Vaude, a well-known name in the field of outdoor products. Also in the store at Antilope is it a brand that is widely represented, with among other things clothing, backpacks, sleeping bags and sleeping mats.
Whether you are a conscious consumer or just looking for a high quality and beautiful product, everyone will find what they are looking for at Vaude. The Greenshape logo can be found on all products of Vaude, which is a quality mark that stands for products that are functional, produced in an environmentally and socially friendly manner and made from sustainable materials.
Every outdoor brand makes products to allow you as a user to enjoy the outdoors as well prepared as possible. But Vaude adds something extra to that.
They are leaders in the field of sustainable production and corporate social responsibility.
This blog is about what that exactly means and in what way that benefits “me” as a consumer.
Before a product hangs in the store, a whole process has gone into it.
Sustainability is a broad concept that at Vaude goes further than a responsible end product.
Below are a number of steps elaborated to give an impression of what is involved in this extensive process:
Below I would like to point out a number of current topics that concern me as a consumer and where Vaude makes a good contribution.
Micro Fibers are the substances that are released when you wash technical materials. These minuscule particles pollute the water very much and cannot be sifted out, so that they return to nature. An example of this is the washing of fleece. This releases a lot of these Micro Fibers. Through product development, Vaude has developed a fleece based on wood fibers. Wonderfully soft but without the harmful effects. On the labels attached to Vaude products, you can see exactly which fabrics have been used and what they are made of.
Just looking at savings: up to 60% energy, up to 32% on CO2, up to 94% on water, up to 100% on oil and of course less waste…
A membrane is in the fabric to make it wind, water and dirt resistant. The most used membranes are very large environmental pollutants that are frequently used in outdoor items. If you want to enjoy nature (often the case if you use outdoor gear) then it is difficult to understand that with these products you leave a trail of pollution in nature and these also seem to have consequences for your health.
Vaude has already taken many steps to reduce the use of these substances. They started in 2011 with the development of PFC-free membranes (named Ceplex). Since 2020, all Vaude products are free of these harmful products.
There are several types of Ceplex membranes. Depending on the use of the article, the membrane is chosen. Raw materials of these membranes are, for example, components of the coffee plant and also PET.
In addition to membranes, coatings are also applied (a layer applied to the fabric) to make articles water and dirt-repellent. These coatings can be produced in an environmentally friendly way. Because this coating ends up in nature, for example when you walk in the rain, you as a user can contribute by paying attention to this when purchasing.
At Vaude this coating is called Eco Finish. You can reactivate this layer, for example by ironing. Maintenance of products with an Eco Finish is done with a maintenance product with the BlueSign logo.
Many Vaude products can be repaired. This is of course possible at Vaude in Germany. But, a cooperation with Ifixit was established to minimize the return and return of items to Vaude Germany for repair (environmental aspect of shipping). At Ifixit.com you will find the possibility to order repair parts for your Vaude products, as well as repair manuals for many items.
Repair Cafés are free-to-access meetings that revolve around repairing (together). At the location where the Repair Café is held, tools and materials are available to carry out all kinds of possible repairs. Not just on Vaude products, by the way. Take a look at the possibilities at a Repair Café near you!
The head office of Vaude is located in Tettnang in the south of Germany (absolutely recommendable to go there someday on a walking holiday, it is lovely with rolling hills and beautiful nature). Improving the world with the work they do, how they work and how they make the products is Vaude’s motto. With a lot of passion and dedication, Antje von Dewitz took over the management of the company from her father in 2009.
From all disciplines within the organization, teams have been put together that provide input in the field of:
These three objectives also form the basis for the development of Greenshape version 2.0.
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