Download Down Down is an important material for Berghaus because of its

Down
Down is an important material for Berghaus because of its excellent insulation
properties when high performance standards are required. We do use
synthetic insulation in selected products, but down remains the preferred
choice of many of our athletes, adventurers and customers.
The use of down is not without controversy because of the possibility of
animal welfare issues in the supply chain, namely live plucking and forcefeeding of birds.
At Berghaus we are working in partnership with our down supplier to ensure
that these practices are not employed with the sources of the down used in
our products.
We have one down processing supplier, who in turn sources duck and goose
down from Eastern Europe and China. The processing supplier is
independently audited by IDFL (International Down and Feather Testing
Laboratory).
However, we want to know more about the source of the down that we use
and are working with the processing supplier to understand more. It is our
intention that by the end of 2016, we will have independent certification of our
down supply chain, working with EOG (European Outdoor Group) who are
working towards a single industry standard that is cost efficient and is
acceptable to both businesses and NGOs.
Leather
The use of quality leathers to support the comfort and performance
requirements of our footwear is extremely important to Berghaus.
The tanning and leather industry is energy and resource intensive and
includes the use of many chemicals. Because of the potential impact
upon the environment, it is important to us that we partner with suppliers
who strive to continually reduce their environmental impacts, whilst
being able to deliver the high standard of product that we require.
From SS15, we are moving to source 100% of our footwear leather from
Pittards who are part of the LWG (Leather Working Group). The
objective of this multi-stakeholder group is to develop and maintain a
protocol that assesses the environmental compliance and performance
capabilities of tanners and promotes sustainable and appropriate
environmental business practices within the leather industry.
Read more about the LWG here: www.leatherworkinggroup.com
PFCs – PFOS and PFOA
Ensuring that our products are waterproof to our exacting performance
standards is very important to Berghaus.
The DWR (Durable Water Repellency) treatments that can be employed
include the use of certain PFCs (Perfluorinated compounds).
PFOS is a by-product of the manufacture of “C8” fluorocarbons by the
electrofluorination process. It is persistent, bioaccumulative and some
negative health effects have resulted in legislation being introduced in some
countries. The use of “C8” products based on electrofluorination is not
permitted in the manufacture of Berghaus products.
PFOA is a by-product of the manufacture of “C8” fluorocarcarbons by the
telomerisation process. It is persistent and bioaccumulative. The use of C8
telomers is permitted in the manufacture of Berghaus products provided the
levels of PFOA meet the required standard, which is 1.0 ug/m2 in textiles.
We recognise that there is controversy surrounding the use of “C8” telomers
and in certain products we choose to use short-chain “C6” based treatments if
the performance specification is the same as “C8”. However, “C6” treatments
are still PFCs and we have found that some “C6” treatments may need more
frequent re-proofing, thus leading to a greater use of chemicals overall.
In line with the rest of the Outdoor Industry we will continue our internal trials
to review PFC free options, however to date no solutions perform to a
satisfactory level.
Recycled Polyester
Minimising the use of raw materials is important to Berghaus, thus we seek
out opportunities to include recycled components when practicable. One of
these areas is the use of fleece made out of Post Consumer Recycled plastic
bottles.
Our partner in this initiative is Polartec and we currently have 10 styles using
this recycled fabric.
We are working on expanding this initiative to cover a greater percentage of
our range from AW15 with other fabric suppliers.
Paper and Packaging
At Berghaus we use paper in many ways during the course of our
normal business practices – in our offices, hang tag and swing ticket
labels, product packaging, transport packaging and marketing materials
such as catalogues and range guides.
We recognise that by choosing to use recycled or FSC certified stock,
we reduce waste and consumption of natural resources. We can also
use water or soy based inks and consider non gloss or laminate and foil
free finishes to encourage more onward recycling. To let our customers
and consumers know about the efforts we are making, it is important
that we clearly communicate information by the use of standard
recycling logos. Across our business operations we have areas where
we manage this very well, but we think we can do even better by being
more consistent in our standards and practices.
To make improvements we will continue to follow the principles of
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and will audit and review our practices against
the Outdoor Industry Packaging Roadmap 2.0. From this we will issue a
single policy for paper use and recycling communication across the
business by the end of 2014.
PVC and Phthalates
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is a common plastic. Phthalates are often added to
PVC as a plasticiser to make it soft and pliable and therefore able to be used
in products, trims or as screen print ink on garments. Other additives such as
lead and organotins are added to PVC as stabilisers. All additives can migrate
to the surface of the PVC and pose a threat to health, especially to children.
The use of PVC in Berghaus products is not permitted unless there are no
practical alternatives and written permission for the use of PVC has been
given by Berghaus.
Where PVC is the only practical choice it should be phthalate-free wherever
possible and, if phthalate-free PVC is not available, the use of any phthalates
that are restricted by legislation should be avoided. The legislative picture is
changing but restrictions are in place in many different countries such as EU,
USA, Taiwan and Korea.