To reduce the environmental impact, Salewa believes it’s important to dispense with the old throwaway mentality and move towards a circular business model. Consequently, Salewa is striving to extend the life of its mountain sports products, focussing on long-lasting design, using natural, renewable materials, and upcycling and recycling as often as possible.

As part of this sustainable business strategy, the brand is launching the Salewa Circular Experience with three new programmes at the new Salewa Store Bozen / Bolzano that opens today.

• Repair Service

Salewa produces durable apparel, equipment and footwear that is made to last. The brand is offering a repair service from the Salewa Store Bozen / Bolzano to customers with mountain clothing or equipment that’s worn out or damaged and who might not have the parts, tools or time to repair it. Repairs are carried out by experts using original parts and materials. The expert service can handle everything from replacing zips and Velcro straps to repairing rips and tears, as well as repairing and resoling footwear. The work is carried out by professional service staff in the workshop at the Salewa Store Bozen / Bolzano with lead times for repairs between an hour to ten days max.

• Second Life

Salewa’s Second Life programme offers used, reconditioned and repaired high-quality Salewa clothing, footwear and equipment. The Second Life products on sale now in the Salewa Store Bozen / Bolzano are pre-loved items that have been previously worn by Salewa athletes and other mountain enthusiasts. These pre-loved items are not new and have been owned and used before. Therefore, they are the ideal choice for sustainability-minded buyers. The concept also means that customers can bring any Salewa product with a proof of purchase from a Salewa Store or Oberalp Mountain Shop to the Salewa Store Bozen / Bolzano and have it assessed. A credit note is then issued based on the overall age and condition of the item. Customers choosing to spend their voucher on a further Second Life product see their voucher increase in value by a further ten per cent. Second Life products are professionally repaired and refurbished and subject to full Salewa quality standards. Their own eye-catching hangtag makes them easy to spot.

• Rental Service

Salewa wants to enable people to rent the products they might need for their next (mountain) adventure at the Salewa Store Bozen / Bolzano. The idea is to let mountain enthusiasts try out new activities without having to buy all the new equipment first. The new in-store programme for rental equipment means gear can be reserved and picked up at the Salewa Store Bozen / Bolzano where expert staff are on hand to provide advice and instruction. The programme covers the following activities: ski touring, ski mountaineering, hiking, trekking, via ferrata, climbing, mountaineering. The offer includes technical hardware, personal protective equipment, camping equipment, rucksacks, footwear, gloves and much more.

The Oberalp Group is currently liaising with Salewa experts to explore ways of expanding the Circular Experience to include retail partners, Salewa stores and e-commerce to make it available to a wider group of customers.

In spring 2022, Salewa launched its own Salewa Committed icon to draw customers’ attention to its particularly sustainable products. In spring/summer 2023 around 48 per cent of styles in the Salewa apparel collection have the icon to make it easier for customers to identify the most sustainable products. To qualify for Salewa Committed status, a Salewa product has to fulfil two mandatory criteria and at least one additional criterion.

All Salewa Committed products meet the following criteria:

• Chemicals verified: the main fabric (or the entire product) has been chemically tested by an external third party or is bluesign® certified.
•  Audited social standards during production: the factory where the product has been manufactured must have been audited for social standards and working conditions by a third party.

In addition to these two mandatory criteria, at least one of the following four criteria must be fulfilled:

• All fabrics in the particular style have a PFC-free DWR (Durable Water Repellent) finish.
• The product must contain up to 50 per cent of its weight in upcycled or recycled material.
• The down in the product is all RDS certified (Responsible Down Standard).
• The product contains at least 50 per cent natural and renewable material, such as wool, hemp, linen, organic cotton, Tencel, viscose and Sorona.

Salewa products comply with the highest standards for chemical management, product safety and quality assurance. The South Tyrolean brand has already reached its goal of making products with a Powertex® membrane that requires no PFCs. The brand is working closely with its research and development partners to dispense with PFCs in the rest of its materials without sacrificing quality or durability. Furthermore, Salewa is committed to using natural and sustainable materials. The Salewa Committed icon brings all these measures together transparently. In addition, the icon serves as a gauge of the brand’s pledge to improve sustainability.