strong>Sustainable</strong> Consumer Report8<br />
5 Greenwashing and EU Legislation14<br />
6 ReGenerative Agriculture 16<br />
7 The IdeaList20<br />
8 <strong>EDM</strong> State of Industry Survey 22<br />
9 Leading the Pack 26<br />
10 Circular Economy 32<br />
11 Go Ahead and Greenwash!34<br />
12 Notable Ingredients 38<br />
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
Have you done the math?<br />
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Growth –<br />
the elephant<br />
in the<br />
executive suite<br />
We need new business<br />
models that are not<br />
predicated on selling<br />
more stuff to more<br />
people.<br />
World Resources Institute<br />
Because of the global context of our “here<br />
and now,” there is truly not much more to<br />
say. I might finish with nothing more than<br />
the above quote. After all, it states a truth as<br />
factual as the universe’s expansion.<br />
Except: those “new business models” are not<br />
our reality. Far from it: They’re not even considered<br />
a possibility by companies – not by<br />
CEOs, the executive suite, company owners and<br />
neither by a board of directors, who are – for<br />
stock-listed companies – in charge of hiring<br />
exactly those CEOs that are supposed to lead<br />
the charge.<br />
I cannot conceive of a<br />
successful economy<br />
without growth.<br />
Walter Heller (1915 – 1987), former<br />
Chairman of the U.S. President’s Council<br />
of Economic Advisers (1961 – 1964)<br />
Instead of in-depth discussions about new business<br />
models, suitable and functional within the<br />
physical limitations of our planetary resources,<br />
what we hear and read in business newspapers,<br />
in academic papers and policy proposals, are<br />
the following terms (akin to a buzzword bingo)<br />
that are all under the umbrella of the term “Environmental,<br />
social and corporate governance”<br />
(ESG): Green Growth; Inclusive Growth; and<br />
“<strong>Sustainable</strong> Growth,” the latter being a fuzzy<br />
catch-it-all, sometimes also quoted as “repeatable<br />
growth,” “ethical growth,” or “responsible<br />
growth.” Each of which, of course, has its own<br />
meaning yet again.<br />
All of this to pretend that physical limitations<br />
of any kind are a mere imagination of a mind<br />
not suitably familiarized with the liberal market<br />
economic principles we have grown to believe<br />
in since our very first breaths.<br />
The elephant:<br />
so big it fills the room<br />
Or would it be more accurate to say, “an elephant<br />
so omnipresent it is invisible?” After all,<br />
it has always been there, and presumably, will<br />
remain there always. The above-mentioned<br />
buzzword bingo is a mere side effect of the<br />
fact that virtually every single company keeps<br />
advocating for producing and selling more<br />
units of X. Forecasts continue to add Y percent<br />
every year to the profit expectations of the year<br />
before. In short: A sort of Ponzi Scheme.<br />
Despite numerous studies showing that we are<br />
approaching planetary boundaries fast (of climate<br />
critical dimensions as much as of physical<br />
resources), at best, each unit of X is created/produced<br />
in a somewhat less resource-intensive<br />
manner. A fact that normally is – again: at best<br />
– offset by the percentage increase of units of X<br />
being produced and expected to be sold. Needless<br />
to say: the cumulative impact of all units X<br />
produced and sold (and then trashed) is still on<br />
a rather steep rising trajectory. How else could it<br />
be in what we deem a “prosperous economy”?<br />
Our reality mostly ignores the following key<br />
question – hoping that someone, somewhere,<br />
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mainly in the so-called developed economies.<br />
This, though, holds not equally true for everyone.<br />
Rather, this “luck” has come at the expense of<br />
the well-being of many global citizens, by far<br />
not only in developing economies, as well as the<br />
planetary ecosystem. Growth as we know it is a<br />
thing of the past. You may not have realized it<br />
or may simply choose to close your eyes to the<br />
blatantly evident facts of science.<br />
will find the golden key to its answer: Have you<br />
and your business done the math (and applied<br />
it to your business)?<br />
• Have you looked openly and honestly at your<br />
dependency on natural resources and the<br />
associated limits on business growth as you<br />
define it today?<br />
• Have you calculated your return on stakeholder<br />
investment (RSI) to see if you truly<br />
benefit the global society or whether you - in<br />
reality - freeride on other people, the planet,<br />
governments, taxpayers and communities?<br />
Ironically, to come up with at least a reasonably<br />
appropriate and precise result for the above calculations,<br />
well enough publicly and privately collected<br />
stats and numbers exist... It is just about<br />
getting the calculator out of the drawer.<br />
And: The role<br />
of the (executive) board?<br />
Growth as we know it certainly has created prosperity,<br />
quality of life and, to an extent, happiness.<br />
But only for the lucky ones in our global society,<br />
It does not require<br />
more than a simple<br />
act of insight to realize<br />
that infinite growth of<br />
material consumption<br />
in a finite world is an<br />
impossibility.<br />
E.F. Schumacher (1911 – 1977), in: “Small<br />
is Beautiful” (1973, p.129)<br />
When it comes to ensuring the long-term success<br />
of a business, the board of directors is the<br />
one who should hold the scepter and lead the<br />
charge. Hence hire a CEO capable of tackling<br />
this elephant. And spearheading the take up of<br />
relevant KPIs (the math) will lead the organizations<br />
in the right direction of travel.<br />
And yet, hardly any board members have dared<br />
to address this elephant in the room. For one<br />
simple reason: it goes against the grain of the<br />
currently accepted paradigm that is considered<br />
“necessarily correct.” A paradigm that says:<br />
without growth, no prosperity, no quality of life,<br />
no happiness.<br />
But: What does growth exactly mean? Or,<br />
more sloppily: Are we not just lacking sufficient<br />
imagination and innovation spirit to accept<br />
that there may indeed be a totally different<br />
approach, where growth as we know it is irrelevant?<br />
The traditional growth paradigm must be<br />
challenged not only because it is outdated but<br />
because it is fundamentally flawed as a paradigm<br />
(see, e.g., here, here, and here).<br />
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
© Federica Fortunat / iStock<br />
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An updated paradigm has at its core a minimum<br />
of two (mathematical and therefore calculable)<br />
dimensions:<br />
• De-coupled dependence from natural resources<br />
and associated limits: This would mean<br />
that availability and constraints related to the<br />
scaling of the business are independent of any<br />
resources available in finite supply.<br />
• Overall positive Return on Stakeholder Investment:<br />
the business is actually creating value<br />
for the global stakeholder collective. Here, the<br />
stakeholder collective would include shareholders<br />
but also extend to communities, employees,<br />
local and national governments, the ecosystem,<br />
etc.<br />
Any business model that is performing under<br />
the above calculations is a business model that<br />
can, at least in principle, be considered a viable<br />
business in the long term.<br />
Additional questions worth asking<br />
your organization:<br />
• How exactly are you truly adding value, rather<br />
than just “stuff,” to the world?<br />
• If you still are making “stuff:” Is there a genuine,<br />
fundamental need for your product X?<br />
• Does product X, as well as its production,<br />
use any resources that are single-use and/or<br />
finite, notably in its manufacturing? What is<br />
your fade-out/replacement plan and deadline?<br />
• How do you measure your impact (the one<br />
of your organization and all the operations<br />
and processes on which it relies) on the<br />
well-being of the communities in which you<br />
operate? Are you overall giving back more to<br />
society than you’re taking out?<br />
Examples: What about quality of life and<br />
“happiness” in the communities? Is there an<br />
absence of blatant inequality of rights, power<br />
and wealth among members in the communities<br />
you work with and in?<br />
© Thomas Wagner<br />
About the author<br />
Pamela Ravasio is the founder and managing director<br />
of Shirahime Advisory. She specializes in corporate<br />
governance and responsibility (CR), strongly linked to<br />
innovation processes and digitalization. She is an expert<br />
advisor to senior leaders and boards of directors in the<br />
SME space.<br />
6
Sustainability Reporting<br />
New standards<br />
on the horizon<br />
In April 2021, the European Commission issued<br />
its proposed changes to sustainability reporting<br />
in the EU. The new paper’s name that will<br />
replace the current Non-Financial Disclosure<br />
Directive (NFD) is the Corporate Sustainability<br />
Reporting Directive (CSRD). Except for micro-entities,<br />
the new CSRD sets out the nonfinancial<br />
information that companies should<br />
report in far greater detail. The CSRD’s purpose<br />
is to make Sustainability Reporting Data as<br />
reliable, verified and comparable as P&L data.<br />
Depending on the EU’s decision and approval<br />
speed, companies may have to start reporting<br />
to the new sustainability reporting standards as<br />
early as 2024, using the information from the<br />
2023 financial year.<br />
The new law affects companies to which at<br />
least two of these three points apply:<br />
1. €40 million in net turnover<br />
2. €20 million in assets<br />
3. 250 or more employees<br />
An additional criterium is whether or not the<br />
company is stock-listed. The requirement currently<br />
affects those companies listed on regulated<br />
stock exchanges but may include companies<br />
listed on a Multilateral Trading Facility<br />
(MTF) such as, e.g., Nasdaq First North.<br />
What’s the principal difference<br />
between NFD and CSRD:<br />
NFD focused on risk and was largely qualitative,<br />
with few companies taking a quantitative<br />
approach to risk reporting. This is going to<br />
change with CSRD.<br />
The CSRD will require company sustainability<br />
data to be submitted in a standardized digital<br />
format to allow for easier checking and comparison<br />
in the European single access point<br />
database. This is meant to provide a clear<br />
format for company sustainability reporting allowing<br />
for better understandability of the data<br />
and easier comparison between companies.<br />
The submitted data will then be subject to<br />
“limited third-party assurance,” meaning that<br />
an auditor will need to review and evaluate the<br />
accuracy of the data.<br />
More reading:<br />
• Summary overview: https://normative.io/insight/csrd-explained/<br />
• CSRD explained by the European<br />
Commission: https://<br />
ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/company-reporting-and-auditing/<br />
company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en<br />
• The EU Commissions FAQ:<br />
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_21_1806<br />
7
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
NXT <strong>Sustainable</strong> Consumer Report <strong>2022</strong><br />
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Engaging with<br />
the sustainable<br />
consumer:<br />
A journey without<br />
an end goal<br />
The latest NXT <strong>Sustainable</strong> Consumer<br />
Report <strong>2022</strong>, conducted by Swedish<br />
market analyst Fredrik Ekström from<br />
Above the Clouds, aims to cut through the<br />
fog of uncertainty around sustainability and<br />
reveal a journey we’re on, as consumers and<br />
brands. In his contribution to the <strong>EDM</strong> <strong>Sustainable</strong><br />
<strong>Business</strong> Special, he explains the<br />
increasing social status that is attached to<br />
sustainable behavior in certain peer groups<br />
and the necessary conclusions.<br />
To successfully transform a brand from linear<br />
to circular and into having a sustainable<br />
mindset, we must rethink our approach to<br />
products, storytelling, cultural status and<br />
consumers. Sustainability transformations<br />
often seem simple, logical and<br />
inevitable when presented<br />
and cited in the press. But few<br />
transformative attempts are<br />
straightforward, and in the<br />
uncommon event that they do<br />
succeed as planned, they usually<br />
take years to yield significant<br />
results. During the process,<br />
it is crucial to engage the<br />
consumers to keep them from<br />
migrating to other brands that<br />
have a more compelling story<br />
or yield higher cultural status.<br />
A successful sustainability<br />
brand transformation does<br />
not happen with a single campaign.<br />
There are no shortcuts.<br />
There is only a roadmap of<br />
strategic, creative, and operational<br />
decisions that, if executed consistently,<br />
puts a brand on the path to sustainability,<br />
cultural status, consumer excitement and<br />
business success.<br />
Different shades of green –<br />
Sustainability Zombies, Eco<br />
Swingers and Anxious Doers<br />
Sustainability as a trusted one-size-fits-all<br />
solution, where the word has universal meaning<br />
and is decoded in the same way regardless<br />
of the consumer, has long been co-opted.<br />
The latest NXT Consumer Sustainability<br />
survey tells a different story. For the Swedish<br />
consumer, the meaning of sustainability is becoming<br />
more detailed: A fact that also affects<br />
their relationships with brands and communications.<br />
To get a better understanding of why and<br />
how consumers do (or do not) incorporate<br />
sustainability issues into their consumption<br />
pattern, what influences them and what<br />
messaging triggers, Above the Clouds has<br />
created the “<strong>Sustainable</strong> Consumer Readiness<br />
Curve.” This is a tool that Above The Clouds<br />
uses to divide the Swedish audience into<br />
different consumer types depending on how<br />
ready they are to adopt a sustainable lifestyle.<br />
It is also estimating their share: Sustainability<br />
©sveta - stock.adobe.com<br />
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Zombies (7%), Spectators (13%), Eco-Swingers<br />
(37%), Anxious Activists (36%) and Dedicated<br />
Pioneers (7%). The consultants found a<br />
shift towards making more environmentally<br />
friendly, sustainable or ethical purchases<br />
in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and saw a<br />
green leap in consumer behavior.<br />
This green movement means that eight out of<br />
ten consumers describe themselves as someone<br />
for whom sustainability is part of their<br />
self-image and who provides positive impetus<br />
for sustainability initiatives in various ways.<br />
Sustainability and Status Anxiety<br />
However, during the crisis, consumers have<br />
faced an overload of sustainability interest<br />
and communication from brands, creating a<br />
world where the meaning of the word “sustainability”<br />
has been co-opted, and greenwashing<br />
brands still operate unchecked. In<br />
short, the term sustainability has lost a bit of<br />
its glory purpose while the consumer feels<br />
anxious. And this anxiety is not just about the<br />
well-being of the planet. The increased social<br />
interest in the topic creates a new form of<br />
cultural sustainability status symbols where<br />
knowledge about the environment gives<br />
higher status and impresses peers. Making<br />
the wrong choices creates a risk of losing<br />
cultural status and creates a form of “sustainability<br />
status anxiety,” especially among Gen-Z<br />
and the dedicated consumer profiles.<br />
The word “status” affects people, it makes us<br />
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
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feel a little embarrassed and usually nothing<br />
we want to talk about. At the same time, one<br />
cannot help but be fascinated by the power<br />
behind it. So what is it about status when<br />
eight out of ten Swedish consumers describe<br />
themselves as associating their self-image<br />
with sustainability? And why is that so important<br />
for brands?<br />
There is a careless, casual use of the word<br />
“status” where expensive items are usually<br />
the way to obtain the same, and consequently<br />
status would only be about surface and<br />
financial success. But nothing could be more<br />
wrong, especially with Gen-Z, where 80 percent<br />
say they are impressed by a person who<br />
teaches them something new and exciting<br />
about sustainability, and 20 percent are physically<br />
attracted to a person living a seemingly<br />
sustainable and healthy life.<br />
The desire to learn more about sustainability<br />
is turning knowledge about sustainability into<br />
a new cultural status symbol. But with these<br />
new patterns and the rapid transformation<br />
of sustainability in society also comes a new<br />
insecurity. Seven out of ten Gen-Z consumers<br />
believe their friends will look down on them<br />
negatively if they don’t make environmentally<br />
conscious choices regarding their consumption,<br />
while nearly nine out of ten Gen-Z<br />
believe their environmental decisions won’t<br />
have a major impact - neither for the better<br />
nor for the worse.<br />
The paradox of being impressed<br />
with knowledge while<br />
feeling like you have no control<br />
over your actions can be<br />
devastating for consumers,<br />
and probably never before<br />
have brands had so much opportunity<br />
and responsibility to<br />
act as sustainability role models<br />
to alleviate this anxiety.<br />
The fear of making the wrong choices, combined<br />
with the feeling of being impressed and<br />
attracted to those with sustainability knowledge,<br />
can create a worry so destructive that<br />
we find ourselves at risk of not living up to the<br />
ideals of success set by our peers and society,<br />
and potentially losing our status as a result. This<br />
can ultimately be both a driver and a barrier for<br />
consumers to transition to a more sustainable<br />
lifestyle.<br />
Consumers will ultimately demand more than<br />
just information about the environmental<br />
benefits of products and brands in order to shift<br />
to a sustainable lifestyle. They also need help<br />
building their self-image with values, results and<br />
stories as they make their sustainable transformation.<br />
They want bragging rights and proof<br />
that they are doing the right thing and not<br />
being judged by their peers.<br />
What to expect in The NXT <strong>Sustainable</strong> Consumer Report <strong>2022</strong>:<br />
1. Insights: The sustainable consumer readiness curve<br />
2. Drivers: Sustainability, status and anxiety<br />
3. Future: Gen-Z, the eco-sexual generation?<br />
4. Future: Brand activism is here to stay<br />
5. Opportunities: My sustainability dream brand<br />
6. Opportunities: Deep dive, three consumer profiles<br />
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© Pop Zebra/Unsplash<br />
The NXT <strong>Sustainable</strong><br />
Consumer Report <strong>2022</strong><br />
The report is based on quantitative and qualitative<br />
research from Above The Clouds’ Future<br />
Series about the NXT <strong>Sustainable</strong> Consumer in<br />
Sweden. It provides tools to thrive in a time of<br />
transition, outlining areas where the consumers’<br />
hearts and anxieties are right now, strategies<br />
for success, three consumer profiles you<br />
need to be talking to, and how to speak with<br />
them.<br />
Above The Clouds guides you through this shifting<br />
landscape by providing expert consumer<br />
insight and actionable advice as a change forecaster.<br />
With the report, you will find tools and<br />
insights to power up your <strong>2022</strong> brand strategies<br />
through sustainability and eco-decisions.<br />
Facts about the report:<br />
Step 1: 2020 - Qualitative Research, desktop<br />
and expert interviews. Published in Scandinavian<br />
MIND – The New <strong>Sustainable</strong> Consumer<br />
and her search for truth.<br />
Step 2: 2021 - Quantitative Research<br />
1,064 respondents, representing the general<br />
population in Sweden. Data gathering via<br />
web-panel, Oct. 25 - Nov. 2, 2021.<br />
Head of insights: Fredrik Ekström, founder of<br />
Above The Clouds, www.abovetheclouds.se<br />
About the author<br />
Fredrik Ekström is a Senior <strong>Business</strong> Advisor and<br />
brand communication consultant with over 17 years of<br />
experience working with brand activations, insights and<br />
development. He specializes in sustainable lifestyle brands<br />
and transforming research and insights into creative actions<br />
that breathe new life into brand purpose and craft brands<br />
that stand for something, engage people and ultimately<br />
stand out from the competition.<br />
11
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
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To what extent are the ePE membrane and its<br />
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Sustainability is something that is difficult to define<br />
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What is important for our understanding is that if<br />
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Our membrane is PFCfree,<br />
and the DWR on the<br />
textile surfaces is also PFCfree.<br />
With this product,<br />
we are driving our goals<br />
to eliminate PFCs of environmental<br />
concern from<br />
our products. So the product<br />
is durable, PFC-free in<br />
terms of our specifications<br />
for PFCs of environmental<br />
concern, and we are improving<br />
our carbon footprint. Those are three very<br />
significant improvements in terms of sustainability<br />
that we’re achieving. Talking about the laminate,<br />
our products are bluesign approved, Standard 100<br />
by Oeko-Tex certified, we use recycled materials<br />
in the laminate’s textile components and solution-dyed<br />
textiles, which saves water, chemicals<br />
and reduces carbon emissions.<br />
Gore wanted to launch the first PFC-free product<br />
in 2023 - you’ve actually done it a little earlier!<br />
Yes, this product will be launched this fall, so<br />
around September, consumers will be able to buy<br />
the first products with this membrane in stores.<br />
Initially, only at a few selected brand partners in<br />
the outdoor and lifestyle apparel, footwear and<br />
snowsports gloves categories. After that, the further<br />
roll-out will take place.<br />
Are there also functional improvements with<br />
the new polyethylene material?<br />
Oh yes, for example, it has an excellent strengthto-weight<br />
ratio, which means we can make our<br />
products even thinner and lighter. But we also<br />
need less material, which is positive in terms of our<br />
resource efficiency and reduces our carbon footprint.<br />
Will the new membrane be available for other<br />
applications in the future?<br />
I hope so. We have started with one membrane<br />
now, albeit for different categories like gloves, footwear<br />
and apparel and therefore with small differences.<br />
But our R&D team is, of course, continuing<br />
to work, and new possibilities will come out of that.<br />
There will certainly be more products for specific<br />
applications in the future.<br />
12
Gore is known for its strict quality standards.<br />
Does the new membrane fulfill the “Guarantee<br />
to keep you dry”?<br />
Absolutely. This promise is an essential criterion for<br />
any product. When consumers see our new product<br />
in the store, they can absolutely trust it.<br />
How should one imagine the discovery process,<br />
how did you develop the new material?<br />
The fundamental challenge is to deliver the performance<br />
that the end consumer and the industry<br />
expect: durable, long-lasting products that perform<br />
really well. That’s what Gore-Tex stands for in<br />
the apparel industry. How do you develop a new<br />
material? By investing years of hard work. Evaluating<br />
different materials, studying their properties,<br />
checking findings, conducting field tests, we did<br />
all that, discarded it again and again, and started<br />
all over again. The field tests, in particular, were<br />
important to us, because it is imperative that our<br />
products really work. We spent months and years<br />
testing these materials in garments before we put<br />
them on the market. And we are very satisfied.<br />
What has the switch to the new material meant<br />
for your processes?<br />
That depends on which production step you’re<br />
looking at. The production of the laminate was<br />
more or less simple and hardly different from<br />
our previous products. It was more difficult to<br />
adapt and control the expanding processes of the<br />
new material because all the properties, such as<br />
breathability, durability, weight, etc., depend on it.<br />
Ultimately, it was an evolutionary process and the<br />
further development of our very own expertise,<br />
just with a new material. The good thing is that we<br />
produce all our laminates in-house; we don’t outsource<br />
this process. This helped us a lot in developing<br />
the new product because we could control<br />
and adjust all the steps ourselves.<br />
How much did the development cost?<br />
I can’t give a number, but it would be a big number.<br />
We worked on it for many years and many<br />
people were involved.<br />
Where did the development take place?<br />
We are a global company, so the development<br />
involved our facilities on the East Coast of the U.S.<br />
and in Germany, and later our facilities in Shenzhen,<br />
China, to scale up production. It was a very<br />
global effort that we made here.<br />
Once again, on the subject of PFC-free: Gore<br />
uses the term PFCs of environmental concern.<br />
What exactly does this mean?<br />
The subject of PFCs is very complex, so it is often<br />
very simplified. The class of PFCs includes more<br />
than 5,000 substances, which in turn have an<br />
enormous range of properties. This ranges from<br />
volatile substances, which have justifiably come<br />
under criticism in recent years and are now eliminated<br />
in the supply chain, to PTFE, a very large,<br />
stable molecule. In 2017, we defined our goals to<br />
eliminate those substances that we call PFCs of<br />
environmental concern. So, we are eliminating a<br />
certain class of PFCs that we find of environmental<br />
concern. With this in mind, we are introducing a<br />
PFC-free product.<br />
What is the goal: Is the new membrane to replace<br />
PTFE one day?<br />
We will be expanding the use of this new membrane<br />
as quickly as we can and our plan is to expand<br />
it very broadly. In principle, however, further<br />
development depends on how the new membrane<br />
is accepted. At the same time, of course, we<br />
are also continuing to develop our existing technologies<br />
and improve them year by year.<br />
What other sustainability plans does Gore have<br />
with the PTFE membrane?<br />
We have also made great progress with our other<br />
products in recent years. Often these have been<br />
improvements that may not have as much media<br />
impact as ePE, such as reducing the carbon footprint<br />
of our textiles or improving our energy efficiency.<br />
The textile accounts for the largest share<br />
of a laminate’s carbon footprint. So we continue<br />
working with recycled materials and with solution-dyed<br />
materials. ePE doesn’t solve all the problems,<br />
but it is part of the solution.<br />
Last question, on price: Will the new membrane<br />
make the products more expensive?<br />
That is up to our partners; the retail price depends<br />
on many different factors. We cannot influence<br />
this. But I assume that the consumer will not notice<br />
a significant price increase.<br />
13
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
Greenwashing and the EU Legislation<br />
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EU on the<br />
hunt for green<br />
trappers<br />
Greenwashing, meaning advertising environmental<br />
initiatives without actually<br />
implementing sustainable business practices,<br />
is more than common, misleading consumers<br />
with promising advertisements or claims<br />
about a product’s true benefits. According to a<br />
Deloitte survey of U.K. customers, 34 percent of<br />
consumers do not choose sustainable products<br />
because they perceive a lack of information that<br />
makes them suspicious of anything declared<br />
“green.”<br />
The thicket of labels and markings does its<br />
part to further confuse them. According to the<br />
European Commission, there are more than<br />
200 eco-labels active in the EU and more than<br />
450 in use worldwide. And there are more than<br />
80 widely used reporting initiatives and methodologies<br />
just for carbon emissions. Despite<br />
this plethora of labels, there is a general sense<br />
of disinformation. The oversaturation of declarations<br />
seems to open the door to greenwashing.<br />
To tackle this issue, the European Green Deal<br />
published in 2019 stated, “Companies making<br />
‘green claims’ should substantiate these against<br />
a standard methodology to assess their impact<br />
on the environment.”<br />
A year later,<br />
the 2020 Circular<br />
Economy action<br />
plan committed<br />
that “the Commission<br />
will also<br />
propose that companies<br />
substantiate<br />
their environmental<br />
claims using Product<br />
and Organization<br />
Environmental<br />
Footprint methods.”<br />
This initiative has<br />
close links to other<br />
Different types of greenwashing are<br />
commonly in practice in our industry:<br />
1. Selective communication: Advertising positive<br />
information about a product’s environmental<br />
performance while negative information<br />
is concealed. But: Along the supply<br />
chain, there are many points to consider<br />
– such as product lifecycle, sourcing, manufacturing,<br />
etc. The sum of these points adds<br />
up to the actual sustainability of the product<br />
– not individual elements.<br />
2. Symbolic actions: These are claims that<br />
draw attention to minor problems without<br />
accompanying meaningful action: a company<br />
may well install a company kindergarden<br />
at its headquarters (and use this fact<br />
for PR) and, at the same time, ignore child<br />
labor in the supply chain.<br />
policies announced in the Circular Economy<br />
action plan:<br />
• the revision of EU consumer law to empower<br />
consumers for active participation in the<br />
green transition<br />
• a sustainable product policy initiative<br />
• the farm to fork strategy<br />
All of these are worked out to reach the policy<br />
objective of EU climate neutrality by 2050. By<br />
early <strong>2022</strong>, the EU will issue a final antigreenwashing<br />
initiative, accompanying the EU<br />
Taxonomy law as a systemic policy framework<br />
to channel the capital flow towards sustainable<br />
investments.<br />
The Taxonomy law aims for no less than the<br />
Union-wide harmonization of the criteria to<br />
determine whether an economic activity qualifies<br />
as environmentally sustainable. The timing<br />
is said to be ambitious, regarding the sheer<br />
complexity of the process. Market analysts at<br />
Bloomberg don’t see the greenwashing regulation<br />
coming before the end of <strong>2022</strong>. However,<br />
many already consider the EU Taxonomy Act<br />
(initially set out to be the standard for sustainable<br />
investment) to be a greenwashing project<br />
itself – at the latest since the decision was made<br />
to classify nuclear power and gas as sustainable<br />
energy sources.<br />
In any case, it is expected that the upcoming<br />
EU initiative will mandate that companies back<br />
up their claims about the environmental footprint<br />
of their products or services with standard<br />
quantification methods so that consumers can<br />
compare products and<br />
services and verify the<br />
claims. Part of this is a<br />
complex reporting system<br />
that requires data<br />
from the entire supply<br />
chain - which could<br />
be one of the reasons<br />
blockchain technology<br />
becomes important to<br />
ensure transparency<br />
across the entire product<br />
journey. To ensure<br />
transparent information<br />
about the composition<br />
of goods on the<br />
European market, the
European Commission is also planning a “digital<br />
product passport.”<br />
For larger companies, climate-related KPIs<br />
should be the basis of sustainability reports.<br />
Smaller companies under 250 employees may<br />
“voluntarily decide” to publish such information.<br />
The post-Brexit U.K. has already implemented<br />
its own Environment Act for England, Wales<br />
and Northern Ireland that came into effect on<br />
November 17, 2021, to ensure greater resilience,<br />
traceability and sustainability, particularly in<br />
supply chains.<br />
The U.K. and the EU follow different approaches<br />
to combating “greenwashing” claims for products<br />
and services. The EU initiative is complex<br />
and detailed, while the UK approach is less<br />
standardized and not supported by technical<br />
resources or mandatory methods for companies.<br />
In pre-Brexit times, the EU had fixed the future<br />
path in its “Regulation on the establishment of a<br />
framework to facilitate sustainable investment,<br />
and amending regulation.” The paper says that,<br />
for each environmental objective, uniform criteria<br />
for determining whether economic activities<br />
contribute substantially to that objective should<br />
be laid down. One element of the uniform<br />
criteria should be to avoid significant degradation<br />
of any of the established environmental<br />
objectives to prevent “that investments qualify<br />
as environmentally sustainable in cases where<br />
the economic activities benefitting from those<br />
investments cause harm to the environment to<br />
the extent that outweighs their contribution to<br />
an environmental objective.”<br />
The assessment should consider several aspects:<br />
the lifecycle of the products and services<br />
provided; the environmental impacts of the<br />
economic activity itself (including consideration<br />
of findings from existing lifecycle assessments),<br />
taking into account the impacts of production;<br />
use; and end-of-life. Economic activities should<br />
only be considered environmentally sustainable<br />
if they are conducted in accordance with the<br />
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises<br />
and UN Guiding Principles on <strong>Business</strong> and<br />
Human Rights, including the Declaration on<br />
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of<br />
the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the<br />
eight fundamental conventions of the ILO and<br />
the International Bill of Human Rights. The ILO’s<br />
fundamental conventions set out the human<br />
and labor rights that companies must respect.<br />
<strong>Business</strong> experts believe the new rules will<br />
closely follow the framework developed by the<br />
German financial regulator BaFin to prevent<br />
investment funds from declaring investments as<br />
environmentally friendly when they are actually<br />
not. The German supervisory authority’s planned<br />
rules set a minimum threshold of 75 percent<br />
for investments that contribute to achieving<br />
ESG targets. Germany is thus taking a stricter<br />
approach than other countries that use scoring<br />
systems or qualitative requirements.<br />
Clearly, the EU has several songs to sing at once<br />
- definitely more than individual companies<br />
that have a power of self-correction. In recent<br />
years, many business alliances have been forged<br />
to take a more effective and clearer approach<br />
against greenwashing, setting strict and non-negotiable<br />
benchmarks for products: for example,<br />
Swedish fintech company Klarna has just<br />
entered into a new collaboration with fashion<br />
sustainability rating platform Good On You to<br />
help customers make more informed decisions<br />
about the environmental impact of the products<br />
they buy. Good On You rates products based<br />
on a scoring system with more than 500 data<br />
points.<br />
This external assessment means that greenwashing<br />
platitudes have little chance of getting<br />
through to consumers. Voluntary rather than<br />
legislative measures could therefore be the more<br />
effective and faster way to curb greenwashing.<br />
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15
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
ReGenerative Agriculture<br />
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Could this be a<br />
way for clothing<br />
to exchange its<br />
bad reputation<br />
for a force for<br />
good?<br />
At the end of 2021, COP26 centered around<br />
the climate crisis that has brought global<br />
temperature rising to center stage and<br />
how there is a need to take carbon out of the<br />
atmosphere. This year, COP15 needs to have as<br />
much attention as it focuses on restoring global<br />
biodiversity. The European Outdoor Conservation<br />
Association (EOCA) team came up with a<br />
good explanation when they described the urgency<br />
of both topics as an overflowing bathtub<br />
– you should both turn off the taps plus pull out<br />
the plug to tackle the problem.<br />
Textiles have gained a (false) reputation as the<br />
second most polluting industry in the world<br />
(apparel is bad, but not that bad). Whatever the<br />
numbers, it is common knowledge that there is<br />
room for improvement not just for man-made,<br />
but in natural materials as well, like cotton. In<br />
this ongoing discussion, one of the incoming<br />
buzzwords involves ReGenerative Agriculture –<br />
but what is it?<br />
ReGenerative Agriculture (ReGenAg) is the new<br />
way of growing cotton and other crops, but it is<br />
just the practice used a century ago. The method<br />
is based on four main principles around soil<br />
health, irrigation, carbon sequestration and restoring<br />
biodiversity. ReGenAg practice could be<br />
used immediately; unlike qualification for Global<br />
Organic Textile Standards (GOTS), which takes<br />
three years to swap over from regular farming,<br />
a ReGenAg tag can be valid after just a year of<br />
better husbandry of the soils.<br />
The North Face was the first to use ReGenAg<br />
materials when they introduced their Cali wool<br />
beanie four years ago. Last year, Timberland (also<br />
a VF Corp. brand like TNF) introduced its Earthkeeper<br />
range of footwear using ReGenAg leather.<br />
The latter is worthy of more attention because<br />
cows are seen as almost evil in this world – they<br />
provide a meat diet, they graze inefficiently on<br />
pastureland, and rainforests are cleared to grow<br />
their winter food-stock of soybeans. There has<br />
been a verified study, audited by Quantis, on the<br />
White Oaks Pasture farm in the U.S. that has revealed<br />
that rather than the usual 33 factor (kgs of<br />
CO2 produced per 1 kg of meat) – ReGenAg beef<br />
farming absorbs 3 ½ kg of carbon into the soil<br />
more than is emitted. It follows that sheep get<br />
an endorsement, too, for their wool. Arable crops<br />
are even better.<br />
Clever herding pays off to more<br />
carbon being stored<br />
The key aspect is the change of agricultural<br />
practice. Everything is focused on the roots of<br />
the crop (or the grass for livestock). The science<br />
bit is the other side of photosynthesis: we all<br />
know that plants take in carbon dioxide and<br />
return oxygen, that carbon is sequestered as the<br />
foliage or roots of the plant. Hence, the longer<br />
the roots, the more carbon is stored. The more<br />
growth above the ground, the longer the roots<br />
– so the trick is to move the animals onto fresh<br />
pasture before they eat the plant down to soil<br />
level. Extra herding equals more labor, but these<br />
additional costs break even (reduction in fertilizer,<br />
pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals)<br />
after four years. For arable crops like cotton, the<br />
route is following regular organic cultivation. To<br />
use the ReGenAg label, there needs to be an<br />
improvement in soil health shown year-to-year;<br />
applied correctly, the endorsement can happen<br />
after 12 months of the change of technique.<br />
Soil health (microbes) is vital for a healthy planet.<br />
A good root network will absorb and thus feed<br />
the plant with moisture for 30 times longer than<br />
rain falling on worn-out soil. The rainwater will<br />
also take up to 100 days to reach the river’s flow,<br />
rather than the three days it takes to reach it<br />
during a flood. Both factors also reduce wind<br />
and water erosion – currently recorded as up to 5<br />
cm each year.<br />
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Restoring biodiversity also means creating a<br />
habitat for arable crop predators so that natural<br />
control can take place, in line with the EU Green<br />
Deal recommendations. There are many examples<br />
of how local networks reward the small<br />
farmers, as opposed to money going only to<br />
super farms; whereas sequestration (converted<br />
to the wool in a jacket) is equivalent to 100 kg of<br />
carbon stored in the ground. For manufacturers,<br />
this means that for every 10 product units, one<br />
ton is saved from the company’s total carbon<br />
footprint.<br />
It is common knowledge<br />
that there is room for<br />
improvement not just for<br />
man-made, but in natural<br />
materials as well.<br />
As in so many other areas of the apparel industry,<br />
there are several different standards used by<br />
the brands. Patagonia has opted for the Rodale<br />
Institute, TNF uses Indigo, while Timberland<br />
follows the Savory Institute guidelines. The latter<br />
audit is also the one chosen by HDWool, as it is<br />
the only third-party certified system – based on<br />
the yearly Ecological Outcome Verification of the<br />
farms. With the rise in direct B2C communication<br />
channels, it is expected that end consumers<br />
will opt for carbon-balanced (or even negative)<br />
fabrics to facilitate their concern for the environment.<br />
Some industry stakeholders see regenerative<br />
agriculture as the answer to many (if not all)<br />
problems. To quote Rose Marcario when she was<br />
Patagonia’s CEO: “Agriculture really represents<br />
the best chance that we have of mitigating and<br />
ending the climate crisis. The science is saying<br />
that if we converted all industrialized agriculture<br />
to regenerative organic practices, we could<br />
sequester all the world’s carbon”.<br />
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About the author<br />
Charles Ross is a textile specialist based at the Royal<br />
College of Art in London; he has taught Performance<br />
Sportswear Design to the next generation of Outdoor<br />
Industry designers for over two decades. His mantra is<br />
“Sustainability through Longevity.”<br />
17
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
Advertisement<br />
I’ll take the Performance Fabrics -<br />
hold the PFAS<br />
Polartec’s announcement to use only non-PFAS finishes across its<br />
entire fabric range actually began as a three-decade-long exploration<br />
in EcoEngineering <br />
Polartec recently announced the removal<br />
of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl<br />
substances) in its DWR (durable water<br />
repellent) treatments across its line of<br />
performance fabrics. By itself, this may not<br />
seem especially surprising, or new, as in recent<br />
years, the Outdoor Industry has increasingly<br />
moved away from PFAS. However, what makes<br />
this announcement particularly interesting<br />
is twofold. First, it now includes the weather<br />
protection category of fabrics whose performance<br />
requirements have made converting to non-PFAS<br />
chemicals particularly challenging. This new non-<br />
PFAS treatment offers zero loss of durability or<br />
water repellency. Second, it’s the latest milestone<br />
of a journey that began long before DWR even<br />
entered our acronym vocabulary.<br />
solutions to all facets of the manufacturing<br />
process. And all with their own performance<br />
expectations. However, a starting point was<br />
needed, and fleece was it. After the required<br />
trials and errors, the right non-PFAS recipe was<br />
discovered that could also deliver a similar level<br />
of performance as the former treatment. With<br />
this, “lossless performance” became our objective<br />
and the standard on which all conversions were<br />
measured.<br />
This latest achievement not only converts the<br />
entire range of Polartec fabrics to non-PFAS<br />
DWR, it does so across its most uncompromising<br />
platform of weather protection fabrics: Polartec ®<br />
Hardface ® , Polartec ® Power Shield ® , Polartec ®<br />
Power Shield ® Pro, Polartec ® NeoShell ® and<br />
Polartec ® Windbloc ® .<br />
“Trial results have<br />
exceeded even our expectations.<br />
There is no<br />
loss of performance from<br />
a water repellency or<br />
durability standpoint.”<br />
Mike Rose, Polartec VP of Product Development<br />
First, the PFAS: In 2017, Polartec introduced the<br />
first fabric styles (fleece) using a non-PFAS DWR<br />
treatment. It wasn’t talked about much, or if it was,<br />
probably referred to as PFC-free (Perfluorinated<br />
Compounds only describe a small percentage of<br />
impacted chemicals- thus the current move to<br />
labeling these chemicals as PFAS). This modest<br />
first step was made out of pure necessity. As<br />
a maker of over 500 individual fabric styles,<br />
committing to removing “PFAS from DWR” is<br />
easier said than done. Baselayers, midlayers,<br />
sweater weights, outerwear, and of course,<br />
fleece all require their own unique and specific<br />
While backcountry skiers might loudly holler their<br />
approval, fabric engineers are a little bit more<br />
reserved. Make no mistake, this is like shouting<br />
from the mountaintop. And only half of the story.<br />
For over 30 years, Polartec has created premium,<br />
innovative, and sustainable fabric technologies.<br />
It’s an unrivaled record of continuous innovation<br />
that has led to category-creating textiles to keep<br />
people warm, dry, cool, and safe. By engineering<br />
thermoregulation through textile construction,<br />
these benefits can be viscerally experienced by<br />
wearing garments made from Polartec fabrics,<br />
i.e., wearing is believing. However, over this same<br />
18
time period, there’s been another force driving<br />
innovation whose benefits are not as easily<br />
noticed, but equally tangible and important:<br />
EcoEngineering .<br />
While Polartec’s predecessor, Malden Mills,<br />
had been knitting fabrics since before the First<br />
World War, the sustainability “a-ha! moment”<br />
came in 1993 with the discovery of how to knit a<br />
performance fabric from yarn derived from postconsumer<br />
recycled (PCR) bottles.<br />
At the time, this too was seen as more of a<br />
curiosity than a tectonic shift in polyester<br />
production. Its high cost and limited<br />
design options made customer<br />
adoption scarce. Of course, one of<br />
the first to embrace this new<br />
technology was Patagonia,<br />
which was unafraid of the<br />
fact that soda bottle green<br />
was the only color available.<br />
Since that day, Polartec<br />
continually expanded what<br />
fabrics could be knit and<br />
what kind of performance<br />
could be achieved from this<br />
new type of fiber. To date,<br />
Polartec has upcycled 1.7<br />
billion bottles into performance<br />
textiles, and now offers over 200+<br />
fabrics made from at least 50% PCR content,<br />
and 50+ fabrics made from 100% PCR content.<br />
Every year, the numbers increase as the line<br />
between sustainability and performance<br />
becomes smaller.<br />
Recycled inputs are just one of the foundational<br />
pillars to EcoEngineering. Over time, Polartec has<br />
adopted a more holistic approach to creating<br />
more sustainable products. Today, this includes<br />
smarter chemistry (like non-PFAS DWR), greater<br />
durability (perhaps the best solution to greater<br />
sustainability), natural performance (naturebased<br />
and bio-based solutions), and recycled<br />
materials (PCR content).<br />
Of course, truly sustainable products require a<br />
more responsible manufacturing/production<br />
process. Every year, Polartec finds new ways to<br />
reduce the consumption of energy, water, and<br />
CO2 emissions in its manufacturing plants. And<br />
whenever possible, it strives to exceed industry<br />
standards through rigorous and transparent<br />
OEKO-TEX ® , bluesign ® , Higg Index and GRS<br />
certifications.<br />
Polartec’s dedication to environmentally<br />
sustainable products and manufacturing<br />
continues to push the market forward. From<br />
innovating non-PFAS DWR treatments to<br />
the first performance fabric built to reduce<br />
microfiber shedding (Polartec ® Power Air ® ),<br />
from achieving products that complement<br />
the circularity ambitions of brand partners<br />
to leading the way in recycled content,<br />
sustainable science has become the<br />
innovative force behind Polartec.<br />
“Achieving non-PFAS<br />
treatments within<br />
our product line is an<br />
important milestone<br />
in our commitment to<br />
innovate sustainablymade<br />
performance fabrics.<br />
It’s the latest step on our<br />
journey to an even more<br />
sustainable Polartec.”<br />
Steve Layton, Polartec President<br />
A future made possible through the process of<br />
EcoEngineering and the science of fabric.<br />
19
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
The IdeaList<br />
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Committed, convinced and confident:<br />
people we call idealists, whose<br />
achievements - small and large - stand<br />
out for a more sustainable world. They have<br />
inspired others, founded movements or<br />
protected regions. Some of them have been<br />
seen and heard, others less so. But all of<br />
these idealists have proven themselves to be<br />
crusaders for sustainability and are thus part<br />
of our list, the “IdeaList.”<br />
The trailblazer: Yvon Chouinard<br />
Yvon Chouinard’s career as a founder of Chouinard<br />
Equipment, Black Diamond and Patagonia<br />
is common knowledge.<br />
Over his time in the<br />
business, Patagonia has<br />
donated more than $105<br />
million to environmental<br />
causes. It has topped<br />
the list among apparel<br />
brands with the best<br />
reputation on the Axios<br />
Harris Poll rankings.<br />
Chouinard has steered<br />
Patagonia to the purpose-driven<br />
company<br />
it is today by being a<br />
very early inventor of disruptive marketing (like<br />
urging consumers on Black Friday, 2011, to “Don’t<br />
buy this jacket,” trying to trigger a reflection process<br />
that encourages thoughtful consumption.<br />
After decades of his company blazing the trail<br />
and driving many things forward, he says: “There<br />
is no such thing as sustainability. The best we<br />
can do is cause the least amount of harm.”<br />
Chouinard believes stock market valuations are<br />
“absurd,” investing in shares is “buying blue sky”<br />
– and modern-day capitalism is destroying the<br />
planet. “I’d like to see an end to public corporations<br />
because we’re not going to revolutionize<br />
them, we’re not going to change them,” Chouinard<br />
once told the Guardian.<br />
The preservationist: John Muir<br />
Born in 1838, the co-founder of the Sierra Club<br />
was one of the first activists that saw the need<br />
for legal protection of lands as the only way to<br />
preserve wildlife and nature. He helped to install<br />
the Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The<br />
picture shows Muir (on<br />
the right) with Theodore<br />
Roosevelt on<br />
Glacier Point in Yosemite<br />
National Park (Photo:<br />
public domain). Unlike<br />
the conservationists of<br />
his day, who wanted<br />
to protect the land for<br />
human use above all<br />
else, Muir was a preservationist:<br />
his goal was to<br />
leave nature as untouched<br />
as possible.<br />
The humanist: Jürgen Altmann<br />
During a sabbatical in Ladakh, Jürgen Altmann,<br />
owner of the Aroma Kaffeebar in Munich, learned<br />
that nearly 90 percent of the population suffers<br />
from eye damage and eye diseases due to<br />
extreme UV radiation.<br />
In 2009, he founded<br />
Shades of Love, a project<br />
that collects new or used<br />
sunglasses from businesses<br />
and consumers and<br />
distributes them to people<br />
in high-altitude regions. He<br />
has since built logistics and<br />
partnerships to ensure distribution<br />
through various<br />
means to the target areas.<br />
An NGO, Brillen Weltweit, is helping with the testing,<br />
preparation and storage for Shades of Love.<br />
On-site, there is a network of professional organizations<br />
that finally distribute the sunglasses (for<br />
example the shipment of 70,000 sunglasses in<br />
Fall 2021) to the remote mountain regions..<br />
Key cooperation partners include:<br />
• The Tibetan Health Care Center in Choglamsar/Ladakh,<br />
a partner organization of the Department<br />
of Health in Dharamsala, a charity<br />
of the Dalai Lama.<br />
• Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Kathmandu,<br />
a part of the Nepal Eye Program.<br />
Today, around 50,000 pairs of glasses are waiting<br />
in the German warehouse to be shipped. Companies<br />
such as Apollo Optics, Edel Optics, Julbo and<br />
Funk are among the regular providers of unused<br />
glasses, but private individuals also donate used<br />
20
ones. What is always lacking, Altmann says, is<br />
funding for the logistics part. He is also working<br />
on setting up a base in South America. Many people<br />
in the Andes also suffer from eye diseases.<br />
The economist: Robin Murray<br />
Professor Robin Murray, who died in 2017, was<br />
the voice and avid proponent of the Zero Waste<br />
movement and the first to describe the need to<br />
recycle unavoidable waste in his 1999 book, “Creating<br />
Wealth from Waste.” In his next book, “Zero<br />
Waste,” he wrote, “from the perspective of pollution,<br />
the problem is a question of what waste is.<br />
From the perspective of resource productivity, it<br />
is a question of what waste could be. As a pollutant,<br />
waste demands control. As an embodiment<br />
of accumulated energy and materials, it invites<br />
an alternative. The one is a constraint to an old<br />
way of doing things. The other opens up a path<br />
to the new.” He was an economist who firmly<br />
believed in collaboration as the key to industrial<br />
restructuring in response to environmental<br />
pressures.<br />
The applicators:<br />
Jay Cohen Gilbert,<br />
Bart Houlahan and<br />
Andrew Kassoy<br />
Jay Cohen Gilbert, Bart<br />
Houlahan, and Andrew<br />
Kassoy are the fathers of B<br />
Lab, a nonprofit network<br />
founded with the grand<br />
goal of transforming the global economy. On a<br />
smaller scale, it provides companies with a legal<br />
framework that puts the values of sustainability<br />
and the common good as much at the heart of<br />
their operations as the need to make money. B<br />
Lab became Benefit Corporation, a movement<br />
that to date includes more than 4,500 companies.<br />
A certified B Corp must consider the impact of its<br />
decisions on its employees, customers, suppliers,<br />
community and environment. B Corps are actively<br />
building an inclusive and regenerative economy,<br />
and 4,515 B Corps around the world in 153<br />
different industries are proof that values-based<br />
businesses can succeed.<br />
The voice: Greta Thunberg<br />
Carried by an<br />
unprecedented<br />
wave, Greta Thunberg,<br />
born in 2003,<br />
became the voice<br />
of an entire generation.<br />
In just a<br />
few years, global<br />
networking and<br />
the digital age,<br />
especially within<br />
the Gen-Z, have<br />
catapulted the<br />
Swedish activist onto the podiums of the UN,<br />
to Davos and to conferences where the course<br />
of the world economy is set. Thunberg’s school<br />
strike was the nucleus of the “Fridays for Future”<br />
movement, referenced in global protests to<br />
meet the 1.5-degree target.<br />
© Per Grunditz / Dreamstime.com<br />
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<strong>EDM</strong> SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS<br />
ISSUE #1-<strong>2022</strong><br />
A special edition e-paper published by <strong>EDM</strong><br />
Publications GmbH, Paradiesstr. 10, 80538<br />
Munich, Germany. © <strong>2022</strong><br />
Project Manager: Susanne Kern<br />
Managing Editor: Wolfgang Greiner<br />
Managing Director <strong>EDM</strong>: Krischan Hertle<br />
Layout concept and support: Pedro Rodriguez<br />
Contributors: Charles Ross, Pamela Ravasio,<br />
Fredrik Ekström, Kai Landwehr<br />
Thank you: Katy Stevens, Martin Kössler<br />
The <strong>EDM</strong> <strong>Sustainable</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Special is a<br />
free e-publication published at least twice<br />
a year. Contact Franziska Harfy (franziska.<br />
harfy@edmpublications.com) for advertising<br />
opportunities. SGI Europe, The Outdoor<br />
Industry Compass, Shoe Intelligence and<br />
Eyewear Intelligence are subscription-based<br />
services. For inquiries about individual and corporate<br />
subscriptions, please contact Lena Androsova<br />
(l.androsova@edmpublications.com).<br />
More information: www.edmpublications.com<br />
Reg No. HRB248849, VAT No. DE325691754<br />
21
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
State of Industry Survey<br />
As a first for this Special, <strong>EDM</strong> Publications<br />
conducted a survey among its<br />
readers in January <strong>2022</strong> on the topic<br />
of sustainability. The privilege of gaining<br />
access to an elite pool of decision-makers<br />
and asking them for their opinions was<br />
exceptionally exciting. This survey is not<br />
intended to be the only one. We will repeat<br />
it at regular intervals to track the evolution<br />
towards a greener industry.<br />
The overall sentiment is slightly optimistic: twothirds<br />
of our readers see their companies making<br />
good (31,6 percent) or average (49 percent) progress<br />
concerning their sustainability agenda.<br />
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The majority of the survey’s participants come<br />
from retail and brands; the bigger rest are manufacturers<br />
or working for ingredient brands.<br />
Regarding the certification and external audit of<br />
sustainability achievements, only 15 percent of the<br />
participants claimed not to have any CSR team or<br />
certification yet. 33 percent at least work on the<br />
topic in-house, which adds up to almost half of<br />
the companies not working with external audits<br />
and competence sources. For those using certification<br />
partners, ISO is the most relevant standard<br />
(32.7 percent), followed by Oeko-Tex (11.2 percent)<br />
and Bluesign (9.2 percent).<br />
This weighting may be reflected in the evaluation<br />
of which point in the supply chain can make the<br />
fastest progress in environmental protection (see<br />
below):<br />
• First and foremost, suppliers of fibers and<br />
fabrics are expected to act.<br />
• By far, the biggest potential for more sustainability<br />
is seen at the very source of the<br />
manufacturing process, in the field of raw<br />
material sourcing.<br />
• Logistics and distribution are not seen as primary<br />
and fast-acting improvement opportunities,<br />
nor is product life.<br />
This last assessment is particularly interesting<br />
because it contradicts some of the scientific<br />
insights: While a study commissioned by W.L.Gore<br />
confirms that to date, most emissions (65 %)<br />
occur in production, logistics and distribution,<br />
while the use (e.g., washing/impregnation) by<br />
the consumer, including subsequent disposal,<br />
causes 35 % of all environmental damage done.<br />
The study assumed a service life of around five<br />
22
years for a shell jacket. The longer a garment is in<br />
use, the more this weighting shifts to the detriment<br />
of emissions during production, so a longer<br />
product lifetime may indeed quickly care for a<br />
smaller footprint. If manufacturing emissions go<br />
down, the relevance of a longer lifetime for better<br />
sustainability increases.<br />
However, in an ideal world, a longer product wear<br />
time and a more sustainable production would<br />
go hand in hand. Today, production remains<br />
the big factor. But a closer look at the different<br />
parameters measures during production shows a<br />
shift of relevance. Renewable energy sources are<br />
gaining importance in many businesses, so the<br />
energy factor is probably becoming less important<br />
- while the issues of logistics and water consumption<br />
could become more relevant as more<br />
organic raw materials are used.<br />
Being asked for the primary reasons for the<br />
ongoing efforts for sustainability improvement,<br />
most of the survey participants feel that consumers<br />
are demanding it. At the same time, <strong>EDM</strong><br />
readers see brands pushing the industry, and<br />
almost the same checkmarks were counted on<br />
“laws and regulations” that push for more sustainability<br />
in the sporting goods industry. Only about<br />
a quarter of the respondents say retailers are also<br />
pressing for action. Manufacturers and ingredient<br />
brands are least seen as relevant drivers for<br />
change – although the above answers show that<br />
those pieces in the puzzle are specifically seen as<br />
having the most potential and influence on the<br />
industry’s overall environmental footprint.<br />
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23
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
Advertisement<br />
Sympatex – start making sense<br />
Collaboration: the right way from an economical,<br />
professional and emotional perspective<br />
For Sympatex, the willingness of the market<br />
to take collective responsibility for the environmental<br />
collateral of our industry has<br />
been decisive to the company’s development.<br />
Today, the company is a system partner, ingredient<br />
supplier and advisory body to its customers.<br />
Sympatex has learned one lesson in its multiple<br />
roles: collaboration is key.<br />
What is the Sympatex<br />
business model based on?<br />
The branded Sympatex ingredient is a membrane<br />
made from polyester and developed in<br />
Europe, using a recipe that has been around<br />
relatively unchanged for 35 years and is offered<br />
in various laminates. The chemical<br />
formula of the starting material is<br />
environmentally harmless. When<br />
laminated with polyester face<br />
and liner fabrics, the resulting<br />
mono-material laminate is recyclable<br />
and can theoretically<br />
be manufactured into a fully<br />
circular end product. However,<br />
the components that lead<br />
to a finished product – like zippers,<br />
buttons, threads, accessories<br />
and shoe soles – decide on<br />
the product’s recyclability. Here is<br />
where circular design thinking begins.<br />
What factors are currently<br />
influencing the market situation<br />
and Sympatex’s business model?<br />
1. The EU urges for circular textile solutions.<br />
2. Brands are beginning to transform their business<br />
models and product.<br />
3. Innovations point the way - founders are the<br />
basis, science is the engine.<br />
4. Legislative processes ban substances harmful<br />
to the environment and health.<br />
5. Portfolio and collection developments adapt to<br />
circumstances.<br />
<strong>2022</strong> will be a decisive year for the textile industry.<br />
100 billion garments and 23 billion pairs of shoes<br />
are produced per year, most of them dumped<br />
or burned after use in the current linear product<br />
life. Considering the knowledge and technical<br />
possibilities available, we need to learn to see<br />
the possible opportunity in the numbers: 100bn<br />
garments and 23bn shoes represent the future<br />
source of new raw material for producing (textile)<br />
industries.<br />
The world is changing rapidly, and it is impossible<br />
to give a general answer to what point of view we<br />
choose tomorrow. But what is quite fundamental<br />
for all decision-making is orientation. Labels,<br />
certificates, audits - what is the right way to stand<br />
up for clarity? CSR departments from different<br />
companies share their knowledge and<br />
discuss modules, and corresponding<br />
joint organizations and associations<br />
push this cohesion. Just like the<br />
fact that one sustainable ingredient<br />
doesn’t make for a green<br />
product, the conclusion for all<br />
of us can only be to sustainably<br />
adapt business processes,<br />
development stages and<br />
the entire product portfolio.<br />
Balance sheets have to be designed<br />
with economic sensitivity<br />
and supplemented with the real<br />
social and environmental costs and<br />
resource benefits. To reach our goals,<br />
reducing what is unnecessary or required is<br />
mandatory - for consumption, development and<br />
output. And we have to compensate or redesign<br />
what cannot be solved in an environmentally<br />
friendly way.<br />
The prerequisite for incipient circularity is the use<br />
of pure polyester compositions. Based on this,<br />
Sympatex calls on the textile industry to adopt a<br />
collective mono-material strategy for the performance<br />
areas where functional textiles are to be<br />
used.<br />
1. Polyester is the only synthetic material that allows<br />
an efficient recycling process.<br />
2. Recycled polyester saves the most water and<br />
CO2.<br />
3. Polyester has by far the broadest application in<br />
our industry.<br />
24
4. Only polyester-based mono-materials can be<br />
easily recycled.<br />
Add these innovative technologies: Welding, 3D<br />
modeling, thermoforming - each offers opportunities<br />
for minimal material consumption and<br />
technological minimization of resource waste in<br />
production. Together with its partners, Sympatex<br />
develops products that guarantee maximum<br />
performance for waterproofness and breathability<br />
without harmful chemicals and, in the medium<br />
term, also without taping. Simply by using<br />
existing production processes from other industries:<br />
Workshop sharing is fundamental to the<br />
concept.<br />
The European Commission is committed to<br />
adopting legislation in January <strong>2022</strong> to ensure<br />
compliance with the proportionality principle,<br />
enforce a complete ban on fluorochemicals and<br />
force transparency for the consumer. With the<br />
deadlines for developing new product lines insight,<br />
we have to act now.<br />
What are the next steps for the<br />
textile industry that are real,<br />
feasible and measurable?<br />
True circularity can only be achieved through collaborative<br />
efforts. What we need are cross-company<br />
cooperations as they release enormous<br />
knowledge and opportunities. Remodeling the<br />
textile industry from linear to circular production<br />
requires unconditional transparency of expertise,<br />
solutions, research and science – Sympatex believes<br />
cooperation is the decisive prerequisite for<br />
closing the loop. The system can only be changed<br />
if the entire industry agrees on specific standards<br />
and leaves competition aside to a certain extent.<br />
This is why Sympatex pursues cooperation and<br />
strategic partnerships at the heart of its action.<br />
In the last two pandemic years, it has become<br />
clear that collaborative structures are essential.<br />
To this end, the Sympathy Lab was launched by<br />
Sympatex in December 2021 as a joint forum. The<br />
new web platform stands for collaboration, education<br />
and impulses that empower the entire<br />
outdoor and fashion industry for the sustainable<br />
change. The setup is a webinar series organized<br />
monthly in collaboration with different people<br />
and brands. The goal is to create a library of sorts<br />
for all types of endeavors, solutions and partnerships.<br />
Sympatex is inviting all stakeholders to<br />
share relevant information here, be it sources,<br />
foundations or training, as the main task of sales<br />
and distribution forces - only together will a much<br />
larger movement be created.<br />
For <strong>2022</strong>, the following milestones are to be set in<br />
the Sympathy Lab:<br />
1. Create a platform for sustainability reports strategic<br />
papers for concrete courses of action as<br />
best-practice guidelines – independent of competitive<br />
thinking.<br />
2. To use monthly vertical TV and audio formats<br />
to contribute journalistically to transparency and<br />
knowledge in attractive implementation to active<br />
discussion and concrete guidance for change.<br />
3. To convince younger generations and young<br />
professionals to work in the textile, footwear and<br />
outdoor industries - from retailers to teachers.<br />
4. To become the exchange platform for innovative,<br />
straightforward and inspiring personalities.<br />
With Kim Scholze as Chief <strong>Sustainable</strong><br />
Community Manager, Sympatex wants to take<br />
on the role of an enabler in the industry, relying<br />
on the power of the many. At Sympatex and<br />
in her podcast Spuzziness, Scholze puts the<br />
topic of sustainability and collaboration on the<br />
agenda of various platforms. Collaboration and<br />
Unity for Change are key buzzwords for the<br />
path Sympatex has taken, both professionally<br />
and personally. As the<br />
person responsible for<br />
business development<br />
and communications,<br />
Kim Scholze wants to<br />
initiate partnerships that<br />
accelerate mutual learning.<br />
Kim.Scholze@Sympatex.com<br />
© Sandra Steh<br />
25
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
Leading the Pack<br />
Some industry executives are thinking<br />
further ahead. They have visions. And<br />
they act. They have understood. And<br />
they share. And they seem to be better at<br />
connecting the dots. In our first edition<br />
of the <strong>EDM</strong> <strong>Sustainable</strong> <strong>Business</strong> Special,<br />
we introduce the first four individuals we<br />
consider to be true forward-thinkers of the<br />
sporting goods industry.<br />
movements towards environmentally conscious<br />
consumption.” Within the last four years, Antje<br />
von Dewitz has consequently transformed the<br />
Vaude company into a climate-neutral business<br />
that (like 500 others) is committed to the<br />
so-called “economy for the common good” and<br />
files a common good balance sheet showing the<br />
extent to which the company has assumed its<br />
social-ecological responsibility.<br />
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The heir:<br />
Antje von Dewitz (CEO Vaude)<br />
When Antje von Dewitz took over Vaude from<br />
her father in 1998, the first significant step to<br />
more sustainability had already been made<br />
four years earlier: The Ecolog Recycling Network<br />
that Vaude installed in 1994. This initial trial to<br />
go for recyclable, mono-material products that<br />
would be part of a circular economy didn’t have<br />
a successful takeoff – mainly because of a lack of<br />
response. Consumers returned very few products,<br />
resistance from retail was significant, and the<br />
effort and resources flowing into the project were<br />
immense. The initial learning from this pioneering<br />
work was: sustainability isn’t a single project.<br />
It has to be an integral part of the company’s<br />
daily work and reach out to all branches and the<br />
tiniest twigs of the whole tree.<br />
But things have changed since then: “We are<br />
seeing a significant increase in consumer<br />
knowledge and a strong expectation that brands<br />
and retailers should make their offerings more<br />
sustainable. Fridays for Future has given a first<br />
push and the pandemic a second, even stronger<br />
Asked for anything that she would judge as a<br />
failure in the past years, Antje von Dewitz says: “I<br />
should have taken external consultancy to support<br />
the transformation of employee’s mindset<br />
much earlier. The process involves a lot of interdisciplinary<br />
management of conflicts, so everyone<br />
involved has to have a lust to take responsibility.”<br />
Economy for the<br />
Common Good<br />
www.ecogood.org<br />
Economy for the Common Good is<br />
an economic model that makes the<br />
common good – a good life for everyone<br />
on a healthy planet – its primary goal and<br />
purpose. At the heart of this concept lies<br />
the idea that values-driven businesses are<br />
mindful of and committed to:<br />
• Human Dignity<br />
• Solidarity and Social Justice<br />
• Environmental Sustainability<br />
• Transparency and Co-Determination<br />
Using a “Common Good Matrix,” results<br />
show a company’s contribution to<br />
the common good. This tool should<br />
make visible how fair, sustainable and<br />
transparent they are. Among other goals,<br />
the movement aims for a value-added tax<br />
assessment based on the sustainability<br />
goals achieved by the individual<br />
companies.<br />
26
The business changer:<br />
Eva Karlsson (CEO Houdini)<br />
You were recently asked if you would ever<br />
consider taking Houdini to the stock market<br />
and replied, “There’s a great deal to change on<br />
the stock market, and if we could support its’<br />
transformation from within, it would be worth<br />
considering.” Do you perhaps have a plan, or<br />
could you elaborate further?<br />
Eva Karlsson: We do and we don’t have a detailed<br />
master plan, depending on how you look<br />
at it. Whether it would include a transformation<br />
of the financial sector from within remains<br />
unknown. Our plan is to cultivate value across<br />
stakeholders (individuals, society and planet) for<br />
the long term, resulting in becoming regenerative<br />
and contributing to a world in regeneration.<br />
That is quite contrary to the financial system,<br />
including the stock market, due to its design.<br />
Value in the financial system is isolated to monetary<br />
value. In the case of the stock exchange, it<br />
is isolated to monetary value and the short term,<br />
often at the expense of the long term. There<br />
are no systemic feedback-loops connected to<br />
potential depletion of natural resources, natural<br />
ecosystems or societal ecosystems either, which<br />
allows the financial system to operate as if it<br />
was separate and independent from the living<br />
world. I want to stress that we are talking about<br />
a systemic design flaw in the financial system,<br />
© Fredrik Schenholm<br />
not about people in the financial<br />
sector caring less than the rest<br />
of us or anything like that.<br />
The good thing with systemic<br />
design flaws is that we designed<br />
them, and we have the opportunity<br />
to redesign them. Houdini<br />
has been in the business of<br />
reimagining and redesigning<br />
systems since the start. For<br />
instance, we have spent the last<br />
20 years redesigning the linear<br />
apparel system into a circular<br />
one.<br />
So what would be a first step<br />
on the road to a fundamental<br />
change?<br />
Eva Karlsson: The way we’ve approached systemic<br />
design flaws is not to distance ourselves<br />
and point fingers but to embrace them - to<br />
acknowledge the facts, deepen our understanding,<br />
and find ways to redesign them to<br />
ensure we don’t end up with new systemic<br />
design errors that we have to address. For these<br />
redesigns to be robust and scalable at the level<br />
of eventually transforming the entire system, we<br />
have practiced open-source and collaborated<br />
with like-minded experts and peers. We would<br />
apply the same methodology to the stock market.<br />
We might not be the one, but either way, it<br />
will be important that change agents come into<br />
play in the financial sector in the coming years.<br />
We need the financial sector and every other<br />
sector to transform from a degenerative to a<br />
regenerative world.<br />
Consequently, has Houdini set itself up for a<br />
zero-sum game?<br />
Eva Karlsson: No, not at all: I would like to underline<br />
that Houdini is a for-profit company that<br />
has chosen a holistic perspective on value-creation,<br />
way beyond money and way beyond<br />
shareholders. It makes total sense as long as you<br />
have a long-term perspective. To make profits in<br />
the long term, we need a planet in good shape,<br />
and we need to be valued by our customers,<br />
users and all our stakeholders now and in the<br />
future. That is why we believe in holistic value<br />
creation.<br />
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
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The connector:<br />
Katy Stevens (EOG Head of CSR<br />
and Sustainability)<br />
What was the initial spark for you as a person<br />
to make the topic of sustainability a central<br />
part of your career?<br />
Katy Stevens: For me, it was a factory visit to<br />
China around 15 years ago, witnessing and<br />
experiencing first-hand the realities of the<br />
biggest part of the industry that you rarely get<br />
to see. I remember a growing awareness as<br />
we shared a cabin on a night train with some<br />
older teenage girls who were leaving home to<br />
go and work in factories in a different city. They<br />
were excited by the prospect of leaving home,<br />
earning money and new adventures.<br />
There was a strong contrast the next day when<br />
I visited a factory (different factory, different<br />
girls), but I was genuinely quite shocked by the<br />
rows upon rows of young, mostly women, sewing<br />
garments, and the mountainous volumes<br />
of clothing piled up everywhere, combined<br />
with the bleakness of the environment surrounding<br />
the factory. I started to understand<br />
at that time the impact of mass production on<br />
people and the planet as well as the cultural<br />
and logistical complexities of supply chains.<br />
In retrospect, are there any decisions you<br />
should have made earlier or differently?<br />
Katy Stevens: Not at all, I am very happy with<br />
the route that I took to get here, and I think it<br />
has afforded me a lot of essential knowledge. I<br />
come from a materials/textile production background,<br />
so for me understanding what things<br />
are made from and how they are produced is<br />
a fantastic foundation (and the opportunities<br />
to study sustainability-related subjects were<br />
not available like they are now). I think there<br />
are opportunities and access points into ‘sustainability’<br />
and a lot of value in sustainability<br />
teams with mixed backgrounds and a variety<br />
of skill sets. As the topic becomes an essential<br />
part of business strategy, we are seeing a huge<br />
amount of ‘new positions’ within organizations<br />
and different job types within that strategy,<br />
data analysis, project management etc.<br />
Do you see major improvement for more sustainability<br />
happening in the sporting goods<br />
industry?<br />
Katy Stevens: Absolutely, I think there is still a<br />
lot of potential for technology and innovation<br />
across the industry. Textile and apparel supply<br />
chains are so incredibly long and complicated<br />
and I think there is opportunity at many<br />
points; farming and fiber production, materials<br />
and fabric development, dyeing and finishing<br />
processes, logistics etc. With so many processes<br />
in the production of apparel and sporting<br />
goods, if we can optimize each of these stages<br />
in terms of impact, I think all of these small<br />
changes could really add up to be significant.<br />
Do you believe in the compatibility of growth/<br />
shareholder value as a business model and<br />
environmental sustainability?<br />
Katy Stevens: Like any industry, the outdoor/<br />
apparel industry needs investment to survive,<br />
and few investors are willing to do so without<br />
the prospect of any ROI. However, currently,<br />
we are costing products from the top down,<br />
which leads to cutting corners on necessary<br />
environmental and social matters to reach<br />
specific price points. For a long time, we have<br />
been subsidizing both the shareholders and<br />
the consumer at the cost of environmental<br />
destruction and the quality of life and dignity<br />
of supply chain workers and only when these<br />
issues are addressed should we start talking<br />
about growth.<br />
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The early mover:<br />
David Ekelund (CEO Icebug)<br />
What was the initial spark for you personally to<br />
pursue sustainability at Icebug?<br />
David Ekelund: Earth Overshoot Day. The realization<br />
of how utterly stupid and destructive it<br />
is to spend more resources than the planet can<br />
regenerate. That’s unsustainable in the most literal<br />
meaning of the word. Further fuel on the fire is<br />
the climate emergency. I love snow.<br />
In retrospect, are there any decisions you should<br />
have made earlier or differently?<br />
David Ekelund: We should have changed the fundamental<br />
view of what Icebug stands for much<br />
earlier – and been clear that we want to use our<br />
company as a tool to drive sustainable transformation,<br />
using every interaction we have - with<br />
customers, suppliers, colleagues - to influence the<br />
cultural change we need.<br />
Apart from that, we have acted to the best of our<br />
knowledge. We have to live with our imperfection.<br />
That is OK, as long as we continue to strive to<br />
improve our knowledge base and continue to act<br />
on it.<br />
Do you see significant improvements for more<br />
sustainability in the footwear industry?<br />
David Ekelund: That’s certainly a subject of debate.<br />
We see a lot of high-flying pilot projects, but<br />
for them to become more than just marketing,<br />
they need to scale. What’s interesting is what’s<br />
really being used the most, and that’s still a lot of<br />
petroleum as raw material, non-renewable energy<br />
in the supply chain (including coal, still), and air<br />
freight to catch sales when products are late. How<br />
is that compatible with knowing that this is a<br />
climate emergency?<br />
The proof is in the pudding, and the only way to<br />
determine if we are making significant improvements<br />
is to look at the data. A first step would be<br />
for brands to provide the data. And in the second<br />
phase, that emissions, the use of non-renewable<br />
materials and chemicals of high concern - to<br />
name just a few - are going down.<br />
According to a very read-worthy recent report by<br />
the Apparel Impact Initiative, the textile industry<br />
- and in our experience, this also applies to the<br />
footwear industry - can cut emissions by over 50%<br />
by using existing technology. So at this point, we<br />
don’t really need innovation, because we already<br />
have the tools. We just need the will to use them.<br />
Do you believe in the compatibility of growth/<br />
shareholder value and environmental sustainability?<br />
David Ekelund: We have yet to define what “environmental<br />
sustainability” really means. I think<br />
it would have to be in the direction of satisfying<br />
human needs within planetary boundaries.<br />
To your question, allow me to amend it: Is it all<br />
right to grow without taking full responsibility for<br />
your own footprint, and are you then creating true<br />
value for your shareholders?<br />
One question that I can answer is the related<br />
one: “Can you take full responsibility and still be<br />
profitable?” That’s a yes. I know this for a fact and<br />
believe that a sustainable business must be profitable<br />
and have a good cash flow. That’s the only<br />
way to ensure that you stay in a position to make<br />
the decisions that you think are right for the long<br />
term.<br />
I’m a fan of capitalism - otherwise, it would be really<br />
unimaginative to be a business person. We will<br />
need the dynamic aspect of capitalism to create<br />
prosperity. But! Capitalism must be reined in. The<br />
economic system must not be at the expense of<br />
society or nature. <strong>Business</strong>es must be profitable<br />
without exploiting people or the planet.<br />
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
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30<br />
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
Circular Economy<br />
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Where all the<br />
threads come<br />
together<br />
The adage “good things come to those who wait”<br />
does not apply to the tasks ahead for a low-emissions<br />
industry responding to the climate crisis, the<br />
biodiversity and nature crisis, and the pollution<br />
and waste crisis. Part of these urgent tasks is to<br />
advance existing recycling capabilities. A critical<br />
part of this circular economy is decoupling growth<br />
from resource use, which requires transparency,<br />
honesty, trust, and a shared commitment to radical<br />
change.<br />
Many global initiatives have already been formed<br />
in the fashion and sports industry to advance the<br />
circular economy. The Platform for Accelerating<br />
the Circular Economy (PACE) is one. Founded in<br />
2018 by the World Economic<br />
Forum, this organization<br />
has brought together<br />
thinkers and scientists to<br />
structure and focus the<br />
many well-intentioned<br />
approaches and aims<br />
to create the space for<br />
cross-industry collaboration<br />
and a strong database accessible<br />
to all stakeholders.<br />
“Science-based information<br />
on where and how much<br />
environmental and social<br />
costs are borne along the entire value chain of the<br />
fashion industry will be critical to promote circularity<br />
in the fashion industry further,” says Naoko<br />
Ishii, Executive Vice President and Director of the<br />
Center for Global Commons at the University of<br />
Tokyo.<br />
The outcome of a joint effort of over 200 circular<br />
economy experts from 100 businesses and civil society<br />
organizations that have met under the PACE<br />
umbrella is the Circular Economy Action Agenda.<br />
In the 56 pages of the paper, three objectives have<br />
been formulated based on converging visions of a<br />
circular economy for textiles: inputs for textiles are<br />
safe and recycled or renewable; textiles are kept<br />
in use for longer; and textiles are recyclable and<br />
recycled at end-of-use.<br />
The main actions that PACE sees on the road to<br />
the circular economy are listed in ten points:<br />
1. Incentivize and support design for longevity and<br />
recyclability<br />
2. <strong>Sustainable</strong> production of virgin natural fibers,<br />
including land use<br />
3. Encourage the market to use less clothing, and<br />
for longer<br />
4. Guide and support new business models for<br />
environmental, financial, and social triple-win<br />
5. Where used textiles are traded, ensure environmental<br />
and socio-economic benefits<br />
6. Strategically plan collection, sorting, and recycling<br />
operations<br />
7. Increase efficiency and quality in the sorting of<br />
textiles<br />
© Equip Outdoor Technologies<br />
8. Make recycled fibers market<br />
competitive<br />
9. Integrate and advance<br />
decent work in the transition<br />
to a circular economy<br />
for textiles<br />
10. Investigate the socio-economic<br />
impacts of a<br />
circular economy for textiles<br />
In 2017, the Ellen MacArthur<br />
Foundation claimed that<br />
the transition to a circular<br />
economy would create a $560 billion economic<br />
opportunity for the fashion industry by better<br />
capturing the value of underutilized, landfilled or<br />
incinerated clothing. However, circular economy<br />
for textiles includes a complex matrix of pros and<br />
cons. It is a gigantic transition that would affect<br />
people and the planet and also contains points of<br />
attention.<br />
Increasing renewable inputs for textiles may put<br />
more pressure on agriculture, competing for<br />
land with food production and forest protection.<br />
A transition to a circular economy for textiles is<br />
expected to shift employment in the value chain<br />
from upstream to mid and downstream, therefore<br />
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targeted efforts are needed to ensure the transition<br />
is just and inclusive. Furthermore, understanding<br />
the economic impacts of the transition is<br />
still relatively limited and requires more quantitative<br />
research.<br />
In its agenda, PACE has tried to work out and evaluate<br />
benefits and points of attention in five areas:<br />
resource use, climate change, human health and<br />
biodiversity, economic wellbeing and working<br />
conditions.<br />
These five topics are highlighted and aligned<br />
with the three key objectives: What influence<br />
does a measure have on the topic area of working<br />
conditions, and what influence does it have on<br />
climate protection? For example, keeping clothes<br />
in use for longer causes benefits for resource use,<br />
climate change and human health – the trade-off<br />
is: it will most probably have a negative impact on<br />
decent work available and thus an uncertain impact<br />
on economic wellbeing. Even more complex<br />
is the question of recycled and renewable textiles,<br />
depending on the fiber type: Shifting from high<br />
carbon footprint raw natural materials like wool<br />
and leather to recycled ones can indeed reduce<br />
greenhouse gas emissions. A clearly two-sided<br />
coin is the switch from synthetic to plant-based<br />
fibers, which leads to land conversion with different<br />
impacts: If forests are cleared, greenhouse<br />
gas emissions may increase; When wood fiber<br />
is grown on degraded cropland, this, in turn, can<br />
help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving<br />
the quality of the soil.<br />
Those examples from the PACE agenda show is<br />
that the transformation to a circular economy involves<br />
not just black and white but many shades<br />
of gray – many question marks, ifs and buts. PACE<br />
and the other organizations driving the issue nevertheless<br />
do not want to call for a fearful standstill<br />
that remains in the status quo for fear of negative<br />
consequences.<br />
The circular economy is a necessary task that<br />
needs to be tackled very wisely to decouple<br />
growth from the use of resources while not shaking<br />
the existing economic system as a whole. Or,<br />
taking the next step, going for a circular economy<br />
includes stopping thinking of growth as a relevant<br />
factor of success.<br />
By now, the steps being taken are not as radical.<br />
Still, there are small seedlings that point the<br />
direction: The circular toolbox or the new circular<br />
design guide published by fashion company<br />
Bestseller in early <strong>2022</strong> are just two among many<br />
examples of intelligence and best practices that<br />
are available to all industries. Also, ingredient<br />
brands like Sympatex (the company launched<br />
its Sympathy Lab last year) are pushing hard for<br />
cross-sectional thinking and collaborations.<br />
And also, internally, many<br />
big players are already investing<br />
in circular products,<br />
even if their management<br />
structure still belongs to<br />
a classic business model:<br />
Estia Engineering School<br />
and the European Center<br />
for Innovative Textiles (CETI)<br />
have just opened a new<br />
1,000-square-meter research<br />
and production facility<br />
called Cetia in southern<br />
France. Cetia is a playground<br />
for artificial intelligence<br />
research that identifies and<br />
classifies textiles to sort,<br />
disassemble and recycle textiles<br />
and shoes. Cetia’s first<br />
two customers are Decathlon<br />
and Eram.<br />
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SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
Go Ahead and Greenwash!<br />
10 5<br />
In the fight against climate change, companies<br />
must now take responsibility and step<br />
up efforts in the area of climate protection.<br />
This is true even if strategies and plans are<br />
not yet perfectly developed. Inaction and<br />
hesitation out of fear of possible criticism<br />
harm everyone: the climate and the companies<br />
themselves. A plea for quick action<br />
and against inconsiderate “greenwashing”<br />
accusations.<br />
Stopping climate change is our global task of<br />
the century. Unfortunately, we are three ways<br />
behind in tackling this task: Total greenhouse<br />
gas emissions, time, and money.<br />
As a society, we are still emitting far too many<br />
greenhouse gases. No matter whether you look<br />
at the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel<br />
for Climate Change or the presentation of the<br />
Climate Action Tracker. Also, the decarbonization<br />
of our economy and our lives is still well<br />
behind schedule. For mobility and production,<br />
we keep on pumping and, above all, burning<br />
fossil fuels.<br />
A shockingly unnecessary reason for this is that<br />
it is still worth it. The cost of switching energy<br />
supplies to renewables and changing processes<br />
and supply chains - transportation is just one<br />
small example in a larger problem area - still<br />
seems to be considered higher than continuing<br />
with the status quo. Admittedly, we also see “divestment”<br />
activities, i.e., a stop to all financing of<br />
fossil industries, which should not be underestimated.<br />
Nevertheless, these existing business<br />
models are still seen as tempting diversifying<br />
investments, especially from the perspective<br />
of large pension and retirement funds. Where<br />
climate change is already being experienced<br />
today, it deprives people of their livelihoods.<br />
Mitigation and recovery mechanisms exist, but<br />
financial resources are lacking.<br />
These three aspects - that we are emitting too<br />
many emissions, that we are behind schedule,<br />
and that we are underfunding or misfunding -<br />
reinforce each other. To overcome this dilemma,<br />
every immediate contribution counts. The rule<br />
that “fast” beats “perfect” also applies to climate<br />
protection.<br />
Too afraid of Trial and Error<br />
The “trial and error” principle, i.e., a typically<br />
Anglo-Saxon approach, is a tried and tested<br />
method for corporate climate protection as<br />
well. Unfortunately, there are concerns that a<br />
climate plan that has not yet been fully thought<br />
through and strategically implemented will<br />
provoke a negative, contrary reaction; after all,<br />
no company wants to be suspected of greenwashing.<br />
Not to be misunderstood: No one<br />
denies that there is such a thing as “greenwashing.”<br />
But “real” greenwashing is much less often<br />
behind actual accusations than it might seem.<br />
Indeed, empty bluster, the deliberate exaggeration<br />
of small, ineffective fig leaf activities, is<br />
wrongly conflated in the debate with climate<br />
protection in its early stages and with a learning<br />
curve. And as a result, the accusations of “greenwashing”<br />
achieve the opposite effect. Efforts<br />
in climate protection are kept on a low flame,<br />
concealed or not implemented at all, which is<br />
fatal.<br />
Long-distance race of<br />
corporate climate protection<br />
The path to a sustainable economy is a marathon,<br />
not a sprint. The goal is clear: companies<br />
should aim for “net-zero” operations. Net-zero<br />
deliberately accepts the lowest possible residual<br />
emissions, which are then offset, for example,<br />
by projects that remove CO2 emissions from<br />
the atmosphere (carbon capture). In terms of<br />
today, this means that CO2 emissions must be<br />
drastically reduced at the corporate level.<br />
34
Such a reduction requires a comprehensive<br />
change in strategy and mindset within the<br />
company, a questioning and adjustment of<br />
processes deep into the supply chain, as well as<br />
external factors such as a change in the general<br />
conditions and infrastructure (transport routes,<br />
energy supply). In addition to these fields,<br />
which are to be implemented and have an<br />
effect in the long term, there are also many immediate<br />
measures, “quick wins” in the company<br />
and at the product level. Whether in packaging<br />
or the business travel policy, in the energy mix<br />
in offices and stores, or the calculation and<br />
compensation of emissions from a specific<br />
product group.<br />
All of these starting points make sense for the<br />
climate, and they have an immediate effect.<br />
They do not buy a company off from long-term<br />
change. Instead, they create awareness and, in<br />
many cases, provide the basis for tackling and<br />
successfully mastering the major long-term<br />
tasks.<br />
Transparent communication<br />
is no greenwashing<br />
Therefore, it is not at all dishonorable to communicate<br />
about such initial measures, even<br />
if, for example, the supply chain still hides the<br />
large and difficult-to-target emission sources.<br />
Transparency is required: transparency with regard<br />
to one’s own processes, in the supply and<br />
value chain - “You can’t manage what you haven’t<br />
measured” - and transparency with regard<br />
to targets and transparency in communication.<br />
Communicating goals is evidence of a company’s<br />
ambition. Communicating what has<br />
already been achieved or what is immediately<br />
planned inspires competitors and customers.<br />
For most companies, this means admitting that<br />
the road to “net-zero” is still long. Nevertheless,<br />
reporting on their own initial successes and first<br />
steps has nothing to do with greenwashing.<br />
10 5<br />
Source: climateactiontracker.org<br />
35
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
10 5<br />
Paths for a successful,<br />
climate-friendly company<br />
Companies have many ways to achieve effective<br />
climate protection: from individual projects to a<br />
holistic strategic approach. The earlier and faster<br />
these paths are taken, the more both climate<br />
and company will benefit in the end.<br />
The cornerstone for sustainable corporate success<br />
lies in thoroughly examining the current<br />
situation by conducting a CO₂ balance sheet.<br />
This includes an analysis of existing processes<br />
and an in-depth look at the legal framework,<br />
the competitive environment and the risks of<br />
climate change for the company’s own business<br />
model.<br />
The current situation indicates the ecological<br />
potential and the starting points for best<br />
leveraging this over time. In this way, targets are<br />
set, and the right focus is established. External<br />
initiatives such as the Science-based Targets<br />
Initiative (SBTi) point the way here.<br />
Opportunities for short- and long-term climate<br />
protection can be found in very different<br />
areas: Greater efficiency and CO₂ reduction in<br />
processes, more climate-friendly products and<br />
services, positioning in the market, the company’s<br />
own employees as internal ambassadors<br />
for greater sustainability, sustainability projects<br />
in the supply chain, or all of the above.<br />
Offsetting CO₂ emissions, in particular, is a<br />
popular target for “greenwashing” accusations.<br />
However, high-quality offset projects make<br />
valuable, measurable and direct contributions<br />
to climate targets and the global sustainability<br />
goals (UN <strong>Sustainable</strong> Development Goals,<br />
SDGs). Ecosystems and, to an even greater<br />
extent, people in less developed regions that<br />
are already harder hit by climate change will<br />
benefit. As a stand-alone climate protection<br />
effort, offsetting is less effective. Coupled with<br />
continuous reduction measures, however, and<br />
virtually eliminating itself from year to year, offsetting<br />
provides urgently needed, immediately<br />
effective climate protection.<br />
The strategic integration of climate protection<br />
also includes the documentation of progress.<br />
Reporting in accordance with international<br />
standards such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol<br />
(GHG) creates transparency and comparability.<br />
Practice some greenwashing<br />
The possibilities are numerous, especially if<br />
climate protection has played a minor role in<br />
corporate processes up to now. Given the urgency,<br />
every single step helps as long as it leads<br />
in the right direction. So, please, before you do<br />
nothing, do “greenwashing.” Such potential<br />
criticism with this fighting term can be easily<br />
curbed: through transparent communication,<br />
setting further goals, all the way to strategic<br />
integration.<br />
36
About myclimate<br />
Myclimate is a partner for climate protection<br />
- globally and locally. Together with partners<br />
from the business community and private individuals,<br />
myclimate is committed to climate<br />
protection and sustainable development<br />
through consulting and educational services<br />
and its own CO2 offset projects. As a non-profit<br />
organization, myclimate pursues this goal<br />
in a market-oriented and customer-focused<br />
manner.<br />
The Swiss foundation promotes measurable<br />
climate protection and sustainable develop-<br />
ment worldwide with carbon offset projects<br />
according to the highest quality standards<br />
(Gold Standard, Plan Vivo). In addition, myclimate<br />
encourages everyone to make a<br />
sustainable contribution to the future with<br />
action-oriented and interactive educational<br />
offers. Myclimate, based in Zurich, Berlin, Cologne,<br />
Reutlingen and Vienna, also provides<br />
advice on integrated climate protection with<br />
tangible added value. This is created through<br />
IT solutions, awards, analyses and resource<br />
management.<br />
10 5<br />
About the author<br />
Kai Landwehr works as head of marketing at ”myclimate,”<br />
a Swiss-based NGO focusing on climate protection and<br />
sustainability measures. He is an expert in communications<br />
and sustainability with strong expertise in sports and<br />
digitalization. Before tapping into climate protection,<br />
Landwehr has worked in the sporting goods industry as<br />
communications and brand manager at Nike for ten years.<br />
© www.roberthoernig.com<br />
37
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS <strong>2022</strong><br />
It’s all about the recipe<br />
Ingredients such as fabrics, yarns and zippers<br />
are the starting point for sustainable<br />
purchasing decisions, and the pressure<br />
on fiber, component and textile suppliers<br />
is high. From different fiber manufacturing<br />
technologies to better fabric constructions<br />
that minimize microfiber migration: Textile<br />
engineers have been very active in recent<br />
years - and will continue to be. We have<br />
picked out a few noteworthy developments<br />
from different areas, without any claim to<br />
completeness.<br />
511<br />
Polygiene<br />
With its OdorCrunch and<br />
ViralOff anti-odor and sanitizing<br />
treatments, Polygiene<br />
is the partner of choice<br />
for many companies that<br />
target the rapidly growing<br />
second-hand market. Since fall 2021, the Swedish<br />
company’s product are used to clean and<br />
freshen pre-owned product sold through the<br />
Diesel second-hand project. The second-hand<br />
fashion market is expected to nearly triple in value<br />
within the coming ten years, keeping apparel<br />
in use for much longer and contributing to a<br />
valid reduction of emissions.<br />
Lavalan<br />
Already since 2008, the<br />
German company Baur<br />
Vliesstoffe has been producing<br />
its Lavalan clothing<br />
insulation from European<br />
virgin wool – pure or blended with a corn-based<br />
PLA fiber. The wool is cleaned and processed<br />
in Belgium and the UK, and the batting is<br />
manufactured at the company’s headquarters<br />
in southern Germany. While animal welfare is<br />
taken care of, transport routes within Europe<br />
are short and the wool can be used in a wide<br />
variety of products.<br />
Freudenberg/Lenzing<br />
Comfortemp Tencel<br />
padding, marketed by<br />
Freudenberg and developed<br />
in cooperation with<br />
Lenzing Fibers, was introduced<br />
in 2020 as the first<br />
biodegradable fiber insulation from cellulose<br />
fiber. The Lyocell-based padding is completely<br />
biodegradable within 57 days.<br />
The Lycra Company<br />
As set out in its Planet<br />
Agenda, The Lycra Company<br />
has converted the<br />
majority of its Coolmax and<br />
Themolite brand fibers to<br />
post-consumer recycling<br />
by 2021. EcoMade versions of fabrics made<br />
from recycled fibers are available in all brand<br />
categories (Lycra, Coolmax and Thermolite). All<br />
Lycra fiber production is certified to Oeko-Tex<br />
Standard 100 and has completed the Higg FEM<br />
self-certification process.<br />
Polartec<br />
Since 2018, Polartec (the<br />
company that has to date<br />
upcycled 1.7 billion bottles<br />
into performance textiles)<br />
has been tackling microfiber<br />
shedding that is<br />
especially related to classic fleece products.<br />
The Power Air fabric line is built to trap heat in<br />
a three-dimensional construction with tiny air<br />
pockets containing fibers. With the tight knit<br />
construction, the potential of shedding microfibers<br />
in the wash and over time is significantly<br />
reduced – roughly ten times less than double-sided<br />
fleece.<br />
Thermore<br />
Ecodown Fibers Genius<br />
is made from 100% recycled<br />
PET bottles. The<br />
fibers interlace and form a<br />
stable insulating layer. This<br />
specially designed structure<br />
minimizes cold spots and clumping. The<br />
construction also increases durability and can<br />
be blown into baffles and panels or stuffed by<br />
hand.<br />
38
Gore-Tex<br />
Going to market for fall<br />
<strong>2022</strong>, the new generation<br />
of Gore-Tex laminates<br />
made with ePE (expanded<br />
Polyethylene) (and thus replacing<br />
the former expanded<br />
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)) will be the<br />
base for Gore-Tex brand consumer products.<br />
The new membrane and DWR treatments used<br />
by Gore are PFC-free from that date.<br />
Sympatex<br />
B-Corp certified company<br />
Sympatex has introduced<br />
PFC-free DWR in 2008<br />
and fully recycled 3-Layer<br />
laminates since 2009. Since<br />
2016, the German company<br />
compensates all of their production-related<br />
emissions with ClimatePartner and has an<br />
ambitious sustainability agenda.<br />
YKK<br />
Japanese zipper specialist<br />
YKK offers a full line of zippers<br />
from recycled materials<br />
under the sub-brand<br />
Natulon: made either with<br />
PET bottles, chemically<br />
recycled from pre-consumer waste material<br />
or – the latest addition to the Natulon line – as<br />
an ocean-sourced version from post-consumer<br />
waste.<br />
HD Wool<br />
HD Wool is an insulation<br />
supplier offering different<br />
insulation products made<br />
with/from British wool with<br />
a full track record via the<br />
quality assurance platform<br />
The Woolkeepers. HD Wool is supporting<br />
farmers that strive for a regenerative agricultural<br />
process according the Land to Market<br />
objectives. The wool used for HD Wool Apparel<br />
Insulation is non-mulesed.<br />
Toray<br />
Ready for fall/winter 2023<br />
collections, Toray has<br />
started commercializing its<br />
100 % plant-based Ecodear<br />
N510 nylon fiber. While it<br />
is primarily designed for<br />
sports and outdoor fabrics, it can also be used<br />
for lightweights, cut-and-sew fabrics and innerwear<br />
lace materials. As the first 100 % plantbased<br />
fiber in Toray’s Ecodear product range, it<br />
is part of the group’s efforts to achieve carbon<br />
neutrality by 2050.<br />
Cordura<br />
Cordura is launching a<br />
new collection of nylon 6.6<br />
fabrics from recycled raw<br />
material marketed under<br />
the Cordura re/cor line of<br />
recycled fibers for fall 2023.<br />
Cordura re/cor RN66 (recycled nylon 6.6) involves<br />
83 % less CO 2, uses 82 % less energy and<br />
57 % less water. The new RN66 fabrics are made<br />
from 100 % pre-consumer fiber material that is<br />
100 % GRS certified.<br />
BenQ<br />
BenQ, a Taiwanese<br />
multi-industry company<br />
has launched its first Xpore<br />
membrane at ISPO in 2020.<br />
Made exclusively of polyolefin,<br />
the hydrophobic and<br />
nanoporous membrane contains only carbon<br />
and hydrogen and is free of PTFE and PFC.<br />
Meanwhile, BenQ offers textiles in three categories:<br />
Bio & Natural (Natural fibers from Pineapple<br />
leaves, Nylon from Biogas and plant-based<br />
PET), Mono Material and Recycling, where the<br />
company also uses waste from its electronics<br />
division.<br />
511<br />
39
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