EDM Sustainable Business 2022

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS 2022 

SUSTAINABLE 

BUSINESS 

Issue 1, 2022

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Editorial 

Look, 

we f****d up. 

The sad truth: humanity is not invincible, but 

vulnerable beyond all measure. According to the 

activist group Avaaz, we have roughly eight years 

left to lower our CO 2 emissions by 50 percent, stop 

species extinction and prevent complete ecological 

collapse. 

EDM Publications sees it as its mission to provide 

its readers with the best possible information and 

tools they need to become part of the change in 

the 2020s. This Sustainable Business Special is a 

first step, even if we can only scratch the surface 

of an extremely complex topic that ranges from 

diversity, labor and social aspects to CO 2 reduction, 

circular economy and logistics, the decoupling of 

growth and resources, and the general change in 

consumption and the associated mindset, leading to 

the essential question: “How do we want to live?” 

In this special issue, we give a forum to people who 

are experts in their field, but also to those who took 

the threat seriously and took action at a very early 

stage, long before “sustainability” and “business with 

purpose” were on everyone’s lips and in corporate 

press rooms. 

Today, Gen-Z consumers expect no-bullshit 

marketing from companies - and brands are 

responding. A new “honest, not perfect” attitude 

is emerging among communications teams, 

addressing the fact that failure is part of the process. 

The Dutch eyewear brand Ace & Tate even dared to 

title its blog post about the company’s sustainability 

efforts with a brutal “look, we f****d up” and address 

the mistakes made along the way. We will need this 

radical transparency and honesty in the decades to 

come as we will all make mistakes as we try our best. 

Not only do we share one planet, we share 

responsibility. In our case, this means the 

responsibility to observe, assess and inform. With 

this first Sustainable Business Special, we hope to 

make a small contribution to the considerations and 

actions to be taken by you, the decision makers. 

Your EDM publishing team. 

Content 

1 Editorial3 

2 The Elephant in the Executive Suite4 

3 Sustainability Reporting7 

4 NXT Sustainable Consumer Report8 

5 Greenwashing and EU Legislation14 

6 ReGenerative Agriculture 16 

7 The IdeaList20 

8 EDM State of Industry Survey 22 

9 Leading the Pack 26 

10 Circular Economy 32 

11 Go Ahead and Greenwash!34 

12 Notable Ingredients 38 

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Have you done the math? 

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Growth – 

the elephant 

in the 

executive suite 

We need new business 

models that are not 

predicated on selling 

more stuff to more 

people. 

World Resources Institute 

Because of the global context of our “here 

and now,” there is truly not much more to 

say. I might finish with nothing more than 

the above quote. After all, it states a truth as 

factual as the universe’s expansion. 

Except: those “new business models” are not 

our reality. Far from it: They’re not even considered 

a possibility by companies – not by 

CEOs, the executive suite, company owners and 

neither by a board of directors, who are – for 

stock-listed companies – in charge of hiring 

exactly those CEOs that are supposed to lead 

the charge. 

I cannot conceive of a 

successful economy 

without growth. 

Walter Heller (1915 – 1987), former 

Chairman of the U.S. President’s Council 

of Economic Advisers (1961 – 1964) 

Instead of in-depth discussions about new business 

models, suitable and functional within the 

physical limitations of our planetary resources, 

what we hear and read in business newspapers, 

in academic papers and policy proposals, are 

the following terms (akin to a buzzword bingo) 

that are all under the umbrella of the term “Environmental, 

social and corporate governance” 

(ESG): Green Growth; Inclusive Growth; and 

“Sustainable Growth,” the latter being a fuzzy 

catch-it-all, sometimes also quoted as “repeatable 

growth,” “ethical growth,” or “responsible 

growth.” Each of which, of course, has its own 

meaning yet again. 

All of this to pretend that physical limitations 

of any kind are a mere imagination of a mind 

not suitably familiarized with the liberal market 

economic principles we have grown to believe 

in since our very first breaths. 

The elephant: 

so big it fills the room 

Or would it be more accurate to say, “an elephant 

so omnipresent it is invisible?” After all, 

it has always been there, and presumably, will 

remain there always. The above-mentioned 

buzzword bingo is a mere side effect of the 

fact that virtually every single company keeps 

advocating for producing and selling more 

units of X. Forecasts continue to add Y percent 

every year to the profit expectations of the year 

before. In short: A sort of Ponzi Scheme. 

Despite numerous studies showing that we are 

approaching planetary boundaries fast (of climate 

critical dimensions as much as of physical 

resources), at best, each unit of X is created/produced 

in a somewhat less resource-intensive 

manner. A fact that normally is – again: at best 

– offset by the percentage increase of units of X 

being produced and expected to be sold. Needless 

to say: the cumulative impact of all units X 

produced and sold (and then trashed) is still on 

a rather steep rising trajectory. How else could it 

be in what we deem a “prosperous economy”? 

Our reality mostly ignores the following key 

question – hoping that someone, somewhere, 

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mainly in the so-called developed economies. 

This, though, holds not equally true for everyone. 

Rather, this “luck” has come at the expense of 

the well-being of many global citizens, by far 

not only in developing economies, as well as the 

planetary ecosystem. Growth as we know it is a 

thing of the past. You may not have realized it 

or may simply choose to close your eyes to the 

blatantly evident facts of science. 

will find the golden key to its answer: Have you 

and your business done the math (and applied 

it to your business)? 

• Have you looked openly and honestly at your 

dependency on natural resources and the 

associated limits on business growth as you 

define it today? 

• Have you calculated your return on stakeholder 

investment (RSI) to see if you truly 

benefit the global society or whether you - in 

reality - freeride on other people, the planet, 

governments, taxpayers and communities? 

Ironically, to come up with at least a reasonably 

appropriate and precise result for the above calculations, 

well enough publicly and privately collected 

stats and numbers exist... It is just about 

getting the calculator out of the drawer. 

And: The role 

of the (executive) board? 

Growth as we know it certainly has created prosperity, 

quality of life and, to an extent, happiness. 

But only for the lucky ones in our global society, 

It does not require 

more than a simple 

act of insight to realize 

that infinite growth of 

material consumption 

in a finite world is an 

impossibility. 

E.F. Schumacher (1911 – 1977), in: “Small 

is Beautiful” (1973, p.129) 

When it comes to ensuring the long-term success 

of a business, the board of directors is the 

one who should hold the scepter and lead the 

charge. Hence hire a CEO capable of tackling 

this elephant. And spearheading the take up of 

relevant KPIs (the math) will lead the organizations 

in the right direction of travel. 

And yet, hardly any board members have dared 

to address this elephant in the room. For one 

simple reason: it goes against the grain of the 

currently accepted paradigm that is considered 

“necessarily correct.” A paradigm that says: 

without growth, no prosperity, no quality of life, 

no happiness. 

But: What does growth exactly mean? Or, 

more sloppily: Are we not just lacking sufficient 

imagination and innovation spirit to accept 

that there may indeed be a totally different 

approach, where growth as we know it is irrelevant? 

The traditional growth paradigm must be 

challenged not only because it is outdated but 

because it is fundamentally flawed as a paradigm 

(see, e.g., here, here, and here). 

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© Federica Fortunat / iStock 

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An updated paradigm has at its core a minimum 

of two (mathematical and therefore calculable) 

dimensions: 

• De-coupled dependence from natural resources 

and associated limits: This would mean 

that availability and constraints related to the 

scaling of the business are independent of any 

resources available in finite supply. 

• Overall positive Return on Stakeholder Investment: 

the business is actually creating value 

for the global stakeholder collective. Here, the 

stakeholder collective would include shareholders 

but also extend to communities, employees, 

local and national governments, the ecosystem, 

etc. 

Any business model that is performing under 

the above calculations is a business model that 

can, at least in principle, be considered a viable 

business in the long term. 

Additional questions worth asking 

your organization: 

• How exactly are you truly adding value, rather 

than just “stuff,” to the world? 

• If you still are making “stuff:” Is there a genuine, 

fundamental need for your product X? 

• Does product X, as well as its production, 

use any resources that are single-use and/or 

finite, notably in its manufacturing? What is 

your fade-out/replacement plan and deadline? 

• How do you measure your impact (the one 

of your organization and all the operations 

and processes on which it relies) on the 

well-being of the communities in which you 

operate? Are you overall giving back more to 

society than you’re taking out? 

Examples: What about quality of life and 

“happiness” in the communities? Is there an 

absence of blatant inequality of rights, power 

and wealth among members in the communities 

you work with and in? 

© Thomas Wagner 

About the author 

Pamela Ravasio is the founder and managing director 

of Shirahime Advisory. She specializes in corporate 

governance and responsibility (CR), strongly linked to 

innovation processes and digitalization. She is an expert 

advisor to senior leaders and boards of directors in the 

SME space. 

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Sustainability Reporting 

New standards 

on the horizon 

In April 2021, the European Commission issued 

its proposed changes to sustainability reporting 

in the EU. The new paper’s name that will 

replace the current Non-Financial Disclosure 

Directive (NFD) is the Corporate Sustainability 

Reporting Directive (CSRD). Except for micro-entities, 

the new CSRD sets out the nonfinancial 

information that companies should 

report in far greater detail. The CSRD’s purpose 

is to make Sustainability Reporting Data as 

reliable, verified and comparable as P&L data. 

Depending on the EU’s decision and approval 

speed, companies may have to start reporting 

to the new sustainability reporting standards as 

early as 2024, using the information from the 

2023 financial year. 

The new law affects companies to which at 

least two of these three points apply: 

1. €40 million in net turnover 

2. €20 million in assets 

3. 250 or more employees 

An additional criterium is whether or not the 

company is stock-listed. The requirement currently 

affects those companies listed on regulated 

stock exchanges but may include companies 

listed on a Multilateral Trading Facility 

(MTF) such as, e.g., Nasdaq First North. 

What’s the principal difference 

between NFD and CSRD: 

NFD focused on risk and was largely qualitative, 

with few companies taking a quantitative 

approach to risk reporting. This is going to 

change with CSRD. 

The CSRD will require company sustainability 

data to be submitted in a standardized digital 

format to allow for easier checking and comparison 

in the European single access point 

database. This is meant to provide a clear 

format for company sustainability reporting allowing 

for better understandability of the data 

and easier comparison between companies. 

The submitted data will then be subject to 

“limited third-party assurance,” meaning that 

an auditor will need to review and evaluate the 

accuracy of the data. 

More reading: 

• Summary overview: https://normative.io/insight/csrd-explained/ 

• CSRD explained by the European 

Commission: https:// 

ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/company-reporting-and-auditing/ 

company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en 

• The EU Commissions FAQ: 

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_21_1806 

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NXT Sustainable Consumer Report 2022 

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Engaging with 

the sustainable 

consumer: 

A journey without 

an end goal 

The latest NXT Sustainable Consumer 

Report 2022, conducted by Swedish 

market analyst Fredrik Ekström from 

Above the Clouds, aims to cut through the 

fog of uncertainty around sustainability and 

reveal a journey we’re on, as consumers and 

brands. In his contribution to the EDM Sustainable 

Business Special, he explains the 

increasing social status that is attached to 

sustainable behavior in certain peer groups 

and the necessary conclusions. 

To successfully transform a brand from linear 

to circular and into having a sustainable 

mindset, we must rethink our approach to 

products, storytelling, cultural status and 

consumers. Sustainability transformations 

often seem simple, logical and 

inevitable when presented 

and cited in the press. But few 

transformative attempts are 

straightforward, and in the 

uncommon event that they do 

succeed as planned, they usually 

take years to yield significant 

results. During the process, 

it is crucial to engage the 

consumers to keep them from 

migrating to other brands that 

have a more compelling story 

or yield higher cultural status. 

A successful sustainability 

brand transformation does 

not happen with a single campaign. 

There are no shortcuts. 

There is only a roadmap of 

strategic, creative, and operational 

decisions that, if executed consistently, 

puts a brand on the path to sustainability, 

cultural status, consumer excitement and 

business success. 

Different shades of green – 

Sustainability Zombies, Eco 

Swingers and Anxious Doers 

Sustainability as a trusted one-size-fits-all 

solution, where the word has universal meaning 

and is decoded in the same way regardless 

of the consumer, has long been co-opted. 

The latest NXT Consumer Sustainability 

survey tells a different story. For the Swedish 

consumer, the meaning of sustainability is becoming 

more detailed: A fact that also affects 

their relationships with brands and communications. 

To get a better understanding of why and 

how consumers do (or do not) incorporate 

sustainability issues into their consumption 

pattern, what influences them and what 

messaging triggers, Above the Clouds has 

created the “Sustainable Consumer Readiness 

Curve.” This is a tool that Above The Clouds 

uses to divide the Swedish audience into 

different consumer types depending on how 

ready they are to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. 

It is also estimating their share: Sustainability 

©sveta - stock.adobe.com 

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Zombies (7%), Spectators (13%), Eco-Swingers 

(37%), Anxious Activists (36%) and Dedicated 

Pioneers (7%). The consultants found a 

shift towards making more environmentally 

friendly, sustainable or ethical purchases 

in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and saw a 

green leap in consumer behavior. 

This green movement means that eight out of 

ten consumers describe themselves as someone 

for whom sustainability is part of their 

self-image and who provides positive impetus 

for sustainability initiatives in various ways. 

Sustainability and Status Anxiety 

However, during the crisis, consumers have 

faced an overload of sustainability interest 

and communication from brands, creating a 

world where the meaning of the word “sustainability” 

has been co-opted, and greenwashing 

brands still operate unchecked. In 

short, the term sustainability has lost a bit of 

its glory purpose while the consumer feels 

anxious. And this anxiety is not just about the 

well-being of the planet. The increased social 

interest in the topic creates a new form of 

cultural sustainability status symbols where 

knowledge about the environment gives 

higher status and impresses peers. Making 

the wrong choices creates a risk of losing 

cultural status and creates a form of “sustainability 

status anxiety,” especially among Gen-Z 

and the dedicated consumer profiles. 

The word “status” affects people, it makes us 

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feel a little embarrassed and usually nothing 

we want to talk about. At the same time, one 

cannot help but be fascinated by the power 

behind it. So what is it about status when 

eight out of ten Swedish consumers describe 

themselves as associating their self-image 

with sustainability? And why is that so important 

for brands? 

There is a careless, casual use of the word 

“status” where expensive items are usually 

the way to obtain the same, and consequently 

status would only be about surface and 

financial success. But nothing could be more 

wrong, especially with Gen-Z, where 80 percent 

say they are impressed by a person who 

teaches them something new and exciting 

about sustainability, and 20 percent are physically 

attracted to a person living a seemingly 

sustainable and healthy life. 

The desire to learn more about sustainability 

is turning knowledge about sustainability into 

a new cultural status symbol. But with these 

new patterns and the rapid transformation 

of sustainability in society also comes a new 

insecurity. Seven out of ten Gen-Z consumers 

believe their friends will look down on them 

negatively if they don’t make environmentally 

conscious choices regarding their consumption, 

while nearly nine out of ten Gen-Z 

believe their environmental decisions won’t 

have a major impact - neither for the better 

nor for the worse. 

The paradox of being impressed 

with knowledge while 

feeling like you have no control 

over your actions can be 

devastating for consumers, 

and probably never before 

have brands had so much opportunity 

and responsibility to 

act as sustainability role models 

to alleviate this anxiety. 

The fear of making the wrong choices, combined 

with the feeling of being impressed and 

attracted to those with sustainability knowledge, 

can create a worry so destructive that 

we find ourselves at risk of not living up to the 

ideals of success set by our peers and society, 

and potentially losing our status as a result. This 

can ultimately be both a driver and a barrier for 

consumers to transition to a more sustainable 

lifestyle. 

Consumers will ultimately demand more than 

just information about the environmental 

benefits of products and brands in order to shift 

to a sustainable lifestyle. They also need help 

building their self-image with values, results and 

stories as they make their sustainable transformation. 

They want bragging rights and proof 

that they are doing the right thing and not 

being judged by their peers. 

What to expect in The NXT Sustainable Consumer Report 2022: 

1. Insights: The sustainable consumer readiness curve 

2. Drivers: Sustainability, status and anxiety 

3. Future: Gen-Z, the eco-sexual generation? 

4. Future: Brand activism is here to stay 

5. Opportunities: My sustainability dream brand 

6. Opportunities: Deep dive, three consumer profiles 

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© Pop Zebra/Unsplash 

The NXT Sustainable 

Consumer Report 2022 

The report is based on quantitative and qualitative 

research from Above The Clouds’ Future 

Series about the NXT Sustainable Consumer in 

Sweden. It provides tools to thrive in a time of 

transition, outlining areas where the consumers’ 

hearts and anxieties are right now, strategies 

for success, three consumer profiles you 

need to be talking to, and how to speak with 

them. 

Above The Clouds guides you through this shifting 

landscape by providing expert consumer 

insight and actionable advice as a change forecaster. 

With the report, you will find tools and 

insights to power up your 2022 brand strategies 

through sustainability and eco-decisions. 

Facts about the report: 

Step 1: 2020 - Qualitative Research, desktop 

and expert interviews. Published in Scandinavian 

MIND – The New Sustainable Consumer 

and her search for truth. 

Step 2: 2021 - Quantitative Research 

1,064 respondents, representing the general 

population in Sweden. Data gathering via 

web-panel, Oct. 25 - Nov. 2, 2021. 

Head of insights: Fredrik Ekström, founder of 

Above The Clouds, www.abovetheclouds.se 


Fredrik Ekström is a Senior Business Advisor and 

brand communication consultant with over 17 years of 

experience working with brand activations, insights and 

development. He specializes in sustainable lifestyle brands 

and transforming research and insights into creative actions 

that breathe new life into brand purpose and craft brands 

that stand for something, engage people and ultimately 

stand out from the competition. 

11


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Gore is just launching a product the industry 

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Ross MacLaine: Maybe we should first take a step 

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12

Gore is known for its strict quality standards. 

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Once again, on the subject of PFC-free: Gore 

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The subject of PFCs is very complex, so it is often 

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What other sustainability plans does Gore have 

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We have also made great progress with our other 

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The textile accounts for the largest share 

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13


Greenwashing and the EU Legislation 

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EU on the 

hunt for green 

trappers 

Greenwashing, meaning advertising environmental 

initiatives without actually 

implementing sustainable business practices, 

is more than common, misleading consumers 

with promising advertisements or claims 

about a product’s true benefits. According to a 

Deloitte survey of U.K. customers, 34 percent of 

consumers do not choose sustainable products 

because they perceive a lack of information that 

makes them suspicious of anything declared 

“green.” 

The thicket of labels and markings does its 

part to further confuse them. According to the 

European Commission, there are more than 

200 eco-labels active in the EU and more than 

450 in use worldwide. And there are more than 

80 widely used reporting initiatives and methodologies 

just for carbon emissions. Despite 

this plethora of labels, there is a general sense 

of disinformation. The oversaturation of declarations 

seems to open the door to greenwashing. 

To tackle this issue, the European Green Deal 

published in 2019 stated, “Companies making 

‘green claims’ should substantiate these against 

a standard methodology to assess their impact 

on the environment.” 

A year later, 

the 2020 Circular 

Economy action 

plan committed 

that “the Commission 

will also 

propose that companies 

substantiate 

their environmental 

claims using Product 

and Organization 

Environmental 

Footprint methods.” 

This initiative has 

close links to other 

Different types of greenwashing are 

commonly in practice in our industry: 

1. Selective communication: Advertising positive 

information about a product’s environmental 

performance while negative information 

is concealed. But: Along the supply 

chain, there are many points to consider 

– such as product lifecycle, sourcing, manufacturing, 

etc. The sum of these points adds 

up to the actual sustainability of the product 

– not individual elements. 

2. Symbolic actions: These are claims that 

draw attention to minor problems without 

accompanying meaningful action: a company 

may well install a company kindergarden 

at its headquarters (and use this fact 

for PR) and, at the same time, ignore child 

labor in the supply chain. 

policies announced in the Circular Economy 

action plan: 

• the revision of EU consumer law to empower 

consumers for active participation in the 

green transition 

• a sustainable product policy initiative 

• the farm to fork strategy 

All of these are worked out to reach the policy 

objective of EU climate neutrality by 2050. By 

early 2022, the EU will issue a final antigreenwashing 

initiative, accompanying the EU 

Taxonomy law as a systemic policy framework 

to channel the capital flow towards sustainable 

investments. 

The Taxonomy law aims for no less than the 

Union-wide harmonization of the criteria to 

determine whether an economic activity qualifies 

as environmentally sustainable. The timing 

is said to be ambitious, regarding the sheer 

complexity of the process. Market analysts at 

Bloomberg don’t see the greenwashing regulation 

coming before the end of 2022. However, 

many already consider the EU Taxonomy Act 

(initially set out to be the standard for sustainable 

investment) to be a greenwashing project 

itself – at the latest since the decision was made 

to classify nuclear power and gas as sustainable 

energy sources. 

In any case, it is expected that the upcoming 

EU initiative will mandate that companies back 

up their claims about the environmental footprint 

of their products or services with standard 

quantification methods so that consumers can 

compare products and 

services and verify the 

claims. Part of this is a 

complex reporting system 

that requires data 

from the entire supply 

chain - which could 

be one of the reasons 

blockchain technology 

becomes important to 

ensure transparency 

across the entire product 

journey. To ensure 

transparent information 

about the composition 

of goods on the 

European market, the

European Commission is also planning a “digital 

product passport.” 

For larger companies, climate-related KPIs 

should be the basis of sustainability reports. 

Smaller companies under 250 employees may 

“voluntarily decide” to publish such information. 

The post-Brexit U.K. has already implemented 

its own Environment Act for England, Wales 

and Northern Ireland that came into effect on 

November 17, 2021, to ensure greater resilience, 

traceability and sustainability, particularly in 

supply chains. 

The U.K. and the EU follow different approaches 

to combating “greenwashing” claims for products 

and services. The EU initiative is complex 

and detailed, while the UK approach is less 

standardized and not supported by technical 

resources or mandatory methods for companies. 

In pre-Brexit times, the EU had fixed the future 

path in its “Regulation on the establishment of a 

framework to facilitate sustainable investment, 

and amending regulation.” The paper says that, 

for each environmental objective, uniform criteria 

for determining whether economic activities 

contribute substantially to that objective should 

be laid down. One element of the uniform 

criteria should be to avoid significant degradation 

of any of the established environmental 

objectives to prevent “that investments qualify 

as environmentally sustainable in cases where 

the economic activities benefitting from those 

investments cause harm to the environment to 

the extent that outweighs their contribution to 

an environmental objective.” 

The assessment should consider several aspects: 

the lifecycle of the products and services 

provided; the environmental impacts of the 

economic activity itself (including consideration 

of findings from existing lifecycle assessments), 

taking into account the impacts of production; 

use; and end-of-life. Economic activities should 

only be considered environmentally sustainable 

if they are conducted in accordance with the 

OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises 

and UN Guiding Principles on Business and 

Human Rights, including the Declaration on 

Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 

the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the 

eight fundamental conventions of the ILO and 

the International Bill of Human Rights. The ILO’s 

fundamental conventions set out the human 

and labor rights that companies must respect. 

Business experts believe the new rules will 

closely follow the framework developed by the 

German financial regulator BaFin to prevent 

investment funds from declaring investments as 

environmentally friendly when they are actually 

not. The German supervisory authority’s planned 

rules set a minimum threshold of 75 percent 

for investments that contribute to achieving 

ESG targets. Germany is thus taking a stricter 

approach than other countries that use scoring 

systems or qualitative requirements. 

Clearly, the EU has several songs to sing at once 

- definitely more than individual companies 

that have a power of self-correction. In recent 

years, many business alliances have been forged 

to take a more effective and clearer approach 

against greenwashing, setting strict and non-negotiable 

benchmarks for products: for example, 

Swedish fintech company Klarna has just 

entered into a new collaboration with fashion 

sustainability rating platform Good On You to 

help customers make more informed decisions 

about the environmental impact of the products 

they buy. Good On You rates products based 

on a scoring system with more than 500 data 

points. 

This external assessment means that greenwashing 

platitudes have little chance of getting 

through to consumers. Voluntary rather than 

legislative measures could therefore be the more 

effective and faster way to curb greenwashing. 

1 

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15


ReGenerative Agriculture 

1 

2 

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4 

5 

Could this be a 

way for clothing 

to exchange its 

bad reputation 

for a force for 

good? 

At the end of 2021, COP26 centered around 

the climate crisis that has brought global 

temperature rising to center stage and 

how there is a need to take carbon out of the 

atmosphere. This year, COP15 needs to have as 

much attention as it focuses on restoring global 

biodiversity. The European Outdoor Conservation 

Association (EOCA) team came up with a 

good explanation when they described the urgency 

of both topics as an overflowing bathtub 

– you should both turn off the taps plus pull out 

the plug to tackle the problem. 

Textiles have gained a (false) reputation as the 

second most polluting industry in the world 

(apparel is bad, but not that bad). Whatever the 

numbers, it is common knowledge that there is 

room for improvement not just for man-made, 

but in natural materials as well, like cotton. In 

this ongoing discussion, one of the incoming 

buzzwords involves ReGenerative Agriculture – 

but what is it? 

ReGenerative Agriculture (ReGenAg) is the new 

way of growing cotton and other crops, but it is 

just the practice used a century ago. The method 

is based on four main principles around soil 

health, irrigation, carbon sequestration and restoring 

biodiversity. ReGenAg practice could be 

used immediately; unlike qualification for Global 

Organic Textile Standards (GOTS), which takes 

three years to swap over from regular farming, 

a ReGenAg tag can be valid after just a year of 

better husbandry of the soils. 

The North Face was the first to use ReGenAg 

materials when they introduced their Cali wool 

beanie four years ago. Last year, Timberland (also 

a VF Corp. brand like TNF) introduced its Earthkeeper 

range of footwear using ReGenAg leather. 

The latter is worthy of more attention because 

cows are seen as almost evil in this world – they 

provide a meat diet, they graze inefficiently on 

pastureland, and rainforests are cleared to grow 

their winter food-stock of soybeans. There has 

been a verified study, audited by Quantis, on the 

White Oaks Pasture farm in the U.S. that has revealed 

that rather than the usual 33 factor (kgs of 

CO2 produced per 1 kg of meat) – ReGenAg beef 

farming absorbs 3 ½ kg of carbon into the soil 

more than is emitted. It follows that sheep get 

an endorsement, too, for their wool. Arable crops 

are even better. 

Clever herding pays off to more 

carbon being stored 

The key aspect is the change of agricultural 

practice. Everything is focused on the roots of 

the crop (or the grass for livestock). The science 

bit is the other side of photosynthesis: we all 

know that plants take in carbon dioxide and 

return oxygen, that carbon is sequestered as the 

foliage or roots of the plant. Hence, the longer 

the roots, the more carbon is stored. The more 

growth above the ground, the longer the roots 

– so the trick is to move the animals onto fresh 

pasture before they eat the plant down to soil 

level. Extra herding equals more labor, but these 

additional costs break even (reduction in fertilizer, 

pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals) 

after four years. For arable crops like cotton, the 

route is following regular organic cultivation. To 

use the ReGenAg label, there needs to be an 

improvement in soil health shown year-to-year; 

applied correctly, the endorsement can happen 

after 12 months of the change of technique. 

Soil health (microbes) is vital for a healthy planet. 

A good root network will absorb and thus feed 

the plant with moisture for 30 times longer than 

rain falling on worn-out soil. The rainwater will 

also take up to 100 days to reach the river’s flow, 

rather than the three days it takes to reach it 

during a flood. Both factors also reduce wind 

and water erosion – currently recorded as up to 5 

cm each year. 

16

Restoring biodiversity also means creating a 

habitat for arable crop predators so that natural 

control can take place, in line with the EU Green 

Deal recommendations. There are many examples 

of how local networks reward the small 

farmers, as opposed to money going only to 

super farms; whereas sequestration (converted 

to the wool in a jacket) is equivalent to 100 kg of 

carbon stored in the ground. For manufacturers, 

this means that for every 10 product units, one 

ton is saved from the company’s total carbon 

footprint. 

It is common knowledge 

that there is room for 

improvement not just for 

man-made, but in natural 

materials as well. 

As in so many other areas of the apparel industry, 

there are several different standards used by 

the brands. Patagonia has opted for the Rodale 

Institute, TNF uses Indigo, while Timberland 

follows the Savory Institute guidelines. The latter 

audit is also the one chosen by HDWool, as it is 

the only third-party certified system – based on 

the yearly Ecological Outcome Verification of the 

farms. With the rise in direct B2C communication 

channels, it is expected that end consumers 

will opt for carbon-balanced (or even negative) 

fabrics to facilitate their concern for the environment. 

Some industry stakeholders see regenerative 

agriculture as the answer to many (if not all) 

problems. To quote Rose Marcario when she was 

Patagonia’s CEO: “Agriculture really represents 

the best chance that we have of mitigating and 

ending the climate crisis. The science is saying 

that if we converted all industrialized agriculture 

to regenerative organic practices, we could 

sequester all the world’s carbon”. 

1 

2 

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5 


Charles Ross is a textile specialist based at the Royal 

College of Art in London; he has taught Performance 

Sportswear Design to the next generation of Outdoor 

Industry designers for over two decades. His mantra is 

“Sustainability through Longevity.” 

17


Advertisement 

I’ll take the Performance Fabrics - 

hold the PFAS 

Polartec’s announcement to use only non-PFAS finishes across its 

entire fabric range actually began as a three-decade-long exploration 

in EcoEngineering 

Polartec recently announced the removal 

of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl 

substances) in its DWR (durable water 

repellent) treatments across its line of 

performance fabrics. By itself, this may not 

seem especially surprising, or new, as in recent 

years, the Outdoor Industry has increasingly 

moved away from PFAS. However, what makes 

this announcement particularly interesting 

is twofold. First, it now includes the weather 

protection category of fabrics whose performance 

requirements have made converting to non-PFAS 

chemicals particularly challenging. This new non- 

PFAS treatment offers zero loss of durability or 

water repellency. Second, it’s the latest milestone 

of a journey that began long before DWR even 

entered our acronym vocabulary. 

solutions to all facets of the manufacturing 

process. And all with their own performance 

expectations. However, a starting point was 

needed, and fleece was it. After the required 

trials and errors, the right non-PFAS recipe was 

discovered that could also deliver a similar level 

of performance as the former treatment. With 

this, “lossless performance” became our objective 

and the standard on which all conversions were 

measured. 

This latest achievement not only converts the 

entire range of Polartec fabrics to non-PFAS 

DWR, it does so across its most uncompromising 

platform of weather protection fabrics: Polartec ® 

Hardface ® , Polartec ® Power Shield ® , Polartec ® 

Power Shield ® Pro, Polartec ® NeoShell ® and 

Polartec ® Windbloc ® . 

“Trial results have 

exceeded even our expectations. 

There is no 

loss of performance from 

a water repellency or 

durability standpoint.” 

Mike Rose, Polartec VP of Product Development 

First, the PFAS: In 2017, Polartec introduced the 

first fabric styles (fleece) using a non-PFAS DWR 

treatment. It wasn’t talked about much, or if it was, 

probably referred to as PFC-free (Perfluorinated 

Compounds only describe a small percentage of 

impacted chemicals- thus the current move to 

labeling these chemicals as PFAS). This modest 

first step was made out of pure necessity. As 

a maker of over 500 individual fabric styles, 

committing to removing “PFAS from DWR” is 

easier said than done. Baselayers, midlayers, 

sweater weights, outerwear, and of course, 

fleece all require their own unique and specific 

While backcountry skiers might loudly holler their 

approval, fabric engineers are a little bit more 

reserved. Make no mistake, this is like shouting 

from the mountaintop. And only half of the story. 

For over 30 years, Polartec has created premium, 

innovative, and sustainable fabric technologies. 

It’s an unrivaled record of continuous innovation 

that has led to category-creating textiles to keep 

people warm, dry, cool, and safe. By engineering 

thermoregulation through textile construction, 

these benefits can be viscerally experienced by 

wearing garments made from Polartec fabrics, 

i.e., wearing is believing. However, over this same 

18

time period, there’s been another force driving 

innovation whose benefits are not as easily 

noticed, but equally tangible and important: 

EcoEngineering . 

While Polartec’s predecessor, Malden Mills, 

had been knitting fabrics since before the First 

World War, the sustainability “a-ha! moment” 

came in 1993 with the discovery of how to knit a 

performance fabric from yarn derived from postconsumer 

recycled (PCR) bottles. 

At the time, this too was seen as more of a 

curiosity than a tectonic shift in polyester 

production. Its high cost and limited 

design options made customer 

adoption scarce. Of course, one of 

the first to embrace this new 

technology was Patagonia, 

which was unafraid of the 

fact that soda bottle green 

was the only color available. 

Since that day, Polartec 

continually expanded what 

fabrics could be knit and 

what kind of performance 

could be achieved from this 

new type of fiber. To date, 

Polartec has upcycled 1.7 

billion bottles into performance 

textiles, and now offers over 200+ 

fabrics made from at least 50% PCR content, 

and 50+ fabrics made from 100% PCR content. 

Every year, the numbers increase as the line 

between sustainability and performance 

becomes smaller. 

Recycled inputs are just one of the foundational 

pillars to EcoEngineering. Over time, Polartec has 

adopted a more holistic approach to creating 

more sustainable products. Today, this includes 

smarter chemistry (like non-PFAS DWR), greater 

durability (perhaps the best solution to greater 

sustainability), natural performance (naturebased 

and bio-based solutions), and recycled 

materials (PCR content). 

Of course, truly sustainable products require a 

more responsible manufacturing/production 

process. Every year, Polartec finds new ways to 

reduce the consumption of energy, water, and 

CO2 emissions in its manufacturing plants. And 

whenever possible, it strives to exceed industry 

standards through rigorous and transparent 

OEKO-TEX ® , bluesign ® , Higg Index and GRS 

certifications. 

Polartec’s dedication to environmentally 

sustainable products and manufacturing 

continues to push the market forward. From 

innovating non-PFAS DWR treatments to 

the first performance fabric built to reduce 

microfiber shedding (Polartec ® Power Air ® ), 

from achieving products that complement 

the circularity ambitions of brand partners 

to leading the way in recycled content, 

sustainable science has become the 

innovative force behind Polartec. 

“Achieving non-PFAS 

treatments within 

our product line is an 

important milestone 

in our commitment to 

innovate sustainablymade 

performance fabrics. 

It’s the latest step on our 

journey to an even more 

sustainable Polartec.” 

Steve Layton, Polartec President 

A future made possible through the process of 

EcoEngineering and the science of fabric. 

19


The IdeaList 

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Committed, convinced and confident: 

people we call idealists, whose 

achievements - small and large - stand 

out for a more sustainable world. They have 

inspired others, founded movements or 

protected regions. Some of them have been 

seen and heard, others less so. But all of 

these idealists have proven themselves to be 

crusaders for sustainability and are thus part 

of our list, the “IdeaList.” 

The trailblazer: Yvon Chouinard 

Yvon Chouinard’s career as a founder of Chouinard 

Equipment, Black Diamond and Patagonia 

is common knowledge. 

Over his time in the 

business, Patagonia has 

donated more than $105 

million to environmental 

causes. It has topped 

the list among apparel 

brands with the best 

reputation on the Axios 

Harris Poll rankings. 

Chouinard has steered 

Patagonia to the purpose-driven 

company 

it is today by being a 

very early inventor of disruptive marketing (like 

urging consumers on Black Friday, 2011, to “Don’t 

buy this jacket,” trying to trigger a reflection process 

that encourages thoughtful consumption. 

After decades of his company blazing the trail 

and driving many things forward, he says: “There 

is no such thing as sustainability. The best we 

can do is cause the least amount of harm.” 

Chouinard believes stock market valuations are 

“absurd,” investing in shares is “buying blue sky” 

– and modern-day capitalism is destroying the 

planet. “I’d like to see an end to public corporations 

because we’re not going to revolutionize 

them, we’re not going to change them,” Chouinard 

once told the Guardian. 

The preservationist: John Muir 

Born in 1838, the co-founder of the Sierra Club 

was one of the first activists that saw the need 

for legal protection of lands as the only way to 

preserve wildlife and nature. He helped to install 

the Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The 

picture shows Muir (on 

the right) with Theodore 

Roosevelt on 

Glacier Point in Yosemite 

National Park (Photo: 

public domain). Unlike 

the conservationists of 

his day, who wanted 

to protect the land for 

human use above all 

else, Muir was a preservationist: 

his goal was to 

leave nature as untouched 

as possible. 

The humanist: Jürgen Altmann 

During a sabbatical in Ladakh, Jürgen Altmann, 

owner of the Aroma Kaffeebar in Munich, learned 

that nearly 90 percent of the population suffers 

from eye damage and eye diseases due to 

extreme UV radiation. 

In 2009, he founded 

Shades of Love, a project 

that collects new or used 

sunglasses from businesses 

and consumers and 

distributes them to people 

in high-altitude regions. He 

has since built logistics and 

partnerships to ensure distribution 

through various 

means to the target areas. 

An NGO, Brillen Weltweit, is helping with the testing, 

preparation and storage for Shades of Love. 

On-site, there is a network of professional organizations 

that finally distribute the sunglasses (for 

example the shipment of 70,000 sunglasses in 

Fall 2021) to the remote mountain regions.. 

Key cooperation partners include: 

• The Tibetan Health Care Center in Choglamsar/Ladakh, 

a partner organization of the Department 

of Health in Dharamsala, a charity 

of the Dalai Lama. 

• Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Kathmandu, 

a part of the Nepal Eye Program. 

Today, around 50,000 pairs of glasses are waiting 

in the German warehouse to be shipped. Companies 

such as Apollo Optics, Edel Optics, Julbo and 

Funk are among the regular providers of unused 

glasses, but private individuals also donate used 

20

ones. What is always lacking, Altmann says, is 

funding for the logistics part. He is also working 

on setting up a base in South America. Many people 

in the Andes also suffer from eye diseases. 

The economist: Robin Murray 

Professor Robin Murray, who died in 2017, was 

the voice and avid proponent of the Zero Waste 

movement and the first to describe the need to 

recycle unavoidable waste in his 1999 book, “Creating 

Wealth from Waste.” In his next book, “Zero 

Waste,” he wrote, “from the perspective of pollution, 

the problem is a question of what waste is. 

From the perspective of resource productivity, it 

is a question of what waste could be. As a pollutant, 

waste demands control. As an embodiment 

of accumulated energy and materials, it invites 

an alternative. The one is a constraint to an old 

way of doing things. The other opens up a path 

to the new.” He was an economist who firmly 

believed in collaboration as the key to industrial 

restructuring in response to environmental 

pressures. 

The applicators: 

Jay Cohen Gilbert, 

Bart Houlahan and 

Andrew Kassoy 

Jay Cohen Gilbert, Bart 

Houlahan, and Andrew 

Kassoy are the fathers of B 

Lab, a nonprofit network 

founded with the grand 

goal of transforming the global economy. On a 

smaller scale, it provides companies with a legal 

framework that puts the values of sustainability 

and the common good as much at the heart of 

their operations as the need to make money. B 

Lab became Benefit Corporation, a movement 

that to date includes more than 4,500 companies. 

A certified B Corp must consider the impact of its 

decisions on its employees, customers, suppliers, 

community and environment. B Corps are actively 

building an inclusive and regenerative economy, 

and 4,515 B Corps around the world in 153 

different industries are proof that values-based 

businesses can succeed. 

The voice: Greta Thunberg 

Carried by an 

unprecedented 

wave, Greta Thunberg, 

born in 2003, 

became the voice 

of an entire generation. 

In just a 

few years, global 

networking and 

the digital age, 

especially within 

the Gen-Z, have 

catapulted the 

Swedish activist onto the podiums of the UN, 

to Davos and to conferences where the course 

of the world economy is set. Thunberg’s school 

strike was the nucleus of the “Fridays for Future” 

movement, referenced in global protests to 

meet the 1.5-degree target. 

© Per Grunditz / Dreamstime.com 

1 

2 

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65 

EDM SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS 

ISSUE #1-2022 

A special edition e-paper published by EDM 

Publications GmbH, Paradiesstr. 10, 80538 

Munich, Germany. © 2022 

Project Manager: Susanne Kern 

Managing Editor: Wolfgang Greiner 

Managing Director EDM: Krischan Hertle 

Layout concept and support: Pedro Rodriguez 

Contributors: Charles Ross, Pamela Ravasio, 

Fredrik Ekström, Kai Landwehr 

Thank you: Katy Stevens, Martin Kössler 

The EDM Sustainable Business Special is a 

free e-publication published at least twice 

a year. Contact Franziska Harfy (franziska. 

harfy@edmpublications.com) for advertising 

opportunities. SGI Europe, The Outdoor 

Industry Compass, Shoe Intelligence and 

Eyewear Intelligence are subscription-based 

services. For inquiries about individual and corporate 

subscriptions, please contact Lena Androsova 

(l.androsova@edmpublications.com). 

More information: www.edmpublications.com 

Reg No. HRB248849, VAT No. DE325691754 

21


State of Industry Survey 

As a first for this Special, EDM Publications 

conducted a survey among its 

readers in January 2022 on the topic 

of sustainability. The privilege of gaining 

access to an elite pool of decision-makers 

and asking them for their opinions was 

exceptionally exciting. This survey is not 

intended to be the only one. We will repeat 

it at regular intervals to track the evolution 

towards a greener industry. 

The overall sentiment is slightly optimistic: twothirds 

of our readers see their companies making 

good (31,6 percent) or average (49 percent) progress 

concerning their sustainability agenda. 

1 

2 

2 

4 

75 

The majority of the survey’s participants come 

from retail and brands; the bigger rest are manufacturers 

or working for ingredient brands. 

Regarding the certification and external audit of 

sustainability achievements, only 15 percent of the 

participants claimed not to have any CSR team or 

certification yet. 33 percent at least work on the 

topic in-house, which adds up to almost half of 

the companies not working with external audits 

and competence sources. For those using certification 

partners, ISO is the most relevant standard 

(32.7 percent), followed by Oeko-Tex (11.2 percent) 

and Bluesign (9.2 percent). 

This weighting may be reflected in the evaluation 

of which point in the supply chain can make the 

fastest progress in environmental protection (see 

below): 

• First and foremost, suppliers of fibers and 

fabrics are expected to act. 

• By far, the biggest potential for more sustainability 

is seen at the very source of the 

manufacturing process, in the field of raw 

material sourcing. 

• Logistics and distribution are not seen as primary 

and fast-acting improvement opportunities, 

nor is product life. 

This last assessment is particularly interesting 

because it contradicts some of the scientific 

insights: While a study commissioned by W.L.Gore 

confirms that to date, most emissions (65 %) 

occur in production, logistics and distribution, 

while the use (e.g., washing/impregnation) by 

the consumer, including subsequent disposal, 

causes 35 % of all environmental damage done. 

The study assumed a service life of around five 

22

years for a shell jacket. The longer a garment is in 

use, the more this weighting shifts to the detriment 

of emissions during production, so a longer 

product lifetime may indeed quickly care for a 

smaller footprint. If manufacturing emissions go 

down, the relevance of a longer lifetime for better 

sustainability increases. 

However, in an ideal world, a longer product wear 

time and a more sustainable production would 

go hand in hand. Today, production remains 

the big factor. But a closer look at the different 

parameters measures during production shows a 

shift of relevance. Renewable energy sources are 

gaining importance in many businesses, so the 

energy factor is probably becoming less important 

- while the issues of logistics and water consumption 

could become more relevant as more 

organic raw materials are used. 

Being asked for the primary reasons for the 

ongoing efforts for sustainability improvement, 

most of the survey participants feel that consumers 

are demanding it. At the same time, EDM 

readers see brands pushing the industry, and 

almost the same checkmarks were counted on 

“laws and regulations” that push for more sustainability 

in the sporting goods industry. Only about 

a quarter of the respondents say retailers are also 

pressing for action. Manufacturers and ingredient 

brands are least seen as relevant drivers for 

change – although the above answers show that 

those pieces in the puzzle are specifically seen as 

having the most potential and influence on the 

industry’s overall environmental footprint. 

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Huginbiz ® and Dr. Pamela Ravasio, well-known for 

developing and leading progressive sustainability programs in 

the outdoor industry, are launching a series of programs for 

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Learning to drive is hard. But with the help of a good driving 

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Dr. Pamela Ravasio, SME advisor 

23


Advertisement 

Sympatex – start making sense 

Collaboration: the right way from an economical, 

professional and emotional perspective 

For Sympatex, the willingness of the market 

to take collective responsibility for the environmental 

collateral of our industry has 

been decisive to the company’s development. 

Today, the company is a system partner, ingredient 

supplier and advisory body to its customers. 

Sympatex has learned one lesson in its multiple 

roles: collaboration is key. 

What is the Sympatex 

business model based on? 

The branded Sympatex ingredient is a membrane 

made from polyester and developed in 

Europe, using a recipe that has been around 

relatively unchanged for 35 years and is offered 

in various laminates. The chemical 

formula of the starting material is 

environmentally harmless. When 

laminated with polyester face 

and liner fabrics, the resulting 

mono-material laminate is recyclable 

and can theoretically 

be manufactured into a fully 

circular end product. However, 

the components that lead 

to a finished product – like zippers, 

buttons, threads, accessories 

and shoe soles – decide on 

the product’s recyclability. Here is 

where circular design thinking begins. 

What factors are currently 

influencing the market situation 

and Sympatex’s business model? 

1. The EU urges for circular textile solutions. 

2. Brands are beginning to transform their business 

models and product. 

3. Innovations point the way - founders are the 

basis, science is the engine. 

4. Legislative processes ban substances harmful 

to the environment and health. 

5. Portfolio and collection developments adapt to 

circumstances. 

2022 will be a decisive year for the textile industry. 

100 billion garments and 23 billion pairs of shoes 

are produced per year, most of them dumped 

or burned after use in the current linear product 

life. Considering the knowledge and technical 

possibilities available, we need to learn to see 

the possible opportunity in the numbers: 100bn 

garments and 23bn shoes represent the future 

source of new raw material for producing (textile) 

industries. 

The world is changing rapidly, and it is impossible 

to give a general answer to what point of view we 

choose tomorrow. But what is quite fundamental 

for all decision-making is orientation. Labels, 

certificates, audits - what is the right way to stand 

up for clarity? CSR departments from different 

companies share their knowledge and 

discuss modules, and corresponding 

joint organizations and associations 

push this cohesion. Just like the 

fact that one sustainable ingredient 

doesn’t make for a green 

product, the conclusion for all 

of us can only be to sustainably 

adapt business processes, 

development stages and 

the entire product portfolio. 

Balance sheets have to be designed 

with economic sensitivity 

and supplemented with the real 

social and environmental costs and 

resource benefits. To reach our goals, 

reducing what is unnecessary or required is 

mandatory - for consumption, development and 

output. And we have to compensate or redesign 

what cannot be solved in an environmentally 

friendly way. 

The prerequisite for incipient circularity is the use 

of pure polyester compositions. Based on this, 

Sympatex calls on the textile industry to adopt a 

collective mono-material strategy for the performance 

areas where functional textiles are to be 

used. 

1. Polyester is the only synthetic material that allows 

an efficient recycling process. 

2. Recycled polyester saves the most water and 

CO2. 

3. Polyester has by far the broadest application in 

our industry. 

24

4. Only polyester-based mono-materials can be 

easily recycled. 

Add these innovative technologies: Welding, 3D 

modeling, thermoforming - each offers opportunities 

for minimal material consumption and 

technological minimization of resource waste in 

production. Together with its partners, Sympatex 

develops products that guarantee maximum 

performance for waterproofness and breathability 

without harmful chemicals and, in the medium 

term, also without taping. Simply by using 

existing production processes from other industries: 

Workshop sharing is fundamental to the 

concept. 

The European Commission is committed to 

adopting legislation in January 2022 to ensure 

compliance with the proportionality principle, 

enforce a complete ban on fluorochemicals and 

force transparency for the consumer. With the 

deadlines for developing new product lines insight, 

we have to act now. 

What are the next steps for the 

textile industry that are real, 

feasible and measurable? 

True circularity can only be achieved through collaborative 

efforts. What we need are cross-company 

cooperations as they release enormous 

knowledge and opportunities. Remodeling the 

textile industry from linear to circular production 

requires unconditional transparency of expertise, 

solutions, research and science – Sympatex believes 

cooperation is the decisive prerequisite for 

closing the loop. The system can only be changed 

if the entire industry agrees on specific standards 

and leaves competition aside to a certain extent. 

This is why Sympatex pursues cooperation and 

strategic partnerships at the heart of its action. 

In the last two pandemic years, it has become 

clear that collaborative structures are essential. 

To this end, the Sympathy Lab was launched by 

Sympatex in December 2021 as a joint forum. The 

new web platform stands for collaboration, education 

and impulses that empower the entire 

outdoor and fashion industry for the sustainable 

change. The setup is a webinar series organized 

monthly in collaboration with different people 

and brands. The goal is to create a library of sorts 

for all types of endeavors, solutions and partnerships. 

Sympatex is inviting all stakeholders to 

share relevant information here, be it sources, 

foundations or training, as the main task of sales 

and distribution forces - only together will a much 

larger movement be created. 

For 2022, the following milestones are to be set in 

the Sympathy Lab: 

1. Create a platform for sustainability reports strategic 

papers for concrete courses of action as 

best-practice guidelines – independent of competitive 

thinking. 

2. To use monthly vertical TV and audio formats 

to contribute journalistically to transparency and 

knowledge in attractive implementation to active 

discussion and concrete guidance for change. 

3. To convince younger generations and young 

professionals to work in the textile, footwear and 

outdoor industries - from retailers to teachers. 

4. To become the exchange platform for innovative, 

straightforward and inspiring personalities. 

With Kim Scholze as Chief Sustainable 

Community Manager, Sympatex wants to take 

on the role of an enabler in the industry, relying 

on the power of the many. At Sympatex and 

in her podcast Spuzziness, Scholze puts the 

topic of sustainability and collaboration on the 

agenda of various platforms. Collaboration and 

Unity for Change are key buzzwords for the 

path Sympatex has taken, both professionally 

and personally. As the 

person responsible for 

business development 

and communications, 

Kim Scholze wants to 

initiate partnerships that 

accelerate mutual learning. 

Kim.Scholze@Sympatex.com 

© Sandra Steh 

25


Leading the Pack 

Some industry executives are thinking 

further ahead. They have visions. And 

they act. They have understood. And 

they share. And they seem to be better at 

connecting the dots. In our first edition 

of the EDM Sustainable Business Special, 

we introduce the first four individuals we 

consider to be true forward-thinkers of the 

sporting goods industry. 

movements towards environmentally conscious 

consumption.” Within the last four years, Antje 

von Dewitz has consequently transformed the 

Vaude company into a climate-neutral business 

that (like 500 others) is committed to the 

so-called “economy for the common good” and 

files a common good balance sheet showing the 

extent to which the company has assumed its 

social-ecological responsibility. 

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The heir: 

Antje von Dewitz (CEO Vaude) 

When Antje von Dewitz took over Vaude from 

her father in 1998, the first significant step to 

more sustainability had already been made 

four years earlier: The Ecolog Recycling Network 

that Vaude installed in 1994. This initial trial to 

go for recyclable, mono-material products that 

would be part of a circular economy didn’t have 

a successful takeoff – mainly because of a lack of 

response. Consumers returned very few products, 

resistance from retail was significant, and the 

effort and resources flowing into the project were 

immense. The initial learning from this pioneering 

work was: sustainability isn’t a single project. 

It has to be an integral part of the company’s 

daily work and reach out to all branches and the 

tiniest twigs of the whole tree. 

But things have changed since then: “We are 

seeing a significant increase in consumer 

knowledge and a strong expectation that brands 

and retailers should make their offerings more 

sustainable. Fridays for Future has given a first 

push and the pandemic a second, even stronger 

Asked for anything that she would judge as a 

failure in the past years, Antje von Dewitz says: “I 

should have taken external consultancy to support 

the transformation of employee’s mindset 

much earlier. The process involves a lot of interdisciplinary 

management of conflicts, so everyone 

involved has to have a lust to take responsibility.” 

Economy for the 

Common Good 

www.ecogood.org 

Economy for the Common Good is 

an economic model that makes the 

common good – a good life for everyone 

on a healthy planet – its primary goal and 

purpose. At the heart of this concept lies 

the idea that values-driven businesses are 

mindful of and committed to: 

• Human Dignity 

• Solidarity and Social Justice 

• Environmental Sustainability 

• Transparency and Co-Determination 

Using a “Common Good Matrix,” results 

show a company’s contribution to 

the common good. This tool should 

make visible how fair, sustainable and 

transparent they are. Among other goals, 

the movement aims for a value-added tax 

assessment based on the sustainability 

goals achieved by the individual 

companies. 

26

The business changer: 

Eva Karlsson (CEO Houdini) 

You were recently asked if you would ever 

consider taking Houdini to the stock market 

and replied, “There’s a great deal to change on 

the stock market, and if we could support its’ 

transformation from within, it would be worth 

considering.” Do you perhaps have a plan, or 

could you elaborate further? 

Eva Karlsson: We do and we don’t have a detailed 

master plan, depending on how you look 

at it. Whether it would include a transformation 

of the financial sector from within remains 

unknown. Our plan is to cultivate value across 

stakeholders (individuals, society and planet) for 

the long term, resulting in becoming regenerative 

and contributing to a world in regeneration. 

That is quite contrary to the financial system, 

including the stock market, due to its design. 

Value in the financial system is isolated to monetary 

value. In the case of the stock exchange, it 

is isolated to monetary value and the short term, 

often at the expense of the long term. There 

are no systemic feedback-loops connected to 

potential depletion of natural resources, natural 

ecosystems or societal ecosystems either, which 

allows the financial system to operate as if it 

was separate and independent from the living 

world. I want to stress that we are talking about 

a systemic design flaw in the financial system, 

© Fredrik Schenholm 

not about people in the financial 

sector caring less than the rest 

of us or anything like that. 

The good thing with systemic 

design flaws is that we designed 

them, and we have the opportunity 

to redesign them. Houdini 

has been in the business of 

reimagining and redesigning 

systems since the start. For 

instance, we have spent the last 

20 years redesigning the linear 

apparel system into a circular 

one. 

So what would be a first step 

on the road to a fundamental 

change? 

Eva Karlsson: The way we’ve approached systemic 

design flaws is not to distance ourselves 

and point fingers but to embrace them - to 

acknowledge the facts, deepen our understanding, 

and find ways to redesign them to 

ensure we don’t end up with new systemic 

design errors that we have to address. For these 

redesigns to be robust and scalable at the level 

of eventually transforming the entire system, we 

have practiced open-source and collaborated 

with like-minded experts and peers. We would 

apply the same methodology to the stock market. 

We might not be the one, but either way, it 

will be important that change agents come into 

play in the financial sector in the coming years. 

We need the financial sector and every other 

sector to transform from a degenerative to a 

regenerative world. 

Consequently, has Houdini set itself up for a 

zero-sum game? 

Eva Karlsson: No, not at all: I would like to underline 

that Houdini is a for-profit company that 

has chosen a holistic perspective on value-creation, 

way beyond money and way beyond 

shareholders. It makes total sense as long as you 

have a long-term perspective. To make profits in 

the long term, we need a planet in good shape, 

and we need to be valued by our customers, 

users and all our stakeholders now and in the 

future. That is why we believe in holistic value 

creation. 

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The connector: 

Katy Stevens (EOG Head of CSR 

and Sustainability) 

What was the initial spark for you as a person 

to make the topic of sustainability a central 

part of your career? 

Katy Stevens: For me, it was a factory visit to 

China around 15 years ago, witnessing and 

experiencing first-hand the realities of the 

biggest part of the industry that you rarely get 

to see. I remember a growing awareness as 

we shared a cabin on a night train with some 

older teenage girls who were leaving home to 

go and work in factories in a different city. They 

were excited by the prospect of leaving home, 

earning money and new adventures. 

There was a strong contrast the next day when 

I visited a factory (different factory, different 

girls), but I was genuinely quite shocked by the 

rows upon rows of young, mostly women, sewing 

garments, and the mountainous volumes 

of clothing piled up everywhere, combined 

with the bleakness of the environment surrounding 

the factory. I started to understand 

at that time the impact of mass production on 

people and the planet as well as the cultural 

and logistical complexities of supply chains. 

In retrospect, are there any decisions you 

should have made earlier or differently? 

Katy Stevens: Not at all, I am very happy with 

the route that I took to get here, and I think it 

has afforded me a lot of essential knowledge. I 

come from a materials/textile production background, 

so for me understanding what things 

are made from and how they are produced is 

a fantastic foundation (and the opportunities 

to study sustainability-related subjects were 

not available like they are now). I think there 

are opportunities and access points into ‘sustainability’ 

and a lot of value in sustainability 

teams with mixed backgrounds and a variety 

of skill sets. As the topic becomes an essential 

part of business strategy, we are seeing a huge 

amount of ‘new positions’ within organizations 

and different job types within that strategy, 

data analysis, project management etc. 

Do you see major improvement for more sustainability 

happening in the sporting goods 

industry? 

Katy Stevens: Absolutely, I think there is still a 

lot of potential for technology and innovation 

across the industry. Textile and apparel supply 

chains are so incredibly long and complicated 

and I think there is opportunity at many 

points; farming and fiber production, materials 

and fabric development, dyeing and finishing 

processes, logistics etc. With so many processes 

in the production of apparel and sporting 

goods, if we can optimize each of these stages 

in terms of impact, I think all of these small 

changes could really add up to be significant. 

Do you believe in the compatibility of growth/ 

shareholder value as a business model and 

environmental sustainability? 

Katy Stevens: Like any industry, the outdoor/ 

apparel industry needs investment to survive, 

and few investors are willing to do so without 

the prospect of any ROI. However, currently, 

we are costing products from the top down, 

which leads to cutting corners on necessary 

environmental and social matters to reach 

specific price points. For a long time, we have 

been subsidizing both the shareholders and 

the consumer at the cost of environmental 

destruction and the quality of life and dignity 

of supply chain workers and only when these 

issues are addressed should we start talking 

about growth. 

28

The early mover: 

David Ekelund (CEO Icebug) 

What was the initial spark for you personally to 

pursue sustainability at Icebug? 

David Ekelund: Earth Overshoot Day. The realization 

of how utterly stupid and destructive it 

is to spend more resources than the planet can 

regenerate. That’s unsustainable in the most literal 

meaning of the word. Further fuel on the fire is 

the climate emergency. I love snow. 

In retrospect, are there any decisions you should 

have made earlier or differently? 

David Ekelund: We should have changed the fundamental 

view of what Icebug stands for much 

earlier – and been clear that we want to use our 

company as a tool to drive sustainable transformation, 

using every interaction we have - with 

customers, suppliers, colleagues - to influence the 

cultural change we need. 

Apart from that, we have acted to the best of our 

knowledge. We have to live with our imperfection. 

That is OK, as long as we continue to strive to 

improve our knowledge base and continue to act 

on it. 

Do you see significant improvements for more 

sustainability in the footwear industry? 

David Ekelund: That’s certainly a subject of debate. 

We see a lot of high-flying pilot projects, but 

for them to become more than just marketing, 

they need to scale. What’s interesting is what’s 

really being used the most, and that’s still a lot of 

petroleum as raw material, non-renewable energy 

in the supply chain (including coal, still), and air 

freight to catch sales when products are late. How 

is that compatible with knowing that this is a 

climate emergency? 

The proof is in the pudding, and the only way to 

determine if we are making significant improvements 

is to look at the data. A first step would be 

for brands to provide the data. And in the second 

phase, that emissions, the use of non-renewable 

materials and chemicals of high concern - to 

name just a few - are going down. 

According to a very read-worthy recent report by 

the Apparel Impact Initiative, the textile industry 

- and in our experience, this also applies to the 

footwear industry - can cut emissions by over 50% 

by using existing technology. So at this point, we 

don’t really need innovation, because we already 

have the tools. We just need the will to use them. 

Do you believe in the compatibility of growth/ 

shareholder value and environmental sustainability? 

David Ekelund: We have yet to define what “environmental 

sustainability” really means. I think 

it would have to be in the direction of satisfying 

human needs within planetary boundaries. 

To your question, allow me to amend it: Is it all 

right to grow without taking full responsibility for 

your own footprint, and are you then creating true 

value for your shareholders? 

One question that I can answer is the related 

one: “Can you take full responsibility and still be 

profitable?” That’s a yes. I know this for a fact and 

believe that a sustainable business must be profitable 

and have a good cash flow. That’s the only 

way to ensure that you stay in a position to make 

the decisions that you think are right for the long 

term. 

I’m a fan of capitalism - otherwise, it would be really 

unimaginative to be a business person. We will 

need the dynamic aspect of capitalism to create 

prosperity. But! Capitalism must be reined in. The 

economic system must not be at the expense of 

society or nature. Businesses must be profitable 

without exploiting people or the planet. 

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31


Circular Economy 

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Where all the 

threads come 

together 

The adage “good things come to those who wait” 

does not apply to the tasks ahead for a low-emissions 

industry responding to the climate crisis, the 

biodiversity and nature crisis, and the pollution 

and waste crisis. Part of these urgent tasks is to 

advance existing recycling capabilities. A critical 

part of this circular economy is decoupling growth 

from resource use, which requires transparency, 

honesty, trust, and a shared commitment to radical 

change. 

Many global initiatives have already been formed 

in the fashion and sports industry to advance the 

circular economy. The Platform for Accelerating 

the Circular Economy (PACE) is one. Founded in 

2018 by the World Economic 

Forum, this organization 

has brought together 

thinkers and scientists to 

structure and focus the 

many well-intentioned 

approaches and aims 

to create the space for 

cross-industry collaboration 

and a strong database accessible 

to all stakeholders. 

“Science-based information 

on where and how much 

environmental and social 

costs are borne along the entire value chain of the 

fashion industry will be critical to promote circularity 

in the fashion industry further,” says Naoko 

Ishii, Executive Vice President and Director of the 

Center for Global Commons at the University of 

Tokyo. 

The outcome of a joint effort of over 200 circular 

economy experts from 100 businesses and civil society 

organizations that have met under the PACE 

umbrella is the Circular Economy Action Agenda. 

In the 56 pages of the paper, three objectives have 

been formulated based on converging visions of a 

circular economy for textiles: inputs for textiles are 

safe and recycled or renewable; textiles are kept 

in use for longer; and textiles are recyclable and 

recycled at end-of-use. 

The main actions that PACE sees on the road to 

the circular economy are listed in ten points: 

1. Incentivize and support design for longevity and 

recyclability 

2. Sustainable production of virgin natural fibers, 

including land use 

3. Encourage the market to use less clothing, and 

for longer 

4. Guide and support new business models for 

environmental, financial, and social triple-win 

5. Where used textiles are traded, ensure environmental 

and socio-economic benefits 

6. Strategically plan collection, sorting, and recycling 

operations 

7. Increase efficiency and quality in the sorting of 

textiles 

© Equip Outdoor Technologies 

8. Make recycled fibers market 

competitive 

9. Integrate and advance 

decent work in the transition 

to a circular economy 

for textiles 

10. Investigate the socio-economic 

impacts of a 

circular economy for textiles 

In 2017, the Ellen MacArthur 

Foundation claimed that 

the transition to a circular 

economy would create a $560 billion economic 

opportunity for the fashion industry by better 

capturing the value of underutilized, landfilled or 

incinerated clothing. However, circular economy 

for textiles includes a complex matrix of pros and 

cons. It is a gigantic transition that would affect 

people and the planet and also contains points of 

attention. 

Increasing renewable inputs for textiles may put 

more pressure on agriculture, competing for 

land with food production and forest protection. 

A transition to a circular economy for textiles is 

expected to shift employment in the value chain 

from upstream to mid and downstream, therefore 

32

targeted efforts are needed to ensure the transition 

is just and inclusive. Furthermore, understanding 

the economic impacts of the transition is 

still relatively limited and requires more quantitative 

research. 

In its agenda, PACE has tried to work out and evaluate 

benefits and points of attention in five areas: 

resource use, climate change, human health and 

biodiversity, economic wellbeing and working 

conditions. 

These five topics are highlighted and aligned 

with the three key objectives: What influence 

does a measure have on the topic area of working 

conditions, and what influence does it have on 

climate protection? For example, keeping clothes 

in use for longer causes benefits for resource use, 

climate change and human health – the trade-off 

is: it will most probably have a negative impact on 

decent work available and thus an uncertain impact 

on economic wellbeing. Even more complex 

is the question of recycled and renewable textiles, 

depending on the fiber type: Shifting from high 

carbon footprint raw natural materials like wool 

and leather to recycled ones can indeed reduce 

greenhouse gas emissions. A clearly two-sided 

coin is the switch from synthetic to plant-based 

fibers, which leads to land conversion with different 

impacts: If forests are cleared, greenhouse 

gas emissions may increase; When wood fiber 

is grown on degraded cropland, this, in turn, can 

help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving 

the quality of the soil. 

Those examples from the PACE agenda show is 

that the transformation to a circular economy involves 

not just black and white but many shades 

of gray – many question marks, ifs and buts. PACE 

and the other organizations driving the issue nevertheless 

do not want to call for a fearful standstill 

that remains in the status quo for fear of negative 

consequences. 

The circular economy is a necessary task that 

needs to be tackled very wisely to decouple 

growth from the use of resources while not shaking 

the existing economic system as a whole. Or, 

taking the next step, going for a circular economy 

includes stopping thinking of growth as a relevant 

factor of success. 

By now, the steps being taken are not as radical. 

Still, there are small seedlings that point the 

direction: The circular toolbox or the new circular 

design guide published by fashion company 

Bestseller in early 2022 are just two among many 

examples of intelligence and best practices that 

are available to all industries. Also, ingredient 

brands like Sympatex (the company launched 

its Sympathy Lab last year) are pushing hard for 

cross-sectional thinking and collaborations. 

And also, internally, many 

big players are already investing 

in circular products, 

even if their management 

structure still belongs to 

a classic business model: 

Estia Engineering School 

and the European Center 

for Innovative Textiles (CETI) 

have just opened a new 

1,000-square-meter research 

and production facility 

called Cetia in southern 

France. Cetia is a playground 

for artificial intelligence 

research that identifies and 

classifies textiles to sort, 

disassemble and recycle textiles 

and shoes. Cetia’s first 

two customers are Decathlon 

and Eram. 

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33


Go Ahead and Greenwash! 

10 5 

In the fight against climate change, companies 

must now take responsibility and step 

up efforts in the area of climate protection. 

This is true even if strategies and plans are 

not yet perfectly developed. Inaction and 

hesitation out of fear of possible criticism 

harm everyone: the climate and the companies 

themselves. A plea for quick action 

and against inconsiderate “greenwashing” 

accusations. 

Stopping climate change is our global task of 

the century. Unfortunately, we are three ways 

behind in tackling this task: Total greenhouse 

gas emissions, time, and money. 

As a society, we are still emitting far too many 

greenhouse gases. No matter whether you look 

at the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel 

for Climate Change or the presentation of the 

Climate Action Tracker. Also, the decarbonization 

of our economy and our lives is still well 

behind schedule. For mobility and production, 

we keep on pumping and, above all, burning 

fossil fuels. 

A shockingly unnecessary reason for this is that 

it is still worth it. The cost of switching energy 

supplies to renewables and changing processes 

and supply chains - transportation is just one 

small example in a larger problem area - still 

seems to be considered higher than continuing 

with the status quo. Admittedly, we also see “divestment” 

activities, i.e., a stop to all financing of 

fossil industries, which should not be underestimated. 

Nevertheless, these existing business 

models are still seen as tempting diversifying 

investments, especially from the perspective 

of large pension and retirement funds. Where 

climate change is already being experienced 

today, it deprives people of their livelihoods. 

Mitigation and recovery mechanisms exist, but 

financial resources are lacking. 

These three aspects - that we are emitting too 

many emissions, that we are behind schedule, 

and that we are underfunding or misfunding - 

reinforce each other. To overcome this dilemma, 

every immediate contribution counts. The rule 

that “fast” beats “perfect” also applies to climate 

protection. 

Too afraid of Trial and Error 

The “trial and error” principle, i.e., a typically 

Anglo-Saxon approach, is a tried and tested 

method for corporate climate protection as 

well. Unfortunately, there are concerns that a 

climate plan that has not yet been fully thought 

through and strategically implemented will 

provoke a negative, contrary reaction; after all, 

no company wants to be suspected of greenwashing. 

Not to be misunderstood: No one 

denies that there is such a thing as “greenwashing.” 

But “real” greenwashing is much less often 

behind actual accusations than it might seem. 

Indeed, empty bluster, the deliberate exaggeration 

of small, ineffective fig leaf activities, is 

wrongly conflated in the debate with climate 

protection in its early stages and with a learning 

curve. And as a result, the accusations of “greenwashing” 

achieve the opposite effect. Efforts 

in climate protection are kept on a low flame, 

concealed or not implemented at all, which is 

fatal. 

Long-distance race of 

corporate climate protection 

The path to a sustainable economy is a marathon, 

not a sprint. The goal is clear: companies 

should aim for “net-zero” operations. Net-zero 

deliberately accepts the lowest possible residual 

emissions, which are then offset, for example, 

by projects that remove CO2 emissions from 

the atmosphere (carbon capture). In terms of 

today, this means that CO2 emissions must be 

drastically reduced at the corporate level. 

34

Such a reduction requires a comprehensive 

change in strategy and mindset within the 

company, a questioning and adjustment of 

processes deep into the supply chain, as well as 

external factors such as a change in the general 

conditions and infrastructure (transport routes, 

energy supply). In addition to these fields, 

which are to be implemented and have an 

effect in the long term, there are also many immediate 

measures, “quick wins” in the company 

and at the product level. Whether in packaging 

or the business travel policy, in the energy mix 

in offices and stores, or the calculation and 

compensation of emissions from a specific 

product group. 

All of these starting points make sense for the 

climate, and they have an immediate effect. 

They do not buy a company off from long-term 

change. Instead, they create awareness and, in 

many cases, provide the basis for tackling and 

successfully mastering the major long-term 

tasks. 

Transparent communication 

is no greenwashing 

Therefore, it is not at all dishonorable to communicate 

about such initial measures, even 

if, for example, the supply chain still hides the 

large and difficult-to-target emission sources. 

Transparency is required: transparency with regard 

to one’s own processes, in the supply and 

value chain - “You can’t manage what you haven’t 

measured” - and transparency with regard 

to targets and transparency in communication. 

Communicating goals is evidence of a company’s 

ambition. Communicating what has 

already been achieved or what is immediately 

planned inspires competitors and customers. 

For most companies, this means admitting that 

the road to “net-zero” is still long. Nevertheless, 

reporting on their own initial successes and first 

steps has nothing to do with greenwashing. 

10 5 

Source: climateactiontracker.org 

35


10 5 

Paths for a successful, 

climate-friendly company 

Companies have many ways to achieve effective 

climate protection: from individual projects to a 

holistic strategic approach. The earlier and faster 

these paths are taken, the more both climate 

and company will benefit in the end. 

The cornerstone for sustainable corporate success 

lies in thoroughly examining the current 

situation by conducting a CO₂ balance sheet. 

This includes an analysis of existing processes 

and an in-depth look at the legal framework, 

the competitive environment and the risks of 

climate change for the company’s own business 

model. 

The current situation indicates the ecological 

potential and the starting points for best 

leveraging this over time. In this way, targets are 

set, and the right focus is established. External 

initiatives such as the Science-based Targets 

Initiative (SBTi) point the way here. 

Opportunities for short- and long-term climate 

protection can be found in very different 

areas: Greater efficiency and CO₂ reduction in 

processes, more climate-friendly products and 

services, positioning in the market, the company’s 

own employees as internal ambassadors 

for greater sustainability, sustainability projects 

in the supply chain, or all of the above. 

Offsetting CO₂ emissions, in particular, is a 

popular target for “greenwashing” accusations. 

However, high-quality offset projects make 

valuable, measurable and direct contributions 

to climate targets and the global sustainability 

goals (UN Sustainable Development Goals, 

SDGs). Ecosystems and, to an even greater 

extent, people in less developed regions that 

are already harder hit by climate change will 

benefit. As a stand-alone climate protection 

effort, offsetting is less effective. Coupled with 

continuous reduction measures, however, and 

virtually eliminating itself from year to year, offsetting 

provides urgently needed, immediately 

effective climate protection. 

The strategic integration of climate protection 

also includes the documentation of progress. 

Reporting in accordance with international 

standards such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol 

(GHG) creates transparency and comparability. 

Practice some greenwashing 

The possibilities are numerous, especially if 

climate protection has played a minor role in 

corporate processes up to now. Given the urgency, 

every single step helps as long as it leads 

in the right direction. So, please, before you do 

nothing, do “greenwashing.” Such potential 

criticism with this fighting term can be easily 

curbed: through transparent communication, 

setting further goals, all the way to strategic 

integration. 

36

About myclimate 

Myclimate is a partner for climate protection 

- globally and locally. Together with partners 

from the business community and private individuals, 

myclimate is committed to climate 

protection and sustainable development 

through consulting and educational services 

and its own CO2 offset projects. As a non-profit 

organization, myclimate pursues this goal 

in a market-oriented and customer-focused 

manner. 

The Swiss foundation promotes measurable 

climate protection and sustainable develop- 

ment worldwide with carbon offset projects 

according to the highest quality standards 

(Gold Standard, Plan Vivo). In addition, myclimate 

encourages everyone to make a 

sustainable contribution to the future with 

action-oriented and interactive educational 

offers. Myclimate, based in Zurich, Berlin, Cologne, 

Reutlingen and Vienna, also provides 

advice on integrated climate protection with 

tangible added value. This is created through 

IT solutions, awards, analyses and resource 

management. 

10 5 


Kai Landwehr works as head of marketing at ”myclimate,” 

a Swiss-based NGO focusing on climate protection and 

sustainability measures. He is an expert in communications 

and sustainability with strong expertise in sports and 

digitalization. Before tapping into climate protection, 

Landwehr has worked in the sporting goods industry as 

communications and brand manager at Nike for ten years. 

© www.roberthoernig.com 

37


It’s all about the recipe 

Ingredients such as fabrics, yarns and zippers 

are the starting point for sustainable 

purchasing decisions, and the pressure 

on fiber, component and textile suppliers 

is high. From different fiber manufacturing 

technologies to better fabric constructions 

that minimize microfiber migration: Textile 

engineers have been very active in recent 

years - and will continue to be. We have 

picked out a few noteworthy developments 

from different areas, without any claim to 

completeness. 

511 

Polygiene 

With its OdorCrunch and 

ViralOff anti-odor and sanitizing 

treatments, Polygiene 

is the partner of choice 

for many companies that 

target the rapidly growing 

second-hand market. Since fall 2021, the Swedish 

company’s product are used to clean and 

freshen pre-owned product sold through the 

Diesel second-hand project. The second-hand 

fashion market is expected to nearly triple in value 

within the coming ten years, keeping apparel 

in use for much longer and contributing to a 

valid reduction of emissions. 

Lavalan 

Already since 2008, the 

German company Baur 

Vliesstoffe has been producing 

its Lavalan clothing 

insulation from European 

virgin wool – pure or blended with a corn-based 

PLA fiber. The wool is cleaned and processed 

in Belgium and the UK, and the batting is 

manufactured at the company’s headquarters 

in southern Germany. While animal welfare is 

taken care of, transport routes within Europe 

are short and the wool can be used in a wide 

variety of products. 

Freudenberg/Lenzing 

Comfortemp Tencel 

padding, marketed by 

Freudenberg and developed 

in cooperation with 

Lenzing Fibers, was introduced 

in 2020 as the first 

biodegradable fiber insulation from cellulose 

fiber. The Lyocell-based padding is completely 

biodegradable within 57 days. 

The Lycra Company 

As set out in its Planet 

Agenda, The Lycra Company 

has converted the 

majority of its Coolmax and 

Themolite brand fibers to 

post-consumer recycling 

by 2021. EcoMade versions of fabrics made 

from recycled fibers are available in all brand 

categories (Lycra, Coolmax and Thermolite). All 

Lycra fiber production is certified to Oeko-Tex 

Standard 100 and has completed the Higg FEM 

self-certification process. 

Polartec 

Since 2018, Polartec (the 

company that has to date 

upcycled 1.7 billion bottles 

into performance textiles) 

has been tackling microfiber 

shedding that is 

especially related to classic fleece products. 

The Power Air fabric line is built to trap heat in 

a three-dimensional construction with tiny air 

pockets containing fibers. With the tight knit 

construction, the potential of shedding microfibers 

in the wash and over time is significantly 

reduced – roughly ten times less than double-sided 

fleece. 

Thermore 

Ecodown Fibers Genius 

is made from 100% recycled 

PET bottles. The 

fibers interlace and form a 

stable insulating layer. This 

specially designed structure 

minimizes cold spots and clumping. The 

construction also increases durability and can 

be blown into baffles and panels or stuffed by 

hand. 

38

Gore-Tex 

Going to market for fall 

2022, the new generation 

of Gore-Tex laminates 

made with ePE (expanded 

Polyethylene) (and thus replacing 

the former expanded 

polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)) will be the 

base for Gore-Tex brand consumer products. 

The new membrane and DWR treatments used 

by Gore are PFC-free from that date. 

Sympatex 

B-Corp certified company 

Sympatex has introduced 

PFC-free DWR in 2008 

and fully recycled 3-Layer 

laminates since 2009. Since 

2016, the German company 

compensates all of their production-related 

emissions with ClimatePartner and has an 

ambitious sustainability agenda. 

YKK 

Japanese zipper specialist 

YKK offers a full line of zippers 

from recycled materials 

under the sub-brand 

Natulon: made either with 

PET bottles, chemically 

recycled from pre-consumer waste material 

or – the latest addition to the Natulon line – as 

an ocean-sourced version from post-consumer 

waste. 

HD Wool 

HD Wool is an insulation 

supplier offering different 

insulation products made 

with/from British wool with 

a full track record via the 

quality assurance platform 

The Woolkeepers. HD Wool is supporting 

farmers that strive for a regenerative agricultural 

process according the Land to Market 

objectives. The wool used for HD Wool Apparel 

Insulation is non-mulesed. 

Toray 

Ready for fall/winter 2023 

collections, Toray has 

started commercializing its 

100 % plant-based Ecodear 

N510 nylon fiber. While it 

is primarily designed for 

sports and outdoor fabrics, it can also be used 

for lightweights, cut-and-sew fabrics and innerwear 

lace materials. As the first 100 % plantbased 

fiber in Toray’s Ecodear product range, it 

is part of the group’s efforts to achieve carbon 

neutrality by 2050. 

Cordura 

Cordura is launching a 

new collection of nylon 6.6 

fabrics from recycled raw 

material marketed under 

the Cordura re/cor line of 

recycled fibers for fall 2023. 

Cordura re/cor RN66 (recycled nylon 6.6) involves 

83 % less CO 2, uses 82 % less energy and 

57 % less water. The new RN66 fabrics are made 

from 100 % pre-consumer fiber material that is 

100 % GRS certified. 

BenQ 

BenQ, a Taiwanese 

multi-industry company 

has launched its first Xpore 

membrane at ISPO in 2020. 

Made exclusively of polyolefin, 

the hydrophobic and 

nanoporous membrane contains only carbon 

and hydrogen and is free of PTFE and PFC. 

Meanwhile, BenQ offers textiles in three categories: 

Bio & Natural (Natural fibers from Pineapple 

leaves, Nylon from Biogas and plant-based 

PET), Mono Material and Recycling, where the 

company also uses waste from its electronics 

division. 

511 

39

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