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Since it was founded in 1980, the Ortovox brand has stood for protection and safety in alpine activities. The concept of safety not only applies to the products, but also to the protection of people, the environment, and animals. The importance of sustainability and corporate responsibility to Ortovox is demonstrated by the fact that its CSR objectives are also its corporate objectives. For this reason, Ortovox developed the ProtAct 2024 sustainability strategy in 2019 and, for the first time, bundled all efforts in the area of sustainability and corporate responsibility in a single document.
The ProtAct strategy defines six core areas with different goals and values – some sub-goals have already been achieved. In this blog post, you can find out where the brand currently stands and what makes Ortovox special.
ProtAct 2024
But what does Ortovox’s sustainability strategy ProtAct 2024 actually include? Here is a brief summary.
The six focus areas of the ProtAct 2024 strategy are
- Animal welfare
- Social responsibility
- The supply chain
- Climate Action
- Environment
- Longevity
Within these fields of action, Ortovox has formulated concrete goals and evaluated them in terms of their relevance, impact, and feasibility. Some goals, such as the elimination of PFCs or the achievement of climate neutrality, were rated by the Taufkirchen brand as very important for itself – however, the implementation of the elimination of PFCs is considered to be much easier than the achievement of climate neutrality. This shows not only how complex it is for a company to become more sustainable on an ongoing basis, but also how differentiated the brand’s approach to the issue is.
Specific targets within the ProtAct 2024 sustainability strategy:
- 100% PFC-free range
- Fair Wear Leader status
- 60% production in Europe
- 100% OWP certified wool & transparent supply chain
- Mountain Second Life: Repair & Care
- Mountain Second Life: Renting
- Carbon neutrality & significant reduction
This is Ortovox in the spring of 2023:
- Ortovox will be carbon neutral from the 2023 summer season – one year ahead of target
- 99.13% of the summer collection is PFC free
- Awarded Fair Wear Leader status for the fourth time
- 56% of products made in Europe and growing
- 100% of wool is mulesing free
- Introduction of rental and repair services
Climate Neutrality
A significant pillar of Ortovox’s sustainability strategy is to achieve climate neutrality. Planned for 2024, the brand has already achieved this today – one year ahead of its target. The starting point for the transformation was the calculation of the CO2 balance. Both the direct and indirect emissions of the company, such as energy consumption, as well as the emissions caused by Ortovox products from production to when they leave the warehouse. The climate impact of the products accounts for around 60 to 70 percent of the total footprint.
The detailed calculation of the CO2 balance serves as the basis for the subsequent strategic reduction of emissions. The final step is to offset what cannot be further reduced. Ortovox works together with the company Climate Partner https://www.climatepartner.com/de.
Climate Partner https://fpm.climatepartner.com/tracking/14685-2009-1001/de
discloses the offsetting of unavoidable emissions at Ortovox using the IDs of certified carbon offset projects: 14685-2009-1001, 14685-2006-1001.
Animal Welfare: Ortovox Wool Promise
The Taufkirchen-based brand was one of the first to include wool in its clothing range because of its many positive qualities for mountain sports. Today, Ortovox can be regarded as a proven wool expert who is particularly committed to the welfare of sheep. The Ortovox Wool Promise (OWP) goes beyond the already very strict Responsible Wool Standard (RWS). As part of the ProtAct 2024 strategy, Ortovox has set itself the goal of increasing transparency within the wool supply chain and also integrating the Swisswool used into the standard. By 2024, 100% of the wool used should meet the OWP standard. You can read more about the OWP in our blog post.
Fair Wear Leader status
Ortovox has been a member of the Fair Wear Foundation since 2015. This independent organisation works to improve working conditions in the textile industry worldwide. FWF members (manufacturers) are reassessed every year. All suppliers and production facilities are audited by the FWF. Ortovox has been awarded Leader Status by the Fair Wear Foundation for the fourth time. This is the NGO’s highest level of recognition. The FWF evaluates criteria such as living wages, freedom of association, responsible purchasing practices and many other important and complex segments.
You can read more about this and how Ortovox works to be as socially responsible as possible on the Ortovox website.
Transparency
Another essential criterion in the area of corporate responsibility is transparency. The Taufkirchen-based brand reports publicly on its progress in environmental and climate protection and its commitment to better working conditions. You can download the latest reports here:
- People Report 2022: Commitment to better working conditions
- Planet Report 2022: Report on environmental and climate protection
Ortovox 2ND LIFE
Repairing instead of throwing away – that is the idea behind the new Ortovox 2ND LIFE programme. The goal: more sustainable consumption by repairing Ortovox products and selling fully functional B-goods. This conserves resources and reduces CO2 emissions.
Repair & care
The way we wash, care for and repair our textiles has a significant impact on the environment. In figures:
- Washing at 60°C uses three times more electricity than washing at 30°C.
- In Germany alone, 630,000 tonnes of detergent and fabric softener are used every year.
- All German households could save 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 per year by reducing the temperature of their wash cycle.
The right care of a product is a decisive factor in how long it will serve us and therefore has an impact on our CO2 balance as well as on our wallet. In order to improve the life cycle of Ortovox products, the brand has created a comprehensive care guide within its ProtAct Academy. Here you will find everything you need to know about washing, waterproofing, how to wash your hard shell and how to avoid pilling. You will also learn how to carry out small repairs yourself – with specially created videos, you are guaranteed to succeed.
ProtAct collection: Exclusive products made from scraps
With the ProtAct collection, Ortovox gives new life to scraps. The Ortovox products made from 100% recycled trimmings are just as durable and functional as their brothers and sisters from the regular collection. The background: Despite careful cutting and processing techniques and collection planning, textile remnants are unavoidable. This is where the idea of the ProtAct collection comes in: Limited pieces in the unmistakable Ortovox look are made from high-quality leftover fabrics. Shop styles from the ProtAct collection.