SUSTAINABILITY

Our world faces disastrous temperature rises and the United Nations has said if we fail to act, we betray future generations. Vague pledges by countries and companies are meaningless. We as a team are committed to playing our part and taking action.

Since 2003, when INOV8 was founded, we have pushed ourselves to be sustainable in all our working practices. In November 2020, we took this approach to the next level and vowed to put sustainability at the heart of everything we do. We developed a new INOV8 sustainability strategy, in partnership with Dr Anne Prahl (an expert at the forefront of sustainable workings and design), which guides every aspect of what we do.

Our overall sustainability goal is:

“To protect the mountain terrain and global environment we love by reducing and eliminating our products’ negative environmental impact across the entire supply chain, while supporting and enabling sustainable lifestyles in our community and beyond.”

The three pillars to our sustainability strategy are:

1. Improve the durability of our products so they last longer
We are extending the active life of our products through the ground-breaking use of Graphene (the world’s strongest material) and doing extensive in-field & laboratory testing to make sure products last longer.

2. Reduce our impact on the world
We are reducing our environmental footprint by minimising waste and pollution, while also increasing the use of sustainable materials.

3. Support our local community
We are donating proceeds from sales to local environmental charities, redistributing samples to those in need and volunteering within our communities on projects like those aimed at reducing food waste.

The below is not a complete list of all we have done since November 2020, but it provides some highlights and an overview of our approach.

Durability
Every product has an impact on the planet. In terms of the manufacturing process, it can be the materials and energy used or the waste produced. Making our products last longer has the biggest impact on all the above. The use of sustainable materials further reduces the impact of a product.

Graphene is centrepiece in our effort to improve durability and extend the active life of our products. Our pioneering work with The National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester to put Graphene (the world’s strongest material) into our flagship products has resulted in outsoles that are 50% harder wearing (50%) and midsoles that are 25% more resistant to compressive wear.

In addition to the use of Graphene we have significantly increased both our laboratory and in-the-field testing levels for all products to ensure we only bring to market those that can withstand the rigours of the sports they are designed for. We double the industry standard when it comes to the level of testing for wet and dry materials – and they must pass these heightened standards before we consider using them. This has led us to using more durable materials on our shoe uppers, to go alongside the Graphene-enhanced midsoles and outsoles.

To help customers further extend the life of their products we’ve included a link to product care instructions on our homepage and send these same details to customers purchasing products from our website.

Reducing our impact
We have reduced the environmental footprint of our product by increasing the number of sustainable materials used to make them, by reducing other materials used, minimising product waste, and by reducing pollution.

In footwear specifically, we’ve focused on reducing waste through cut-offs by: Using knit uppers where we can, using 15% recycled rubber in our INOV8 rubber collection, and by choosing recycled yarns where we can (where performance/durability is not reduced).

All our footwear is also vegan. We remain committed to outstanding performance in terms of durability and breathability, but in a lightweight and vegan package. We have reduced the amount of cardboard in our shoe boxes by 10%, whilst maintaining a 100% recycled shoe box printed with vegetable ink.

We’ve also overhauled our use of hangtags on clothing products by reducing the amount of material used, changing to FSC certified card, printing with vegetable oil-based inks, and attaching them with natural string instead of a plastic kimble.

We now use new Back to Earth Polybags as our outer packaging for all clothing products. This made from recycled content and can be recycled after use. Organic biotechnology is introduced in manufacturing to accelerate the biodegradation, should it end up in landfill. A simple flap closure means that glue is no longer needed at the top of the bag.

Our two UK offices have moved to renewable energy, while Covid restrictions have opened our eyes to new ways of working that benefit the environment. We have now permanently implemented a hybrid work from home/office policy that has more than halved the mileage of our staff.

Many of our international meetings have moved online; the product team undertook zero long distance flights in 2021 and instead worked with suppliers digitally, who too no longer needed to travel for our meetings.

We have cut down on the number of sample products used and instead focused our attention on using digital samples. This has helped us minimise waste and shipping needs. In footwear, we reduced our sales sample order by 40% last year.

We’ve chosen carbon neutral shipping partners and only use air freight as a last resort. All our shipping cartons are reused or recycled by the warehouse teams.

Supporting our community
We regularly donate proceeds from sales to local charities. Last year we gave £34,000 to Cumbria Wildlife Trust, a voluntary organisation devoted solely to the conservation of the wildlife and wild places of Cumbria. They used it to plant trees and restore peatbogs, both vital in trapping harmful carbon. We also donated £27,000 to the Calvert Trust, a charity organisation in Cumbia, that provides outdoor adventure holidays for children and adults with disabilities.

It’s not just about money though. Our team volunteer on a weekly basis for Waste into Wellbeing, a charity set up to reduce food waste and help feed those in need. Late last year we also got stuck in helping Cumbria Wildlife Trust with coppicing in local woodland close to our Staveley office.

Excess samples from product development are donated to charities such as ReRun, Shoe Aid, or Kit Collective. They work with groups which focus on widening inclusion for Black, Asian and ethnic minorities, people with low socio-economic backgrounds and people with disabilities.

And yes, there is more!
Change starts at home and every little helps. With a sustainability group working on ways to make INOV8 greener, some meaningful change has been driven from within the teams at our UK offices.

We’ve donated IT equipment which was no longer needed to a local school. When purchasing new IT equipment, we’ve used suppliers that use recycled materials and bought future-proof laptops that last more years.

The team are looking to further reduce waste within the shipping process. We no longer include a paper packing slip with our orders, giving an expected reduction of 40,000 – 45,000 sheets of paper per year, while also saving on the electricity and toner used when printing the forms.

Our warehouse re-use as many cardboard boxes as possible and only purchase a very small quantity. Any cardboard boxes which can’t be re-used are sold for a small fee to a company who re-sell to people looking to move home etc.

Better working practices in the office include a washing up rota to ensure each team only wash up once a day, and paper is used on both sides before it is recycled.

Alongside the hybrid work policy, we are encouraging staff, where possible, to run, walk or hike to work. Car shares are also gaining in popularity. More space has been created for bikes at our offices.

We have banned single use take-away coffee cups and have invested in re-usable coffee cups for all our team. We recycle as much of our waste as possible, and our office supplies are carefully sourced.

Thank you for supporting INOV8 and helping us in our drive the protect the planet. If you’d like more information about our sustainability strategy, read this Sustainability FAQ