VAUDE CSR-Report – Never Ending Responsibility

Trend today – trash tomorrow?

It's unbelievable how full our closets and basements are. One million tons of used clothing is generated each year in Germany alone. Used clothing! Products we want to get rid of!

Do we really need that much ‘stuff’? To keep up with every trend? Ever thought about what is involved in terms of resources, how much energy and water it wastes, how many toxic chemicals are involved? And where does it all end up?

Wouldn’t it be much better to carefully select a beautiful new product and then protect it and cherish it for years?

We feel we are responsible for our products – even long after they have left the stores. We want to work with you, our customers, to make the world a bit better. Sometimes less really is more.

Strengthening immunity to shopping-fever

It’s clear that like any business, VAUDE has to make a profit to exist – we have to sell our products. However, VAUDE products are made to last. We want them to look good for years, to be repairable, and to have some social benefit when you no longer need them.

VAUDE products are timeless and leave flash trends by the wayside. We are constantly looking for innovative sustainable solutions that reduce the environmental footprint of our products, while also adding to your fun in the outdoors.

Care, repair, donate

Our products spend a good part of their "lives" with you. At the end of the day, you have a direct influence on how sustainable they really are – depending on how good a life they had at your place...

If you take good care of your products, they’ll be there for you the next time you head out on an adventure in the mountains or on your bike. If something is broken, don't just toss it – repairing things can be fun, it's good for the environment – and it’s good for your wallet.

Many people are thrilled to get secondhand products that are still in good shape – either for a good price or as a donation.

Or why not try out renting rather than buying?

Fun, creative new upcycling products can be made from used goods and other residual materials.

VAUDE and Greenpeace for a more sustainable life

With the VAUDE Greenpeace Detox Commitment, we have committed ourselves to making an active contribution to a system change towards more sustainable design and consumption. Specifically, this includes:

The promotion of Circular Design and circulatory product development to slow down and close down material and production cycles
Analysis and evaluation of production waste
Introduction of return systems for used VAUDE products
Development of new models for products such as secondhand use, renting or upcycling
Publication of detailed instructions for the sustainable use, care and repair of VAUDE products in order to extend the utilization phase as far as possible
Raising public awareness and awareness among all stakeholders

Of course, this doesn't happen at the touch of a button, but we're working on it. You can help us.

Founded in 1994: VAUDE ECOLOG Recycling Network

VAUDE is not accepting products or packaging for recycling. Not any more…

Long before the entire industry was talking about the issue of recycling, we had founded the "VAUDE Ecolog Recycling Network": the first recycling system in the industry for pure polyester products, with collection and recycling. This was all the way back in 1994.

VAUDE Ecolog products were technically engineered to be easily reintroduced into the polyester fiber cycle. The "problem" was that the products lasted virtually forever... We received far too few used products back for the system to work. That is why we had to reinstate Ecolog.

We know from various studies that the amount of products collected must be large enough to compensate for transport emissions. On the other hand, it makes little sense to build up your own recycling system as a single brand – it will always remain a niche without saving significant amounts of resources. There is already an effective industry that specializes in the collection, sorting and recycling of textiles. Building networks and working together is our goal here.

Anchoring recyclability in product design

Closing the VAUDE material loop in practice remains one of our most important challenges for the coming years. We are building on the experience of the VAUDE Ecolog Recycling Network. Of course, it is also important to use recycled materials for new products. Our goal is for at least 90% of all VAUDE products to be made of more than 50% recycled or biobased materials by 2024. More about this here

Next page

GRI:

3-3