OutDoor 2024: The highlights on Tuesday

💚 Planet: Think Sustainable 💚

One focus topic in the EOG Speakers Corner was circularity - the circular economy. With the question "How circular are we?", David Quass from the VF Cooperation already emotionally promoted circularity on Monday and emphasized the need for tangible measurement systems. Why? Because the textile industry still causes the majority of global emissions. The fact that 119 tons of new textiles are nevertheless produced every year proves that recycling is and remains a promising lever in the fight against high emissions.

Martha Willis from the textile recycling project Accelarating Circularity is presenting concrete results and lessons learned today: in recent years, the non-profit company has recycled 72 tons of textiles in the EU and the USA. The result was 27.5 tons of recycled material: cotton and polyester yarns and fabrics that meet all industry standards and are used in the production of YKK, for example.

According to Martha, the biggest challenges lie in the preparation: analyzing and sorting the materials to be recycled takes time. The logistics in the EU are also complicated and need to be planned well and in good time. She also reports a lot of persuasion work because recycled materials are still considered to be of inferior quality - wrongly! In the recently published Playbook Accelarating Circularity shares all the insights and data to better understand the positive impact of textile recycling. Contributors welcome!

In addition to coffee and pretzels, the European Outdoor Group started the day with exciting updates:

Sporting Insights and the EOG are joining forces with the aim of creating a data ecosystem for the outdoor sector. There are two different reports for this. In addition to the already established State of Trade Report, which provides information on overall sales across Europe, the Outdoor Market Intelligence Service was introduced in 2024. This obtains data from retailers and brands in order to gain insights into the outdoor market and monitor market movements. The first interesting insights: Although prices increased by 41% from Q1 2019 to Q1 2024 and quantity decreased by 19%, market value increased by 9%.

The Impact Accelerator Fund (for Climate) is a joint fund to support decarbonization projects and climate protection measures in supply chains in the outdoor industry. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the use of renewable energies. The initiative has already achieved initial successes, for example working to improve access to renewable energy in Taiwan, an important production location for the industry.

Be there with your brand and save the planet!

The European Outdoor Summitthe meeting of outdoor industry leaders, will take place in Cambridge in September 2024. Take advantage of the European Outdoor Summit to deepen your standing in the industry.

Dr. Katja Middelhoff, Dr. Diana Born and Dr. Marc Herz look at green claims (advertising promises with sustainability) from a brand and marketing perspective, as well as from a scientific and legal perspective. Their discussion revolves around the question of what companies can do to avoid greenwashing risks. Her appeal to brands: Be careful with generic "Our product is climate neutral" promises! Green claims must be safe in terms of content, the "promises" must be transparent and comprehensible, otherwise there is a risk of penalties and loss of trust. The current legal and factual situation in Germany will be examined, as will regulatory developments at EU level (including the Empowering Consumers Directive and the Green Claims Directive).

💡 Product: Think New 💡

On the second day of the trade fair, the Runner's World Run & Trail Summit was once again on the agenda as a well-known and popular trend summit in the trail running and running sector. In addition to the innovations of the ISPO Award in the editorial topic area of running, various brands and experts discussed and presented insights from their brand, athlete or event perspective on the Orange Stage. Stefan Brunner presented the pioneering role of the running industry in the entire sports market in order to get the ball rolling and change the industry. Trends in the trail shoe sector will also be presented and discussed, and Circana Research will build a bridge to the lifestyle segment. Trail runners Ida-Sophie Hegemann and Kimi Schreiber talk about their sponsors, European Championships, World Championships and other projects, as well as their joint podcast. And, of course, event series play a role. Among other things, they discuss the challenge of bringing communities and elite athletes together, as well as the opportunities offered by national race series at an entry level into the professional trail running scene.

🤝 People: Think Together 🤝

With the future of running in mind, the launch of a brand new Road Running League was also unveiled at the Runner's World Run & Trail Summit. Jos Hermens, athlete manager, race organizer and former Olympic athlete, and start-up founder Marcel Muenster spoke on stage about a new international and unique road running format that combines storytelling about global athletes with innovative technology, sustainability and community. The two also want to appeal to the huge number of amateur runners worldwide.

Jos Hermens, who worked on the 1:59 Challenge with Eliud Kipchoge, among others, sums up the aim of the event format quite simply: "We want to get people a bit addicted to the feeling of running." The plan is to create a global inclusive league with event locations that will give both novice runners and elite athletes a common incentive to take to the streets to run.

The first concrete events and dates of the series are to be published in the fall, so stay tuned.

Hold on to your popcorn and drum roll! Nasim Eshqi has made it: The climber and human rights activist is the winner of the 21st Century Adventurer Award. The inspiring films of the European Outdoor Film Tour (EOFT) and the Ocean Film Tour were shown in the OutDoor Cinema powered by EOFT throughout the trade show.

The climber from Iran beat off competition from fellow alpinist Simone Moro and sailor and climate activist Boris Herrmann. And it's no wonder: Nasim is an inspiring and extraordinary woman who stands up for the rights of the oppressed and for women in Iran and around the world. She was rightly honored for her film "Climbing Iran". She ends her moving acceptance speech with "we will run towards freedom together" and we should definitely take this to heart in the current political situation.

Women's rights, sustainability and diversity: mountain sports heroes inspire on stage at OutDoor! At the "Sports for Impact Athletes Talk", Nasim Eshqi, Kimi Schreiber and Chase Tucker will explore the influence of athletes on social and ecological challenges. The common consent is clear: bring people together to raise their voices, share their knowledge and, above all, listen to each other. "The most important part is education. That was part of my freedom," Nasim inspires and Kimi agrees, making it clear why Athletes Talk is of great importance to her: "What we're doing now is going in the right direction, we're getting a dialog going here about important topics. I could listen to Nasim for hours, for example, that's exactly what learning and education is." Of course, it's not enough for athletes to talk about problems, we, the entire outdoor community - brands, athletes, pioneers - also need to talk about solutions. And: "We should do this more often," appeals Kimi Schreiber.

Are you stressed? Then just take a deep breath, right? No, please don't: Breathe less and breathe light! This is what Chase Tucker, aka Chase Mountains, emphasizes in his Performance & Breathing Masterclass. The health coach and personal trainer will show the audience on the second day of the trade fair how correct breathing can not only improve health, but also optimize performance on the mountain, be it hiking, climbing or skiing: From theoretical insights into how breathing changes blood chemistry, to a joint practical exercise, to tips and takeaways on how to improve your own breathing. Slow, easy and regular breathing is the key. And how do you practise this? Don't worry, we've taken the tips with us, of course:

1. Daily breathing exercises
2. Mouthtaping to sleep
3. Regular BOLT tests
4. Diaphragmatic breathing
5. Always breathe through your nose

Chase: "Do these 5 things regularly and you will improve your life dramatically and live longer."

Beer, cocktails, delicious food, cool beats from the live DJ, a relaxed atmosphere and a great mood - sounds like a vacation, but at the VAUDE Sustainability Party at OutDoor 2024 it's just the crowning glory of a successful day at the trade fair. After a day of great weather and cheerful sunshine, the outdoor community builds on the mood of the previous day and celebrates "50 Years of Mountain Spirit" together with VAUDE.