Photos by Chris Kimmel, Alpine Edge Photography
At VPO, we're always jazzed when our gearhead brands continue to innovate and push the norms. Our friends at Smartwool have been doing exactly that by creating a fresh climate-positive way of doing business, with big goals in three different areas:
- Carbon Emission
- Materials
- Circularity
Carbon
Smartwool is aiming to shrink their carbon footprint by focusing on a shift in supply chain logistics. This includes:
- Moving all merino farming to regenerative agriculture
- Working with manufacturers to reduce their emissions and optimize logistics
- Educating everyone on the benefits of wearing clothes more often and washing them less
Materials
The overall goal for Smartwool is to replace all non-renewable synthetic fibres that they rely on for performance applications with regeneratively grown materials. However, that takes time, so up until that point, they're converting all virgin synthetic fibres that currently in use to recycled fibres—currently 14% complete—and helping to lead innovation in developing natural performance solutions.
In addition, Smartwool is also committing to eliminating single use plastic from all packaging by 2025. They've even gone so far as to joining the Responsible Packaging Movement to collaborate across the outdoor industry, and are actively working to eliminate polybags by the end of 2022.
Circularity Goal
Finally, Smartwool's aiming to close the loop and creating a more circular supply chain. By collaborating across the industry to advance recycling technology, this goal will help to reduce the amount of raw material lost to the landfill.
The overall outlook at Smartwool is bright, and we're looking forward to tracking this sustainability story as it grows and starts to make an impact on future generations of adventurers!
