Sustainability-Standards

Of course, the most sustainable product is the one you already have in your wardrobe. Nevertheless, you may need to purchase something new from time to time. Fortunately, in the outdoor industry, more and more brands are setting out to produce their products in the most environmentally-friendly way possible and are also ensuring compliance with high standards of social responsibility along the entire value chain. To make it easier for you to find these products in our shop, you can use the "Sustainability Standards" filter. In addition, with our "Trusted by Bergfreunde" filter, we offer a guide to help you find products that fulfil at least one standard in the categories of materials, environment and social responsibility. The corresponding symbol makes it easy for you to recognise these products. In providing this information, we wish to help you make a conscious and informed purchasing decision as easily as possible. Let's make your online shopping more sustainable together! Find out more about the standards and certifications here.

Materials
Environment
Social
Trusted by

Overview - Standards and certifications

In our shop, you can filter products according to the categories Materials, Environment and Social as well as "Trusted by Alpiniste". These categories are based on various recognised standards and certifications that address environmental and social considerations along the value chain. Find out here which standards and certifications each category represents and which products can be found under "Trusted by Alpiniste":

Symbols

Standards and Certifications

Materials

Environment

Social

amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)

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Blue Angel Textile

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Bluesign PRODUCT

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EU Ecolabel

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Fairtrade Certified

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Fairtrade

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Fair Wear

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Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)

Global Recycling Standard (GRS)

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Green Button

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IVN Best

Leather Working Group

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Organic Content Standard

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OEKO-TEX® Organic Cotton Standard

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OEKO-TEX® Made in Green

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Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS)

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Recycled Claim Standard (RCS)

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Responsible Down Standard (RDS)

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Responsible Mohair Standard (RMS)

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Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)

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Terracare

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ZQ Merino

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ZQRX Merino

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Hemp

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Linen

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Synthetic Cellulosic Fibres

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Materials

In the "Materials" category, you will find products in which at least 50% of the main or fill material consists of one of the following materials or a combination of these. Where such information is available, we are guided by recognised, independent standards/certifications, as well as the manufacturer's information on material composition:

Environment

In the "Environment" category, you will find products for which we have proof of at least one of the following standards/certifications:

Social

In the "Social" category, you will find products for which we have proof of at least one of the following standards/certifications:

Trusted by Alpiniste

What's behind it?

With "Trusted by Alpiniste", we want to give you the opportunity to find products whose production and manufacture comply with environmental, social and animal welfare standards. In doing so, we aim to provide guidance for you as a customer should you want to factor the environmental and societal impact of a product into your purchasing decision. Below you can find out exactly which criteria the products fulfil when they are listed as "Trusted by Alpiniste":

Figure showing the minimum requirements and criteria behind ‘Trusted by Bergfreunde’

In addition to the minimum requirements, we have defined the following three categories: Materials, Environment and Social. Behind each category are certain standards/certifications. Our main goal was to ensure that these standards/certifications were verifiable and comprehensive. This means that we demand concrete evidence from our suppliers, preferably in the form of recognised and independent standards/certifications such as the Green Button or the Fair Trade seal. An exception to this is some information on material composition, for which there are not yet independent standards/certifications; here we rely on the manufacturer's information about the product. Moreover, the relevant environmental and social impact is to be considered holistically along the value chain. Products in the "Trusted by Alpiniste" category must therefore fulfil high environmental, animal welfare and social standards. To summarise, this means: All products that fulfil the minimum requirements and can also demonstrate at least one standard/certification in each of the three categories materials, environment and social responsibility are included in the "Trusted by Alpiniste" category filter.

The "Trusted by Alpiniste" symbol - An orientation

No product is 100% sustainable. The "Trusted by Alpiniste" symbol merely indicates that the product was demonstrably manufactured with a focus on environmental, social and animal welfare standards. However, the absence of a symbol does not automatically mean that a product has a negative social or environmental impact. It may well be that a product without a symbol fulfils equally high environmental and social standards, but this cannot be proven by a certificate or third-party verification. In these cases, we cannot label the product with the symbol due to a lack of external confirmation.

Data, data, data!

Only a few products from our range are currently listed under "Trusted by Alpiniste". One of the reasons for this is that we apply a very demanding selection of standards/certifications. We take a holistic view of sustainability, i.e. "Trusted by Alpiniste" products must demonstrably fulfil high standards in the areas of materials, the environment and social issues. However, there is also good news. We are constantly reviewing our range of products and receiving ever more comprehensive data from our manufacturers. In addition, manufacturers and their products are constantly evolving. The number of "Trusted by Alpiniste" products will therefore continue to grow in the future.

New findings - Further criteria

"Trusted by Alpiniste" is not a rigid system. We regularly check whether there are new findings or developments in the area of product sustainability, such as new recognised standards/certifications, and adapt our criteria accordingly. For example, we are working on integrating the topic of repair and recyclability. To this end, we need to collect relevant data in order to develop an analysis-based solution as to how we can integrate these topics into our set of criteria.

You need more information?

Questions?

Contact our Sustainability Team