Sustainability and outdoor: renewable natural materials on trend

Outdoor industries rely on natural materials. For the outdoor industry, global challenges such as climate change, plastic waste and species extinction are also, or precisely, an issue because outdoor sports take place primarily in nature. This is also proven by a look at the innovations and visions for summer 2020, which will be presented from June 30 to July 3, 2019 at OutDoor by ISPO in Munich, where the topic of sustainability will also have its own Focus Area with the CSR Hub & Sustainability Kiosk in Hall B6.

Many manufacturers are also focusing on renewable natural materials. Classics in recent years have been lyocell, also known as Tencel, which is industrially produced from eucalyptus wood, or merino wool - and they still are.

Bike apparel brand Triple2, for example, is using a blend of 64 percent merino wool and 36 percent Tencel in its jerseys starting next year. This is supposed to make the shirts particularly comfortable to wear. In addition, they are made of 100 percent natural materials and are 100 percent biodegradable.

Schöffel, on the other hand, focuses on another natural material, such as coffee. The clothing manufacturer processes textile fibers with recycled coffee grounds from the functional fabric S.Café. For summer 2020, the Schwabmünchen-based company is introducing the new S.Café Airmem. A lightweight membrane that consists of a quarter of coffee oil and thus integrates the odor-inhibiting effect in a natural way, for example in jackets.

Bavarian sleeping bag manufacturer Grüezi Bag, on the other hand, is presenting Biopod DownWool Ice Compostable, a sleeping bag made of breathable nylon that is almost 100 percent industrially compostable in 200 days. Conventional polyester would need around 400 years for this.

Schöffel, on the other hand, concentrates on another natural raw material: coffee. The clothing manufacturer processes textile fibers with recycled coffee grounds from the functional fabric S.Café. The Schwabmünchen-based company is presenting the new S.Café Airmem for the summer of 2020. A light membrane, a quarter of which consists of coffee oil and thus naturally integrates the odor inhibiting effect into jackets, for example.

The Bavarian sleeping bag manufacturer Grüezi Bag, however, presents the Biopod DownWool Ice Compostable, a sleeping bag made of breathable nylon that is almost 100 percent industrially compostable in 200 days. Conventional polyester would need about 400 years for this.

And here you can read parts 1 and 3 of the major sustainability trend report: