Can open-source initiatives help companies navigate sustainability challenges while promoting transparency? Yes! There’s a clear trend among outdoor companies to share and collaborate more around ESG topics. This guide explores the top 7 examples used in the industry.

With increasing ESG legislation requirements as well as consumer expectations around the world, solutions that help companies navigate the almost overwhelming complexity are now at a premium.

Yet while the marketplace is full of for-profit ESG tech solutions, many of these systems remain inaccessible not just to SMEs, but they also keep data out of reach for critical stakeholders like civil society, unions, and governments. This, some argue, shuts out the very actors needed to transition towards a just, equitable, and low environmental impact future.

Fortunately, there are a few actors breaking this private information monopoly, choosing to make such critical data a public good. Enter Open Source.

Tracing its roots to the early days of computing, the term “open source” is based on an ideal that information should be open and shared so as to foster innovation and empower users. Some well-known examples include the operating system Linux, the web browser Mozilla Firefox and the world’s most popular content management system, WordPress.

To be truly “open source” a project or software must, among other things, be free for distribution and free to modify. This does not, however, mean that it is completely without restrictions, and many open source projects require users to adhere to various agreements. The most popular of these are licenses offered by the non-profit, Creative Commons. While allowing users to share, use and build upon a creative work without asking for permission each time, such licenses may also require that users credit the creator, do not use the product for commercial purposes and more.

Compared to fast fashion – and other larger industries – many argue that the outdoor industry both needs and is well suited to such pre-competitive collaborations, especially around sustainability. Many pioneering companies are too small to drive change by themselves, but at the same time large enough to have real impact when working together. Over the last years, this insight has gained traction within the outdoor community.
What follows are several prominent examples of open initiatives that can be found within the outdoor industry.

1. The Open Supply Hub – mapping the global supply chain

Open Supply Hub (OS Hub) is a non-profit transparency tool building the world’s most complete, accessible global supply chain map. At time of publication, it shows nearly one million production locations, revealing where manufacturing happens and who is connected to it. Used by major brands, labor groups, and environmental organizations, it allows users to contribute, download, and search datasets from suppliers worldwide to spot opportunities and build partnerships.

Contributing brands from the outdoor industry include the likes of Picture, Mammut, VF Corporation and Patagonia as well as retailers like REI, MEC and Intersport.

To help finance its operations, OS Hub does offer premium features like API products and Embedded Map services. But otherwise it has made the code it uses to develop OS Hub, as well as the entirety of its data, open source. This is meant to power collaboration, investment, and targeted impact to help meet their ultimate goal: Mapping all global production sites to help transform the ecosystems that employ over 100 million people. Natalie Grillon, CEO of Open Supply Hub explains the reasoning behind its open source approach:

“To transform harmful supply chains into safe and sustainable ones, we need to see all the parts and understand what is happening, where, and who is involved. Unlike other platforms, we believe that to enable unique insights and collaboration, information needs to be open and shared, not locked away.”

Find out more about the Open Supply Hub.

2. Circular Transition Indicators – Demonstrating circularity progress

Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) is a framework developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), together with major companies like VF Corporation, to help businesses measure their progress towards a circular economy.

CTI allows businesses to assess their resource use, material efficiency, and waste reduction throughout production and the product lifecycle. By using these indicators, companies can track how well they are moving from a linear to a circular model, promoting responsible resource management. The CTI framework provides standardized, measurable insights, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions that align with sustainability and circularity goals.

“The circular economy has increasingly appeared as the new model to pursue sustainable economic growth,” WBCSD explains on its website.

“However, for companies and governments to be able to assess their circular performance, they need consistent measurement processes and metrics. There is no consensus approach for how companies can measure their effectiveness in moving towards more circular business models.

To address this gap, we have jointly with our members developed a universal framework to measure circularity.”

While according to a strict definition not fully open-source, the CTI framework itself is publicly available and can be used by any organization to measure circularity. Its digital platform, the CTI Tool, requires a paid subscription.

Find out more about the WBCSD Circular Transition Indicators.

3. Supply Chain Monitoring Concept by Ortovox

In light of strengthening EU Due Diligence legislation, German specialist in outdoor gear and safety equipment, Ortovox, set to work with its own Supply Chain Monitoring Concept. The Concept is designed to help Ortovox monitor and evaluate the social and environmental compliance of its Tier 2 suppliers while also providing a framework for other stakeholders to implement in their supply chains.
Believing in “the power of transparency, trust, and cooperation,” Ortovox encourages others to adopt and use the Concept in any way they see fit. Its only request is that users attribute Ortovox as the source when used externally. As the regulatory environment remains uncertain, the Concept is built in such a way that enables it to continuously evolve with changing laws, and Ortovox invites feedback from users to foster further development and cooperation.

Find out more about the Ortovox Supply Chain Monitoring Concept.

4. Follow the Footprints – Icebug’s 5 sustainability key indicators

To measure the environmental impact, prioritize product development, and track sustainability progress of its products, the Swedish footwear brand Icebug has introduced five sustainability key indicators. These indicators, applied to all shoe styles since 2021, include:

1. Global warming potential: Carbon footprint measured in CO2 equivalents per pair of shoes.
2. Recycled material content: Percentage of recycled materials used, based on the Bill of Materials (BOM) and supplier certificates.
3. Biobased material usage: Percentage of biobased materials, verified through BOM and supplier data.
4. Sustainably sourced materials: Percentage of materials certified for responsible sourcing.
5. Low-impact processing: Percentage of materials processed using low-energy or low-chemical methods.

 

Icebug has chosen to be transparent with their transparency, sharing their methodology openly and encouraging other brands to adopt these metrics. The mission from their website:

“When we find a suitable solution, we are happy to share it with others. Through our Follow the Footprints initiative, anyone can follow our entire production chain to see what components a product contains and where it is produced.

Sharing what others classify as trade secrets may seem controversial, but it is natural for us. If we get other brands to reduce their climate impact by sharing our insights and discoveries, it benefits the whole society—and then it is the right thing to do.”

Find out more about Icebug’s Follow the Footprints.

5. Material Facts – Consumer-facing transparency

Launched by Rab in 2023, Material Facts is a transparency initiative designed to build trust around sustainability claims. Responding to growing demands for accurate environmental data, it set a new standard in transparency within the outdoor industry at a time where vague sustainability claims prevailed.

The program currently shares key metrics for 99% of Rab’s products, and includes recycled material content, fluorocarbon status, and production locations, with plans to expand further. Reminiscent of the Nutrition Facts label found on food products, the Material Facts data is easily accessible via QR codes on product hangtags and online, providing both consumers and retailers with detailed insights into the sustainability of Rab’s products.

“We’ve consciously chosen an unbranded design, making it easier for other outdoor brands to adopt it. Together with the European Outdoor Group, we have now taken Material Facts to the next level and created The Material Facts Collective. This is an industry working group aiming to create a shared standard for product sustainability claims,” shares Debbie Read, Head of Corporate Communications and CSR at Equip Outdoor/Rab.

“The Collective’s first working session in September 2024 was a huge success. 28 brands participated in the methodology webinar series; 12 leading brands across the UK, Europe, and the US (including Atomic, Fenix, Finisterre, JD Outdoor, Oberalp, Ortovox) have joined so far.”

According to Debbie Read, The Collective aims to publish a formalized data methodology in 2025.

Find out more about Rab’s Materials Collective.

6. Harmonizing sustainability data with SDEX

Introduced in early 2023, the European Outdoor Group (EOG) and Bundesverband der Deutschen Sportartikel-Industrie (BSI) Sustainability Data Exchange Project (SDEX) aims to address the inefficiency of exchanging sustainability data via extensive spreadsheets by standardizing product sustainability data across the outdoor sector. It uses a harmonized questionnaire to streamline data sharing, and its adoption among outdoor companies has since grown rapidly.

The updated SDEX 2.0 now includes enhanced features like new attributes, updated chemicals lists, and the ability to include LCA data, further simplifying sustainability reporting for brands and retailers. It is currently made available to all brands and retailers, free of charge and without requiring membership.

Find out more about SDEX and EOG.

7. PFAS Movement – teaming up in fight against “forever chemicals”

The PFAS Movement, led by the non-profit Chemsec, aims to phase out harmful fluorinated chemicals (PFAS) used in many products, including outdoor gear. PFAS are persistent pollutants, and eliminating them completely has presented a major challenge despite hard efforts. The collaborative approach of Chemsec’s initiative has therefore gained widespread industry support, with companies like Fjällräven, PeakPerformance, and Houdini joining the cause.

The PFAS Movement recently won the Outdoor Changemaker Award, for Sweden and Norway. It focuses on advocating for stricter PFAS regulations and raising awareness among both businesses and the public about the environmental and health risks of PFAS. But Chemsec also offers open tools to assist companies in transitioning away from these substances.

“Through our tool we demonstrate that there are solutions that can be implemented. A big advantage now is that with over a hundred signatory companies, we are now many from different branches that can support and inspire one another,” says Jerker Ligthart, Senior Chemicals Advisor at Chemsec.

Find out more about Chemsec.

 

 

Lead illustration: Padraig Croke