ISPO Award 2022 for Greenholds

Anyone who climbs indoors has felt them dozens of times on and under their fingers. They are the grip when it goes up the indoor wall by body power – climbing holds made of plastic. And this is precisely the problem for which Greenholds offers the solution. The Greenholds climbing holds are made of waste stream material and are 100% recyclable without lost of mechanical properties (lab and field tested). Existing climbing holds are waste at the end of their lifecycle. The Greenholds climbing holds are evidence-based engineered and produced with a totally new production method not known to the market right now. The Greenholds overwhelmed the ISPO Award jury at their meeting. The grips convinced with their grip and robustness, but foremost with the company's recycling approach.

The young company was certainly surprised. “It came a bit unexpected, but we are damn proud of it! This award is really a crown on almost 5 years of hard work”, says Tim Mullens, one of the two founders of Greenholds. Intensive pioneering feasibility studies over the past years have led to this radical and groundbreaking innovation. “We are proud on where we are now, but this is only the beginning. Together with the market, we want to make our beloved sport more sustainable and make the world a better place. This award gives us the confirmation that we are on the right track. We will keep pushing. We keep on developing and make adjustments to make it even better in the future”, Tim Mullens continues. “The possibilities are endless, and we are definitely looking for collaborations to make an impact. Sport has the power to change the world. To be on the ISPO among world players and win this Award as a start-up is somewhat unreal. We are truly grateful. We are already highly motivated, but this adds an extra spark. Furthermore, we will make full use of the exposure, so we can make a big impact in the climbing- and sports world overall. A big thank you and cheers!”

The raw material chosen for the Greenholds comes from the waste streams (nylon) is a thermoplastic, unlike the thermosetting raw materials used today for the production of climbing holds (polyurethane or polyester). The company has carried out an intensive feasibility study for this and after a final exchange with industrial research, polyamide is the raw material of choice. The material has the best mechanical properties for the use of this product and is 100% recyclable. The manufacturing and recycling process is mechanical, not chemical. Greenholds also makes no small compromise in the packaging, which is made of 100% recycled cardboard. The product is worthwhile and in the right price range.

The newly developed climbing holds are primarily intended to appeal to climbing- and boulder gyms (B2B) and home (wall) climbers (B2C). The development should contribute to making sport more sustainable. “Here on ISPO, you can feel the urge to change. The urge to make the transition towards a circular economy. Let’s all make use of this together. There is always a way to co-create, be of value and also do a business out of it”, says Tim Mullens. “Sustainability is the key asset of our company, service, and product. It is our mission and every decision we make in our business operations is based on adding value in the complete chain.”

During the development process, athletes were also involved so that the best possible product could be launched on the market and face the competition. “All field tests are conducted with athletes of all levels. From recreational toward top athlete level. Regarding scientists: One of our development partners is a university and three professorships were closely involved”, Tim Mullens describes the development process. Additional experts from the fields of Materials & Science, Engineering and Circular Economics were involved from beginning to end.

The founder of Greenholds is convinced that, in the long term, the new developed holds will be the cheapest on the market, because of the product as a service business model in the future is based on long-term customer relationships.

• Lightweight
• Recyclable
• Recyled
• UV protection