The outdoor segment is one of the leading actors in the clothing sector in the area of sustainability. The outdoor brands Fjällräven and Salomon have just published their CSR reports for 2024, in which they document their progress and setbacks.
Fjällräven: CO2 reduction in transport, more sustainable materials and design strategies
Although only the parent company Fenix Outdoor is actually obliged to do so, the Swedish outdoor brand Fjällräven, which belongs to the group, has also released its own CSR report. The goals achieved include, for example, that Fjällräven was able to reduce its emissions from overseas transport by 95 percent and emissions in all logistics areas by 14 percent. At the same time, the proportion of renewable energies in their own locations rose to 100 percent.
In the case of the material, the fire was able to increase the use of recycled polyamide by 20 percent. According to its own statements, the company has exceeded the goal of 70 percent recycled polyamide by eight percent. However, the use of organic cotton has dropped from 97 to 96 percent since 2023, since a feed has not yet changed, but the sale of this product has risen last year. The 100 percent mark is to be reached in 2025, as is the proportion of 90 percent recycled polyester. Fjällräven also acts particularly sustainably in the design strategy. Carryover products make up 85 percent of total sales (wholesale and direct sale to consumers: inside). These products have been part of the collection for several years or even decades and have kept their relevance for trade and consumers for years: inside and are often used longer.
For example, the company has a reduction of 29 percent since 2019 and 13 percent since 2023.
Salomon: Focus on circulatory capacity and research, increase in CO2 emissions
Almost a decade after the introduction of the first sustainability strategy at the French outdoor provider Salomon, which belongs to the Amer Sports Group, the company takes stock of its most important ecological and social obligations in the new, annually published IMPACT Report 2024.
Salomon calls his pioneering work in the development and production of circulatory shoes to the most important achievements in the area of circular economy. With the S/Lab Phantasm 2 “Made in France”, Salomon developed his first “super shoe” for street runs. It is produced in the state-of-the-art, digitized ASF 4.0 factory at the Ardèche in France and combines a carbon fiber drive for high performance with locally procured materials for the upper material. This is the third model from the ASF 4.0 factory since its opening in 2022. Due to the local production, the CO2 footprint was reduced. In addition, the first fully recyclable ski and snowboard helmet was launched with the “Brigade Index” series after four years of research and development. It consists entirely of recyclable polyolefins. Salomon also has new developments for textiles: In cooperation with Carbios, Salomon has presented a T-shirt of 100 percent biologically recycled fibers. It is made from enzymatically recycled textile waste and, according to Salomon, represents a breakthrough in the circular economy.
With the SCOPE 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions, Salomon was able to achieve a reduction by 18 compared to 2023. The greenhouse gas emissions in the SCOPE 3 area, on the other hand, rose by 14 percent compared to 2023. A reduction is 30 percent by 2030 based on the values from 2019. By 2027, 100 percent of its own locations are to be operated with renewable electricity, so far 45 percent has been achieved.
Salomon is about to be eliminated by Pfas. The company plans to do without PFAS by the end of 2025 and has already reached a value of 99 percent at the end of 2024. The company wants to use 100 percent preferred materials by 2030. So far, a value of twelve percent has been achieved.
In addition, the company is investing in the further development of sustainability measurement. At the end of 2024, 94 percent of the strategic product categories were covered by ecological cycles. At the same time, the measurement of the environmental impact of the shoe products was automated. This enables the Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) and the material database to process further data, including the manufacturing processes.
In 2024, Salomon emitted 315,768 TCO2E across all areas, which corresponds to an increase of 13 percent compared to 2023.