The Oberalp Group, which owns Salewa, Dynafit, Pomoca, Wild Country, and Evolv, released its 2020 Sustainability Report for the sixth consecutive year, reaffirming its commitment to focus the brand on employee wellness, safe factory conditions, philanthropy, and environmental sustainability. 

Highlights of its 2020 report include: 

  • Attaining “Leader” status from the Fair Wear Foundation for the fourth consecutive year for the company’s “exceptional work in improving factory working conditions”;
  • Shifting to recycled polybags for all apparel from its FW 2020 collection;
  • Eliminating the use of Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) from its Powertex waterproof membranes starting from the SS20 collection;
  • Conducting more than 4,500 tests on its products to ensure compliance with the company’s stringent chemical policy; and
  • Extending social monitoring to its hardware factories in Taiwan.

The company also launched the LaMunt, a mountain sports brand “by women for women” that uses either natural materials, recycled materials or PFC-free weather-resistant treatments in all of its products. 

“In certain areas, we are very satisfied with the successes achieved, where we are among the pioneers in the industry. In other areas, we are making progress and have reached important milestones, but we still have challenges to overcome to meet our goals. When it comes to sustainability, the sector is in constant evolution, and there are many new issues. In certain areas, the whole industry is still very much at the beginning,” explained Ruth Oberrauch, member of the founding family and head of sustainability. 

The Oberalp Group’s sustainability strategy is divided into five focus areas under two main categories: Empowering People and Engineering Gear. The company is “committed to the well-being and professional growth of its workforce, ensuring safe and fair working conditions, giving back to the communities where employees work and live, providing sustainable and innovative products, and working towards circularity, efficiency and traceability of its products with minimal impact on people and the planet.”

“At The Oberalp Group, we are committed to a responsible approach to business that has a positive impact on our people, our community and the environment. Our commitment to sustainability efforts in the past year, including the consistent, open and transparent method of managing the COVID-19 pandemic with our employees, customers, and suppliers, is the latest example of Oberalp’s reliable and long-term mindset. Yet we remain humble, and it is clear that we have a lot of work and improvement on the journey ahead,” said Drew Saunders, country manager, Oberalp North America. 

Oberalp also released its 2021 Sustainability Handbook, an interactive tool for consumers to consider ways in which they can positively impact their choices and actions. 

A read Oberalp Group’s 2020 Sustainability Report, go here. To read a copy of its 2021 Handbook, go here.

Photo courtesy Oberalp Group