Raising awareness with communication on sustainability issues

VAUDE’s marketing messages come down to one common denominator: "Performance meets ecology". This means that VAUDE manufactures high-performance gear produced under exemplary and fair ecological criteria in accordance with "Best Available Technology" (BAT) – i.e. highest possible performance coupled with ecological and socially responsible production.

Without an awareness of fair and environmentally friendly production, there would be no demand for sustainable products. As a manufacturer, we serve as a role model for responsible outdoor experiences that our customers can sense through our communications.

To help us communicate consistently – both in marketing and in other company departments – we developed a set of guiding principles in 2014. These guiding principles describe our roots, our values, our incentive and our convictions and reflect what VAUDE stands for as a brand. From this document, frameworks such as our Corporate Identity (CI) can be derived. This way, we can send messages to the media as well as communicate with customers “from one source”.

The VAUDE CI consists of three elements:

• corporate design: determines the visual appearance 
  
• corporate wording: determines the contents and the manner of communication 
  
• behavior guidelines for specific topics: define the desired behavior of the VAUDE employees - see "ethics and integrity".

We implement these rules not only in content, but also in our choice of means of communication. For environmental considerations, we try to replace print products with digital media as much as possible. This has helped us to reduce our paper consumption.

In the VAUDE guiding principles, specific guidelines are set regarding how sustainability should be lived out, visualized and communicated. To involve our employees in the Corporate Identity, all content is updated regularly and passed on to all employees in company training sessions with the VAUDE Academy.

Specifically, we provide information about the following content that is important for each corresponding product:

• awards and honors
  
• "Made in Germany" 
  
• GREEN SHAPE
  
• bluesign®
  
• WWF
  
• Fair Wear Foundation (FWF)
  
• corporate awards
  
• technical labels (ingredient brands): meaningful technical values that enable statements on the performance of the gear or apparel
  
  

We make our advertising shoots as environmentally friendly as possible and convey this approach in our images. For example, our bikers don’t ride off-trail through pristine nature, but stay on existing trails; ski tourers don’t rely on ski lifts, etc.

In order for the content of our marketing to come across authentically, it makes sense that our employees also identify with this philosophy.

To promote this, we offer them continuous mountain sports and bike sports activities to take part in. These trips are organized sustainably, for example, by using eco-friendly transportation. The shared outdoor experiences raise awareness in our employees for the preservation of nature as a "playground" for future generations.

The VAUDE Academy offers sustainability training courses for all employees. In addition, our sales representatives and international distributors receive training every six months about new information on product sustainability, environmental protection and social responsibility.
VAUDE provides training materials for all relevant product segments that communicates sustainability aspects of each product group.

The individual courses cover the following themes:

• Sustainability at VAUDE: Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 
  
• Cultural aspects of good working conditions in Asian factories 
  
• Revision of the Green Shape criteria - updates and new 
  
• VAUDE as a climate-neutral company 
  
• PFC-free outdoor products 
  
• VAUDE as the most sustainable outdoor outfitter
  
• The VAUDE CSR team: the importance of interdisciplinary aspects
  
• Product life cycle VAUDE ecosystem: from conception to recycling
  
• Sustainability benchmarks for designers and product managers: the 'Higg Index Rapid Design'
  
• Harmful substances management - avoiding harmful substances in products
  
  

Contents are directly taught by VAUDE sales representatives and international partners in product training workshops to salespeople in outdoor, bike and leather goods stores.
Through our product presentations at tradeshows, in the VAUDE order rooms and in the VAUDE stores, we communicate just how committed we are to sustainability.

Sustainability is put into practice in both the presentation of the VAUDE collection, as well as in the design of exhibition stands at tradeshows. This applies to the use of environmentally friendly raw materials, as well as the environmentally friendly production of information items such as banners and displays.