The Eco Guide To Mountain Gear
The Eco Guide to mountain gear is the result of 10 months of work by French organisation Mountain Riders that involved many experts, industry representatives and specialist consultants.
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The end product is an evaluation of 12 actions on the issues of social policies, the environment and eco conception. More than 200 brands were asked to participate in the survey and the 21 brands featured in the guide are those that provided answers to our questions. As part of our Respect the Mountain campaign the Ski Club has partnered with Mountain Riders to translate the guide and ensure we can pass this information on to the wider snowsports community. The full Eco Guide plus more information on life-cycle assessments on mountain gear, eco guide initiatives and sustainable equipment can be viewed on www.mountain-riders.org. Here you can find out how the brands featured in the Eco-guide are currently performing. Each brand was evaluated using twelve criteria in three specific areas: Social, Environmental and Eco conception. Using our drop down menu you can see which brands have met certain criteria. |
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The Eco guide to mountain gear rating criteria
Social
- Ethics: The brand has a social label or has set up programmes relative to the working conditions of its sub-contractors. It strives to eradicate child labour and forced labour.
- Education: The brand has set up sustainable development programmes and/or information campaigns among its customers. It makes information on the impact of products and their consumption available to its customers.
- Quality certification: The brand has set up certifications or quality and safety management in its plants or among its sub-contractors.
- Internal policies: The brand has established a social policy in its company and among its suppliers, which defines the working conditions of its employees. It is involved in civil society and committed over and above its legal obligations.
Environment
- Environmental commitments: The brand is aware of its environmental impact. It supports environmental organisations or sets up concrete environmental programmes.
- Production line: The brand collaborates with suppliers that have environmental labels or have set up environmental programmes. It carries out regular audits of its suppliers and assists them in their environmental approach.
- Environmental certification: The company or its suppliers are committed to a global approach in order to control and reduce their environmental impact.
- Internal policies: The brand has established a social policy in its company and among its suppliers, which defines the working conditions of its employees. It is involved in civil society and committed over and above its legal obligations.
Eco-conception
- Durability: The brand's products have a long life cycle characterised by an extended guarantee (2+ years for skis, a lifetime guarantee for clothing). The brand proposes repair services outside of the after sales services or innovations allowing the equipment to last even longer.
- Environmental kite mark: The brand has environmental labels and/or implements environmental programmes. The products and raw materials that are used are certified and/or the brand has been awarded a national or international environmental prize for its products.
- Product life cycle/recycling: The brand has set up programmes to optimise the life cycle of its products. It offers products with a minimum percentage of recycled or renewable raw materials and carries out LCA or AQLCA.
- Carbon emissions: A Carbon FootprintTM or diagnosis of greenhouse gases is in progress or carried out on a product or the global business of a brand. Knowing the main sources of these greenhouse gases is the first step to be taken in order to reduce them and fight effectively against climate change. The decrease of emissions can then be measured.
Mountain Riders is a French non-profit organisation that was created in 2000. Mountain Riders works to inform and raise awareness of all the actors of the mountain on environmental issues and for the promotion of sustainable development in the mountains. www.mountain-riders.org
