June 10, 2023 Trending at the Trade Show: Legislation, Data & Circularity
Suston’s Editor-in-Chief reports about trending sustainability topics at OutDoor by ISPO in Munich – and picks three product highlights.
The train ride from Suston’s editorial office went exceptionally smoothly – only an hour late, I arrived in Munich, where OutDoor by ISPO was held July 4-6. Like last summer, it was held in the MOC exhibition area, where many outdoor brands also have their showrooms for the rest of the year. Last year’s fair marked a comeback after the pandemic, and was rather sparsely attended. This year, however, all stands were booked by 661 exhibitors, and around 9,000 visitors showed up.
Next summer, OutDoor by ISPO will move to the large Riem exhibition center in eastern Munich. One advantage of the move is that the Sustainability Hub will become more visible and visited. In the MOC, it was a bit hidden upstairs, and I’ve talked to many visitors who had missed it completely. But for those of us who found it, the hub was, as usual, a very good source of knowledge and a meeting place. Greenroom Voice again organized a large poster exhibition where thirty companies and organizations – including Suston – were presented.
In the “hub” there was also the stage and an adjacent seminar room where the European Outdoor Group held more in-depth presentations on various themes. Both the public and more niche presentations and panel discussions were of a more even and higher level than previous years. As an editor, a visit to OutDoor by ISPO is very valuable; several topics will be followed up with articles in Suston during the fall. And three themes received extra attention.
Suston Editor-in-Chief Gabriel Arthur speaks at Sustainability Hub.
The EU is pushing for change via laws
We’ve written about this topic several times in Suston: The upcoming EU legislation will drastically change the playing field for the outdoor industry (and other industries). The Ecodesign Regulations, the Initiative on Substantiating Green Claims and more – within a few years a battery of laws will raise the bar on everything from production to communication. One significant figure that was mentioned: About 20 percent of the products from the textile industry will disappear from the European market because they do not meet future legal requirements.
The framework – the EU Green Deal – aims for 2027. Awareness of this deadline is spreading across the industry, with more and more companies trying to get ready.
Several presentations and panel discussions addressed different aspects of this upcoming legislation. Critical voices were also heard – does this risk leading to a huge EU bureaucracy that will slow down the transition rather than promote it? One example: The European Commission wants to introduce review bodies to approve “green claims” before they can be used in external communication.
PFAS was another topic discussed from a legislative perspective. In a panel discussion with chemical expert Stefan Posner, Martin Axelhed, Fjällräven’s CEO, and Aiko Bode, Fenix Outdoor’s Chief Sustainability Officer, the message was clear: Legislation will be tightened, and many outdoor companies underestimate how difficult it is to phase out PFAS, partly due to contamination from other production at various subcontractors.
Credit: Gabriel Arthur
Data, data, and more data …
Pascale Moreau, founder of Ohana Public Affairs, summarized the discussion on what to expect from the EU strategy for more sustainable products as follows:
“A lot of data will be needed. No data, no market, no communication.”
Data is thus a central part of the EU’s upcoming Green Deal. To be able to monitor and report on the entire value chain, companies need much more data than is often currently possible. Today, many outdoor brands are satisfied with the Code of Conduct for subcontractors in their due diligence work. Does a manufacturer promise to use renewable energy? Good enough. In the near future, they must be able to prove it.
In parallel, more and more outdoor retailers are demanding that brands report on environmental impact, working conditions and animal rights issues down to product level. This has led to many brands drowning in surveys from retailers, and subcontractors in turn drowning in surveys from the brands.
To remedy this, the European Outdoor Group (EOG), in collaboration with the German trade association Bundesverband der Deutschen Sportartikel-Industrie (BSI), are developing a common platform that will serve as a standard for the industry in Europe. Instead of hundreds of different matrices and excel templates, the idea is that the industry will agree on a common one. Katy Stevens from EOG and Maïté Angleys from BSI presented the prototype during the fair. A packed conference room saw both the benefits of such a system – and how much work remains to be done to get all the relevant data in most outdoor companies.
Credit: Markus Brönner Messe Munich
Are we going in circles?
Circularity was a key theme in Suston’s summer issue – and at the fair. Gone are the days when promising pilot projects in everything from rental operations to the recycling of textile materials are enough. At the same time, complexity is becoming increasingly apparent. During OutDoor by ISPO, a Swedish newspaper revealed that used garments collected by H&M end up as waste in landfills in poor countries in Africa. Swedish design professor Mathilda Tham was interviewed and condemned the clothing industry’s collection projects as greenwashing.
“All research shows that clothing collections do not work”.
Yet many good, small steps are being taken in the circular direction in the outdoor industry. At the fair you could participate in a Durability workshop, Repair workshop, and listen to several presentations on projects and products in the borderland between promising and profitable. And – once again – about upcoming legislation to speed up the transition. Want to know more? Suston publishes interviews with several of the experts who spoke at the event, such as Jane Turnbull, Sarah Case, Mark Sumner and Mark Taylor.
Last but not least – product highlights
It wouldn’t be an outdoor fair without thousands of new products and old classics on display. I think the focus on innovation is often exaggerated. It’s not a few individual cool innovations that will make a difference in terms of sustainability. It’s the sheer mass of products that matters. And companies that have a lot of timeless style carry-overs have fewer clearance sales of redundant, outdated products.
At the same time, it is always interesting to walk around the stands, see and feel the clothes and gadgets, and hear what a designer or sustainability manager has to say. At best, the development of a “hero product” leads to new knowledge, materials and techniques that can be applied to the rest of the range. Here are three favorites from this year’s fair.
Credit: Ocun
Reliable climbing harness from Ocun
The ISPO Award show always offers many highlights – nowadays the jury is also more demanding in avoiding greenwashing . A personal favorite was the climbing harness from the Czech company Ocun, which consists of 82 percent bio-based Dyneema made from wood from the lumber industry, as well as recycled high tenacity polyester. Recycled polyester has long had a reputation for not holding up as well – Ocun’s tests show that it does, and the Ocun Twist Tech Eco is certified in accordance with EN 12277 and UIAA 105 safety standards.
Aclima’s recycled wool scraps
The Scandinavian Outdoor Awards also presented their winners during the fair. The sustainability award went to Norwegian wool expert Aclima, for their Reborn Terry Pullover. The ReBorn collection is taking leftover, high-quality wool from Aclima’s Estonian factory and giving it a new life. Oeko-tex certified scrap fabrics combined with reinforcing GRS certified synthetic fibers ensure lower environmental impact. The scrap wool is sorted by color, so no re-dying is needed. As the jury explains:
“This special garment is made with an innovative material that Aclima developed. It has a cozy terry knit exterior and a soft brushed interior that helps regulate your body temperature.”
Credit: Smartwool
And Smartwool’s recycled old socks!
Last but not least, a recycling textile project that actually seems to work, is Smartwool’s 2nd Cut Hike Socks. The company started collecting used – and washed – socks around the US, including from other brands. Over 675,000 pairs have been submitted! In collaboration with Material Return, Smartwool developed a recycled fiber, which is now used in the 2nd Cut Project Hike Sock. (50% of the material comes from newly produced merino wool) Even the design is recycled. This is what Smartwool’s very first sock looked like when it was launched in 1994.
Lead Photo: Markus Brönner, Messe Munich
