In an attempt to give some clarity to the different regulations, standards and labels associated with sustainability within the outdoor sector, the Standards and Regulations Committee (part of the Sustainability Working Group), will aim to compile the definitive industry resource in the form of an open database. It will provide a one stop point of reference for the outdoor sector to understand what is mandatory and what is voluntary within the industry.

The Sustainability Working Group (SWG) was started in 2008 as an industry led initiative and the Standards and Regulations Committee is now the second committee actively working on key areas of concern for the outdoor sector. Chaired by Kilian Hochrein from W L Gore, the Committee has members from Vaude, Polartec, Deuter, BlueSign, Outdoor Industries Association, Shirley Technologies, Aku, Dialog Textil-Bekleidung, German Fashion (Association), DSM Materials, Häglofs and Ferrino.

The aim of the Committee is to provide the European outdoor industry (Suppliers, Brands, Retail, Media, Consumers) with practical awareness of relevant existing and emerging, product related Legislation, Standards, Labels, and Frameworks regarding chemical product safety (restricted substances) and environment. In addition it will also promote and support effective industry-wide, coordinated implementation.

Kilian Hochrein in discussing the aims of the Standards and Regulations Committee commented that “the industry is currently faced by diverse levels of information, it is extremely difficult for small and medium sized companies to have the resources to understand all that could be relevant and available to them with regards to sustainability issues, we hope that by working collectively we can provide a relevant tool that the whole industry will be able to make use of.”

Mark Held, Secretary General of the European Outdoor Group stated “As the SWG develops and grows it is vital to the relevance to the industry that we encourage as many companies and organisations as possible to become involved, all sizes and all parts of the supply chain through to retail are welcome. The website provides a vital link and acts as a resource for the industry. The more diverse and industry representative the membership of the SWG is, the closer the results will be to a true industry solution.”

The work of the SWG is NOT exclusive to members of the European Outdoor Group; it is operating on an open source basis and welcomes involvement from all areas of the value chain.