Sustainability and the outdoors: environmental protection as a business goal

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.

While manufacturers have already focused on sustainable products in isolated cases in recent years, sustainable concerns are also increasingly being anchored more deeply in corporate philosophies and work processes.

Companies that have been practicing this for a long time include, above all, industry giants such as the American outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia, but also brands such as Icebug, which is the first outdoor footwear brand to be climate positive and will present its way there at OutDoor by ISPO. To this end, Icebug follows the "Climate Neutral Now" initiative of the United Nations and has been offsetting more emissions than it produces since the end of 2019.

The German outdoor outfitter Vaude also focuses on sustainability, durability and ecological as well as social responsibility in its trade fair innovations. A total of 81 percent of the 2020 summer collection is equipped with the in-house Green Shape label, which covers the entire product life cycle and stands for ecological materials, durable design and social responsibility.

In Vaude's new Urban Life collection, 40 percent of the styles are Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified and 63 percent are made with natural materials. This collection also uses the GOTS-certified Natural Dye by Archroma Earthcolours. The GOTS is the world's leading standard for processing textiles made from organically produced natural fibers. Only textile products that consist of at least 70 percent organically produced natural fibers can be GOTS certified.

Following its own wool standard, the Ortovox Wool Promise, the outdoor manufacturer Ortovox from Taufkirchen also has the goal of acting more sustainably in the entire corporate process and presents a condensed 5-year plan just in time for OutDoor by ISPO. The "ProTact" links the already existing sustainability commitment with concrete goals.

In addition to anchoring sustainability goals in corporate values, many outdoor manufacturers are trending toward supporting regional or global non-governmental organizations (NGOs). For example, the American shoe manufacturer Keen will continue its "Better Takes Action" campaign, and the Swedish company Primus, known primarily for outdoor stoves, offsets all CO2 emissions generated in the production of the gas for gas stoves and cartridges in an aid project in Uganda.

According to its own wool standard, the Ortovox Wool Promise, the outdoor manufacturer Ortovox from Taufkirchen also has the goal of acting more sustainably in the entire corporate process and is presenting a compressed 5-year plan just in time for OutDoor by ISPO. The"ProTact" links the existing sustainability commitment with concrete goals.

In addition to anchoring sustainability goals in corporate values, many outdoor manufacturers are also committed to supporting regional or global non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The American shoe manufacturer Keen, for example, will continue its "Better takes Action" campaign, and the Swedish company Primus, known above all for its outdoor stoves, is offsetting all CO2 emissions resulting from the production of gas for gas stoves and cartridges in an aid project in Uganda.

And here you can read parts 1 and 2 of the major sustainability trend report: