Aiming Higher

AIMING HIGHER The first Pakistani woman to conquer the Seven Summits, Samina Baig sets her sights on an even steeper goal: Developing outdoor recreation and gender equality in Pakistan. BY COREY BUHAY PHOTO MIRZA ALI/PAKISTAN YOUTH OUTREACH FOUNDATION

The first mountain Samina Baig ever climbed was a 6,000-meter first ascent. In 2013, just three years later, the then-22-year-old Samina became the first Pakistani woman to stand atop Everest. She completed the rest of the Seven Summits within the following year.

“When I’m in the mountains, I’m the happiest person. It’s what I love most,” she says.

It’s precisely this joy that she now hopes to share through her more recent work: teaching mountaineering through the Pakistan Youth Outreach Foundation.

“When I started, there was no such platform. I had no idea where to go or how to train. In Pakistan, mountain climbing was not for girls,” Samina explains.

She grew up in Shimshal, a remote village in northern Pakistan where foreign climbers often wandered through.

“There were women in those groups, just not Pakistani women,” Samina recalls.

As a child, she would approach them and ask, in broken English, about trekking and climbing. Her brother Mirza Ali promised Samina that when they grew up, they’d climb mountains together. When she was 19, the two of them topped out on the 6,000-meter (19,700 ft) Chashkin Sar.

“When I made the summit, I knew I was going to pursue this as a profession.”

Samina’s family, accustomed to women climbers, was supportive. Outside her village, however, the reaction was mixed. Mountaineering was not well-known in Pakistan, and the mountaineering community that did exist was male-dominated.

The new generation Now, Samina wants to increase awareness of the sport, especially among women. She works alongside her brother, who founded the Pakistan Youth Outreach Foundation in 2010, to run equalityfocused outdoor camps for kids. The organization is the first of its kind in Pakistan.

Each camp accepts an equal number of boys and girls. They play, learn, and eat together. For many, it’s their first time in a mixed-gender sport, as well as their first outdoor experience.

“Their confidence increases so much, and many of them leave wanting to pursue outdoor sports,” Samina says.

She recalls one girl who attended a camp in 2017, then in the following year went on to summit a 7,000-meter peak (23,000 ft).

“This is the impact of our work.” The rest of the country is catching on to the movement, and many Pakistani universities now have outdoor clubs.

“Things are changing in this country, but it will take time.”

Samina hasn’t climbed a mountain in over a year. She dreams of summiting K2, but in the meantime, she’s busy with other things: mentoring kids, serving as a United Nations Development Program Goodwill Ambassador, and developing her own nonprofit. She hopes to organize all-women expeditions and to promote more women in outdoor professions.

“In our culture, we don’t have female guides in the tourism industry. Women are nowhere,” she says. “Until now.” pakistanyouthoutreach.com Pakistan’s 100+ peaks over 7,000 meters have traditionally been the domain of male guides. Until Samina Baig, that is.

For years, the Italian tannery Dani has chosen to be a sustainable company, recognizing in its social-environmental responsibility the principles that guide its business operations, aimed at developing the company, those who work for it and protecting future generations. The ethical and strategic value of social-environmental responsibility is declared at Dani through research projects, innovation, inclusion and redistribution. This is summarized annually in the company’s Sustainability Report, a global report that manifests the company’s efforts to make all its operations sustainable: both environmental, social and economic. DANI SUSTAINABLE LEATHER

The Mimina model receives the ISPO Gold Award at the trade show in January 2020.

Minima by AKU Designed to Reduce

AKU is the Italian brand specialized in premium quality outdoor shoes with a focus on responsibility and a low impact approach to its production processes.

After Bellamont Plus, the first and only shoe in the outdoor market with an Environmental Product Declaration, now it’s time for Minima, a new project using exclusive, low impact design features.

Minima is the first and only footwear on the outdoor market to have the whole upper, lining and footbed made with 100% Zero Impact® leather.

Zero Impact® comes from Dani Sustainable Leather, the Italian tannery that for more than 20 years has worked as partner of AKU in the development of high quality full grain and nubuck leathers. As result of a demanding R&D commitment, Dani has been able to set a new and exclusive tanning process: Fresh hides are worked immediately to avoid the use of salt, the un-hairing process uses hydrogen peroxide, chromium and heavy metals are banned, and energy usage has been reduced by 5%.

But this is not all. Dani also runs a reforestation program to compensate the quantity of CO2 produced along the tanning process of Zero Impact. This is what gives the name Zero Impact to this low impact Italian leather.

Leather is the main component of Minima and therefore the main source of CO2 impact of the shoe.

This is why both design and production process have been focused to reduce usage and waste. In a normal shoe manufacturing process the areas of leather with imperfection (scars, scratches, uneven surface) are discarded. In Minima’s production these parts are used for the collar and heel areas, but on the rear side of the leather, where the imperfection is not visible. What looks like a suede insert is instead the same full grain leather of the rest of the upper, but on the B side. The result: Less leather used for the same shoe and less waste that goes to landfill. Furthermore, the midsole of Minima is made using a combination of post industrial recycled EVA and cork, made locally, not far from Aku’s headquartes. The footbed uses a combination of Zero Impact leather and coconut fiber, again a post-industrial waste recycled into a new product.

Full traceability All components are completely traceable and most of them are sourced locally in Italy. Info on where the components are sourced is provided to the end user through the presentation booklet delivered with each pair of shoe. These booklets are printed on paper that is made of partially recycled paper and partly of recycled leather coming from scraps from local tanneries.

Last but not least, AKU has planned a CO2 offsetting program. Based on the knowledge gained with the calculation of carbon emissions through the Environmental Product Declaration, Aku has defined the amount of CO2 to be offset. This will be done by supporting United Nations initiatives for climate neutrality (UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Minima, an elegant, outdoor inspired style that evokes the traditional mountain footwear upper construction, is presented at ISPO Munich for the FW2020 collection as the ideal shoe for urban and travel adventures.

Its product presentation set is composed of a recycled carton shoe box, a product profile booklet printed on recycled components of leather and cellulose and a shop window display assembled with a handmade wood frame.

Minima is a project that sets a new standard in responsible footwear design and production.

Environmental results of the zero impact project: • Substantial reduction of the impact on water. • Replacement of lime with hydrogen peroxide. • Tanning without metals. • 5% reduction in energy consumption. • Calculation of CO2 emissions and reforestation compensation. More info: zeroimpactleather.com/en ZERO IMPACT