By Chiara Beretta
With
Jack Wolfskin
Jack Wolfskin rewilding ourselves, rewilding the world
Jack Wolfskin and the outdoor accessible to all
Bringing people back to a more intense contact with nature. Remember that this is what we live for: to discover, to explore, to marvel at the beauty we encounter when we close our front doors behind us and embark on a path we have never traveled before. This is the mission of Jack Wolfskin, a brand of outdoor clothing, footwear and equipment founded in 1981 in Germany by Ulrich Dausien with a clear goal: to make the outdoors accessible to everyone. The story goes that the name was invented by Dausien and some friends around a campfire at the end of a day of hiking in Canada. Whether it is a truthful or artfully doctored account matters little. The idea of a group of friends chatting around a fire, surrounded by nature, harks back to a certainty that is particularly close to the brand’s heart: adventures are good to have, but also good to tell. “Hiking is our core, the area in which we were born. Over the years, we have added bikepacking and ski touring, which we experience as an extension of hiking on two wheels or with skis or skins on,” explains Massimo Carnelli, director of Southern European Sales and New Markets. “But we also really enjoy what we call moments in between. It is not only the activity itself that counts, but also the planning of the trip and the subsequent sharing with friends.”
Back to basics
Many things have changed for Jack Wolfskin from 1981 to the present. The first store opened its doors in Germany in 1993. In 2005 it was the UK’s turn, in 2013 Russia’s turn (a market later closed following the war in Ukraine), and in 2017 there is the great expansion given by e-commerce, which takes the brand to twenty-six other countries. After changing hands in investment funds for a few years, in late 2019 the brand was bought by the Callaway Group, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. With the new ownership, there are two intents on the table right away. The first: making Jack Wolfskin international. Historically very strong in German-speaking countries and from more recent times also in China, the brand is currently distributed in more than forty countries and has a spotlight on Italy in particular, where there has been a subsidiary for a dozen years. The second: to bring Jack Wolfskin back to its original DNA, that is, to that pleasure of discovery and desire to give people back their closeness to nature that had inspired the birth of the brand.
Falling in love (again) with nature
The point is that “the more people know about nature, the more they fall in love with it, the more they care for it,” Carnelli comments. As he talks about this virtuous circle, outside his windows are the mountains of Livigno, the northernmost of Lombardy’s municipalities, a stone’s throw from Switzerland. Here already for a couple of years, hikers (but not only) can engage in plogging, an ecological practice of Swedish origin that consists of picking up butts, wrappers and other waste that can be found on the ground while doing outdoor activities or, in this case, in the mountains. The kit with tongs and bag can be retrieved at participating accommodations or at the Livigno Information Office, which then also takes care of picking up the full bag and sorting what has been collected. An example of that rewild ourselves, rewild the world that is among the brand’s slogans: reconnecting with nature goes hand in hand with protecting it. This is another reason why Jack Wolfskin actively supports national and international projects of various organizations that deal, for example, with the conservation of endangered species or combating wild logging.
Products with a German heart, tested outdoors
Engineered in Germany, without relying on third-party technologies and membranes, Jack Wolfskin products are then tested in the outdoor environment by the Discovery Team, which includes the names of Bear Grylls, British mountaineer and TV host; Martyna Wojciechowska, Polish journalist, mountaineer and traveler; and Ronan Donovan, wildlife biologist and award-winning photographer. Mountaineer Reinhold Messner and his wife Diane also became advisors to the newly formed Jack Wolfskin Brand Council and members of the Discovery Team this year. “We must be committed to protecting and restoring nature for future generations,” the couple had said in a press note. “Jack Wolfskin and the members of the Brand Council share these values. That is why we are pleased to be able to support the company in its quest for global sustainability.”
Award-winning sustainability
100 percent certified organic cotton; merino wool, feathers, and leather (the latter used only for shoes) selected from suppliers and farms that meet certain standards; recycled components certified to the Global Recycled Standard; no PFCs, PVC, fur, or angora wool: sustainability has been part of Jack Wolfskin’s DNA from the ground up and is an effort that has not waned over time. A point of pride when it comes to recycling is the fully waterproof Texapore Ecosphere jacket, in which not only are the outer fabrics and linings made of 100 percent recycled polyester, but so is the technical, waterproof mid-membrane, made with a technology unique in the world. While predominantly PET plastic bottles are used for fabric production, in fact, the middle layer is made by recycling cutting waste from membrane production. Textile-to-Textile, that is, the recycling of textile waste that would otherwise go to landfill, became a reality at Jack Wolfskin a couple of years ago, and today there are already products in the catalog that are 100% made in this “zero waste” mode. The Textile-to-Textile production process is also used, for example, in the Bike Commute Jacket, which recently received the EUROBIKE Award 2023. Other Jack Wolfskin products honored in the past two years include the Traveltopia Duffle 65 backpack, which is durable and made of 100 percent recycled polyester, and the Tapeless Jacket, a breathable and rugged waterproof jacket that, thanks to a new technology, saves about wind meters of tape per garment. One of the latest innovations, awarded the Red Dot Design Award 2023, is Aerorise: an innovative carrying system that replaces the classic backrest of hiking backpacks with four 3D printed backs, which are therefore lighter, adaptable and made without producing waste.
