OUR SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020
Spending time outdoors is good for the mind, body and soul. But generally people are spending less time outdoors. That is a problem we’re helping to tackle. 1% of Alpkit sales go to individuals and direct-action projects. From ti-spoons to titanium tandems, every penny adds up to a huge amount – more than £200,000 so far.
It’s humbling to see the effect that these small steps can make to so many people. Our hope is that everyone gets the chance to Go Nice Places and Do Good Things just sometimes. The Foundation is a thank you from us to all our customers as we know we would not be here without you.
We support ordinary people doing extraordinary things to make the world a better place.We’re incredibly proud that the Foundation has now been involved in over 600 projects. That’s over 10,000 people that have directly benefited from the support that Alpkit customers have given through the Foundation.
If you know of a deserving project or think you’re someone that only needs a bit of backing to make a big difference, it’s simple to apply, or donate. Just head to www.alpkit.com/foundation
ALPKIT FOUNDATION: HELPING PEOPLE GO NICE PLACES DO GOOD THINGS WHAT WE’RE PROUD OF
THIS YEAR WE WILL
1. £200,000 Alpkit Foundation donations and 575 awards 2. 1000 people at Alpkit’s Big Shakeout our not-for-profit outdoor festival 3. Over 3000 people went on Alpkit courses and events - happy adventures! 4. Community events at stores every week, ranging from yoga nights and film nights to gear exchanges and talks 5. We work with local schools and colleges to provide industry experience
1. Alpkit Foundation will donate £80,000 to projects in the next 12 months 2. Biggest and best Big Shakeout ever 3. Introduce Staff Charity Giving Scheme 4. Get to know our local communities even better
We’re committed to giving back to the communities that we’re lucky enough to be a part of, whether that’s the broad community of people who love the outside, people who need support or the local areas where we have our stores. Ultimately we want to help more people Go Nice Places Do Good Things.
WORKING WITH PEOPLE WE BELIEVE IN We work with the best factories in the world mainly in China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the UK. Our most senior team (CEO, MD, Head of Design, Sonder Product Manager) regularly spend time at our factories and personally review conditions. We only work with factories who are as committed as we are to modern slavery across the entire supply chain.
WHAT WE’RE PROUD OF 1. All our factories sign up to the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code 2. 100% of factories reviewed by Alpkit in the last 18 months 3. 100% of outsourced UK suppliers paid the living wage
THIS YEAR WE WILL 1. Establish a written code of conduct with our factories 2. Conduct an environmental review at all of our tier 1 factories 3. Develop a framework of more formal reviews of our significant suppliers
We know that some materials, processes and chemicals used in our products and production processes are harmful to the environment – when you think about it, most outdoor gear is made from plastic or made from things that are dug up from the ground (we’re talking metals, not potatoes!). We seek to minimise that harm without compromise to performance or quality.
Wherever we use animal products we do it as conscientiously as possible. There are three animal materials in our products: goose and duck down, merino wool and goatskin leather. We have a policy of sourcing these materials using the most humane methods available to us.
RESPECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT
TREATING ANIMALS HUMANELY 2. Continue to use non-mulesed merino and RDS down
3. 100% of leather has a functional use
1. Investigate further leather alternatives
1. 100% Responsibly sourced down
THIS YEAR WE WILL
WHAT WE’RE PROUD OF 2. 100% non-mulesed merino 4. 0% fur 5. 0% angora 6. 0% alpaca
3. Consider more animal-free alternatives where appropriate 4. Adopt a Responsible Wool Standard on all our wool, including merino
THREE QUESTIONS WE GET ASKED ABOUT ANIMAL PRODUCTS ANSWERED BY RONNIE (HEAD OF DESIGN)
OUR TIER ONE FACTORIES
For any queries or more information, drop a line to sustainability@alpkit.com David Hanney, CEO In 2019 we wrote down all our principles (in very small writing on a really big piece of paper) to explain our ideas to customers and staff. We did this knowing that we don’t know all the answers, that we’re not perfect and all our actions have consequences. And in the hope that, by choosing to do the right thing and aiming to do better each year, we are world-class in what we do. Our love of the outdoors also steers the way we do business. It’s in our nature to look after what’s important, whether that’s the environment, animals, suppliers, staff, community or our customers. We know we wouldn’t be here without you.
GO NICE PLACES DO GOOD THINGS Why use animal products? Natural products have performance characteristics that synthetic products can’t yet match. Wool is a miracle natural fibre – it can absorb almost its weight in water before you start feeling cold. There’s no better insulator better than down for warmth to weight ratio. Leather is super hard-wearing – it’s famous for durability and dexterity. Isn’t using synthetic better for the planet?
How do you make sure animal products are responsibly sourced? We take animal welfare very seriously. We only use down certified by the Responsible Down Standard, which means that birds aren’t force-fed, live-lucked and that their welfare is respected throughout their lives. We only use non-mulesed merino and in fact we’re investigating ways to improve standards throughout our wool supply chain by implementing the Responsible Wool Standard.
WHAT WE’RE PROUD OF
REDUCE REPAIR REUSE RECYCLE
THIS YEAR WE WILL
7. Move to 100% organic/BCI cotton
8. Founder members of the Single Use Plastic Project and Microfibre Consortium
6. Move to 100% recyclable or compostable packaging
6. 100% BFR-free flame retardants
5. Calculate our complete UK carbon footprint
5. 90% recycled content in packaging
4. Conduct life-cycle reviews of some key products
4. 15 clothing lines made with recycled content
3. Review chemical usage in our production process
3. 89% organic/BCI cotton
2. Reduce air freight to 10%
2. 82% of our clothing range is PFC-free
1. 100% PFC-free DWRs
1. 100% PFOA-free
7. Less than 20% air freight
There’s loads more we do here - check out our sustainability policy at alpkit.com/sustainability 1. Take positive steps to encourage a more diverse workforce
Welcome to our first Annual Sustainability Report.
Who Wellgreen Outdoor Limited What Dry Bags and Back Packs Where Minhou, Fuzhou, China Who Firemaple What Cookware Where Weihai, Shandong, China Who Kingcamp What Sleeping Bags Where Beijing, China Who Shanghai Solarwool Apparel What Merino Where Shanghai, China Who Artplus What Sonder Bike Frames Where Gongming Town, Shenzhen City, China
WHAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON 1. 0% of waste from Alpkit HQ goes to landfill
At its purest, Alpkit is a bunch of designers who share their love of the outdoors and playing outside. There was a time when we had a lot of free time. We worked, saved and got ourselves kitted out. These passing years taught us something, that we had the skills to create something new. So we set about building Alpkit as a business that we ourselves would want to work for: a vibrant, viable, sustainable brand for multi-sport adventure enthusiasts.
We are investing in the UK and making sure we are responsible and fair in the way we set up our business.
GIVING BACK Depends on your perspective. For someone who doesn’t want to use animal products, synthetics are a great choice. For someone who wants to reduce their carbon footprint, animal products can be much better than synthetic. Our belief is that, if you’re going to buy something, choose something you’ll use for years and years.
6. Introduce staff sustainability training 5. Move to B-Corp Certification 4. Send zero waste to landfill from Alpkit stores 3. Move to Living Wage Foundation as our basic pay rate 2. Ensure every member of the team receives at least one week’s training on lifeskills and workskills
THIS YEAR WE WILL
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
Who Alpkit HQ What Bikepacking bags, packs, bouldering mats Where Nottingham, UK Who J Adams What Waterproofs Where Taipei, Taiwan Who KC Manufacturing What Legwear, Midlayers Where Hong Kong, China Who Taraniss What Down, Midlayers Where Xiamen, Fujian, China Who Changzou Himalaya Outdoor Products What Tents and Camping Equipment Where Changzou, Jiangsu, China Who Zhejiang Nature Travel Goods Co. Ltd. What Sleeping Mats Where Pingqiao Town, Zhejiang Province, China
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NTANCY JEDI U O C C A O T ive and Y E N R OU , it’s relaxed, posit e working at Alpkit JOSH’S ALPKIT J interesting lov I en be o 17 als 20 s r It’ tive. Octobe 2. 7% non-white British 1. Gender balance of Share Ownership and Board: 0% female 7. Updated our privacy policy and comply with GDPR 6. Highest to lowest pay ratio of less than 6 5. 0.5% gender pay gap (excluding Board) 4. Gender balance of whole workforce (excluding shareholders/directors): 44% female 3. Gender balance of senior management team: 50% female 2. 97% Use of renewable energy
WHAT WE’RE PROUD OF
BUILDING A BETTER BUSINESS Our design ethos is to make gear you’ll love for longer – gear you’ll come back to year after year. Every Alpkit product has a specific purpose, which means there’s limited cross-over in our range and ultimately fewer garments in your wardrobe. And to make sure we’re making the best products, our design team actively listens to customers, gets feedback and reads every one of our customer reviews. We’ve offered repairs since we started and in 2017 we launched the Continuum Project, which finds old kit a new home, irrespective of brand.
WHAT WE’RE PROUD OF
8. Double the number of products made with recycled content
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BFR-Free - Many tents are treated wi th flame reta rd en ts so they don’t burn as quickly in the even t of fir e. Ho we ve r research shows th ese chemicals are toxic and tents are safe r for you without th em. BCI Cotton - The Be tter Cotton Initiative (BCI) is a global or ganisation which encourages sustain able cotton farm in g through training, re ducing environ m en tal impact and poor wo rk practices. (And it still feels super so ft.)
THIS YEAR WE WILL
1. 1731 repairs carried out last year
1. Increase the percentage of our products made from recycled content
2. 1.5 tonnes of gear donated through The Continuum Project
2. Reduce waste tonnage
3. 7% products made from recycled content
3. Work with other industry bodies to share knowledge and promote a circular economy
CONTINUUM PROJECT IN ACTION “Birmingham City Mission is amazing. They run a care centre every Tuesday where people in need can drop in for food, clothing and even a warm bed for the night. The range of people they help is huge – some are homeless, some are victims of domestic abuse and others are people suffering with mental health problems. Amongst the most frequently requested items are sleeping bags and outdoor clothing so it’s a real privilege to be able to support Birmingham City Mission by providing gear donated by our customers. It’s truly wonderful to think that the actions of our customers really are helping people through difficult times in their lives” Elly Cundill, Customer Support Hero