Sustainability Report – Oberalp Group
On November the 27th at Salewa Store in Milan, the 2017 Sustainability Report of the Oberalp – Salewa group was held, brokered by the new CEO Christoph Engl and by Ruth Oberrauch, sustainability manager for over six years and a member of the family property group. It is a family-run business that is very committed to social responsibility and sustainability, which is experienced as part of the Oberrauch family culture.
“As a family-owned company we can and must think long-term, in terms of generations, our new sustainability report makes us look forward to the future and the world we leave to our grandchildren.” – Hainer Oberrauch, founder and president of Oberalp Group
Their commitment was rewarded with the reaffirmation of the status of Leader, recognized by the Fair Wear Foundation, a non-profit association that promotes fair and sustainable working conditions in the textile and clothing sector. In fact, the group has carried out an audit of 97% of its textile production volume in the factories of its suppliers.
The work of sustainability, carried out by an all-female team, of international origin, can be divided into two macro pillars: on the one hand we find the importance that is given to the people who work in Oberalp and their suppliers and on the other we find the development linked to the product and to the production, where they are constantly trying to adopt new solutions to reduce their footprint in terms of waste coming from the production itself; for example, many pieces of waste are reused to create t-shirts, jackets and gloves, or even the processing residues in the production of leathers of the Pomoca brand, are recycled to create accessories. Another important thing for the company is that about 80% of the fabrics they use are certified by Blusign and Oeko-Tex, organizations that aim to reduce the impact of the textile industry on humans and the environment.
“There are new challenges to meet in order to achieve our environmental sustainability goals, because the theme of sustainability is constantly evolving, an example is that of microplastic, which is a new theme for the entire textile industry. Oberalp Group is one of the first producers in the outdoor sector to be part of the EOG – European Outdoor Group Microfiber Consortium, supporting three research projects that seek new solutions against the release of microplastic fibers into the environment at each machine wash. “- Ruth Oberrauch
The mission of the Oberalp team Sustainability is to ensure that the decisions and processes of the company are implemented in compliance with the requirements of the sustainability strategy. In order to make this commitment accessible to a wider public, the 2017 sustainability report collects and describes the Group’s initiatives within this area.
