New ‘Salewa Committed’ Transparency Icon For Sustainability Clarity
For the 2021/22 winter season, OBERALP GROUP brand SALEWA is introducing a new icon for its ‘particularly sustainable’ products. ‘Salewa Committed’ is a product icon used to inform customers and help them better understand sustainability aspects during purchase.
It gives customers the opportunity to clearly see which products stand out due to their environmental or social responsibility features. 243 apparel items and 16 products from the equipment collections are rated as ‘Salewa Committed’, offering more transparency. At the same time, the family-owned company is committing itself to expanding its sustainable approach.
Alexandra Letts, responsible for the Oberalp Group’s four-member sustainability team, said, “We want our customers to be able to quickly and easily recognise the added value of a Salewa product. ‘Salewa Committed’ is not a new promise. It reflects the success of our work over the years to improve the quality and value of our products through more sustainable production and material sourcing.
“It doesn’t stop here though – there’s still room for improvement and we intend to increase the number of ‘Salewa Committed’ products in future collections. The new icon brings together these criteria and shows to our customers that by choosing a ‘Committed’ product they are endorsing our efforts and contributing themselves.”
Back in 2012, the company’s COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY was made real with the creation of its sustainability team. The goal for Salewa was ‘to develop high- quality, durable and long-lasting mountain sports products with due regard to working conditions in the factories and minimum impact on the environment.’ Salewa was awarded Leader Status by the Fair Wear Foundation for the fifth time in summer 2021.
To become a ‘Committed’ product, a Salewa product has to fulfil two mandatory criteria and at least one additional criterion, guaranteeing that products meet strictly defined social responsibility and environmental standards.
Moreover, it shows how the mountain brand Salewa is working constantly to make further improvements. The mandatory criteria are measures and policies that the Oberalp Group introduced as far back as 2012 to assess and reduce the impact of its production on the environment.
· Chemicals verified
· Factories monitored
· PFC-free
First with its own internal standards and later reinforced through partnerships with expert third-party organisations such as bluesign® and the Fair Wear Foundation. All ‘Salewa Committed’ products fulfil the following mandatory criteria:
• Chemicals verified: the material has been tested by third parties for its chemical components in accordance with the Oberalp Chemicals Guideline or has been certified by external organisations such as bluesign.
• Factory monitored for social standards: the factory where the product is manufactured must have been externally audited for social standards and working conditions.
In addition to both mandatory criteria, the product must meet at least one further criterion:
• DWR on all fabrics of the product must be PFC-free.
• The product must contain at least 50% upcycled or recycled material.
• Down used must be Responsible Down Standard (RDS) certified.
• The product is made with at least 50% natural, renewable material, such as wool, hemp, linen, organic cotton, Tencel, viscose and Sorona.
Images: ©Salewa
