2021 Build a better business
We are responsible and fair in the way we run our business and are investing in the UK.
Aktivism
We started work on our new Edinburgh store. It’s a 100 year old engineering unit that we retrofitted insulation, double glazing and down fans.
Held our UK Made week to celebrate that 30% of our products are UK Made according to Department of Trade & Industry rules.
Signed up to the Better Business Act to require companies to put people and planet alongside profit.
Stores reopened after the long 2021 lockdown. We restarted our Volunteer Program with 5 extra paid days for staff to work with charities and community projects of their choice.
Mountain Rescue fund-raisers held donating 10% of total store sales to local Mountain Rescue teams.
We adopted the Higg Index to help estimate the environmental impact of the materials we use.
Alpkit carbon reduction targets set by the Science Based Targets Initiative. We committed to have our Scope 1 and Scope 2 Emissions and reduce our carbon intensity by 2025
We helped original academic research to better understand the Life Cycle of waterproof jackets
Held Big Shakeout 2022 for the first time since 2018. It’s our end-of-thesummer party and a good fund raiser for the Alpkit Foundation.
As a founder member of the Microfibre Consortium we signed up to their 2030 Microfibre Commitment
Alpkit Foundation reached £450,000 awards to more than 1500 projects.
Continuum Projects campaigned for down duvets, taking cumulative donations to 5 tonnes
We won a Sustainability Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
Alpkit won Online Retailer Of The Year in TGO Magazine annual awards.
What we achieved
• 30% of our products are UK made (according to DTI criteria)
• Staff took 93 paid volunteer days taken to support local projects
• Well-being workshops held for all our team
• Introduced flexible working and enhanced parental leave
• Completed diversity training with our Board
• Of course, we paid all our taxes
This year we will
• Aim to reduce salaried staff turnover to below 10%
• Build on our team training, volunteer days and charity giving scheme
• Increase diversity of our team and celebrate diversity in our marketing material
• Extend our size range to XXL and size 20
• Make sure no products contain any raw materials sourced from conflict zones
Alpkit team
Employees (FTE)
We see 8 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as directly applicable to us. This is where we have a big impact directly through the operations of Alpkit and Alpkit Foundation. There are 17 UN goals in total that form a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
B Corp
We are committed to using business as a force for good. We measure our social and environmental performance according to this independent 3rd party standard. We chose B Corp for its high standards, rigour and integrity. We certified last year and our next verification date is in August 2023. Between now and our renewal date, we continually review and monitor our performance using their framework.
We compare ourselves to an all-business average and our peer group including Patagonia, Body Shop, Cotopaxi, Kathmandu, Finisterre, Picture Organic Clothing, Allbirds and World of Books. *
Reduce Reuse Repair
Recycle
We design with purpose: repair, reuse and recycle are at the forefront of our minds to make long-lasting performance products.
What we’re proud of
• Trebled the use of recycled fabrics and materials in our products. 37% of our clothing now contains recycled content
• Successful trial that eliminated single use plastic bags in shipping from our factories
• Over 2850 repairs in 2021 in our Repair Stations
• Found a new home for 5 tonnes of gear with Continuum
• Zero to landfill at our main sites
• Increased plastic free orders to 99%
This year we will
• Double again our range of clothing products made with recycled content, targeting mid layers in particular
• Extend the plastic free shipping to 50% of our clothing
• All sites to be zero landfill in 2022
Work with people we believe in
We use animal products responsibly: where there is performance benefit rather than aesthetic. When we use animal products we use the most humane farming methods available to us.
Merino wool
We use merino wool and lambswool in clothing and only use non-mulesed wool.
We introduced Responsible Wool Standard knitwear this year.
Leather
We use goat skin leather in some of our gloves. We prohibit the use of exotic animal skins in our products.
Down fill
We use goose and duck down in our clothing and sleeping bags and only use recycled or RDS certified down.
We work with the best factories in the world. And only work with factories where we share an ethos. Our senior team (CEO, MD, Chief Designer, Head of Supply Chain or Senior Product Managers) know our factories personally and we regularly spend time with them to personally review conditions. This year we will work closer still and develop joint environmental action plans with all our Tier 1 factories and mills.
and
factories signed to our Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and Modern Slavery Statement
Respect our environment
What we achieved this year
• Collaborated with all Tier 1 suppliers to develop environmental plans to reduce our impact
• Continued our industry-wide work with the Microfibre Consortium and Single Use Plastic Project
• Established a life cycle review project and helped original academic research
• Committed to sustainable palm oil
• Reduced our carbon intensity by 8% to 23kg
• Extended our carbon footprint estimates for our entire value chain
• Offset the estimate of our entire Scope 1, Scope 2 and freight emissions to be climate neutral
This year we will
• Have minimum 50% renewable energy in our Tier 1 factories.
• Estimate our product footprints using Higg Index
• Continue to share our work with the outdoor industry through partnerships
• 15% absolute reduction in our Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions in 2022
• 10% reduction in our upstream Scope 3 on a per item carbon intensity
• Reduce air freight to below 10% by value
We seek to minimise the harm of our gear
Understanding
We estimate that two-thirds of the carbon impact of a product is from the raw materials and manufacture process. Just 15% of the impact is in your ownership.
The single biggest thing you can do is use your gear for longer. Extending the life of our kit say from 3 years to 5 years will reduce your carbon footprint by 40%. And then pass it on or recycle when you’re done with it so it doesn’t go to landfill.
We will do our bit to achieve our Science Based targets:
• Choose environmentally preferable materials
• Select factories based on their ethos and values
• Minimise airfreight
• Make products that are long lasting and durable
• Switch to factories that use renewables in our supply chain
• Repair all our products and offer Continuum to find products new homes when you’re done with them.
Patching the holes in waterproof life-cycle analysis
There’s only one public life-cycle analysis for a waterproof jacket. Just one (by Goretex). And that one is now a decade old. It’s incredible how little research has been done when clothing contributes 8-10% of global carbon emissions.
We worked with Matt Cripsey, Birkbeck, UoL, with his academic research into how Alpkit customers use their waterproofs. The results are stunningly positive and underpins our ‘customer use’ of our full value carbon chain. It found that we use our jackets for much longer than previously thought. Our customers expect an average 7 years of primary use, with another 4 years as ‘second best’. 11 years is much longer than the 3 to 5 years previously believed. Most customers then pass to someone else rather than going to landfill.
Key Findings
• Most people wear their waterproof jacket weekly for hiking, walking and everyday use.
• Use their jackets for 7 years on average. But the jacket is still used, as a second best, for another 4 years. Many customers have had their waterproofs for 20 years or so.
• Emotional durability – i.e. how long you choose to use a jacket – is much more
important than physical durability – which is how long a garment will practically last.
• People wash and reproof annually and use the 30°C cycle
• They then pass to someone new at a charity shop or sell privately on eBay or similar.
The research resonates profoundly with our ‘Gear You’ll Love For Longer’ ethos and will directly impact our fabric selection for future use. Thanks to Matt and everyone who completed the survey.
Andrew’s Journey to Operations Manager...
Andrew Lewishill, Operations Manager
I joined Alpkit just over two and a half years ago as the UK Factory Manager, responsible for managing production and looking at ways to develop the factory and products.
My job evolved massively when the pandemic hit. Initially most staff were furloughed or working from home. As one of the lucky ones still at HQ, I became more involved with operations, working with our managing director Nick. We wanted to make major changes to the Alpkit site – lockdown was the perfect time. We acquired a new building, and I was responsible for moving the office and factory, as well as moving Sonder into its own unit. This expansion allowed us to reconfigure the warehouse, improve the layout and racking and get extra staff. We also added ‘locations’ to our stock system telling us exactly where everything is.
All activities for which a Jacket is used:
Jacket reproofing frequency:
Disposal method for previous main jacket:
At the end of the first lockdown, I was made Operations Manager, with responsibility for the warehouse, all Alpkit and Sonder stock, the UK Factory, and every building at the Alpkit Campus. I’m also now part of the Alpkit Training Group. I’m excited to be looking at ways we can develop Alpkit staff.
The Factory and Sonder now have space to grow and the Sonder team can focus on designing and building bikes. Next, we’ll be installing a wheel building machine. And we’re looking at constructing a spray booth. Plans are underway for a ‘development area’ to allow us to produce a greater range of prototypes on-site, using the expert skills of our machinists.
I’m excited about this extra responsibility, and where we can go as a company. What makes me most proud is how quickly we adjusted to the pandemic and this period of growth. That’s largely thanks to the spirit of the team – how willing they are to put the effort in and help each other out. When I started, we were in four buildings across two sites. Now we’re in seven buildings across three sites! Alpkit has changed massively in two years – we’ve grown a lot. But we’re still signing every order by hand!
Beth Pearce, Alpkit HR Manager: “At Alpkit, we’re on a journey, and it’s vital that we invest in our people through offering training and development opportunities. We couldn’t believe in our team more and know that the success of Alpkit this year and that of future years depends on the training culture that we are so passionately embedding now; our sessions on work specific learning, leadership development and life skills are just the start of what we want to deliver and getting to witness amazing people develop alongside Alpkit is a privilege.”
2850 Over repairs in 2021
Mending is better than ending
All stores offer repair, reproof and Continuum service. And it’s online too – just get in touch with our Customer Service team at support@alpkit.com and we’ll take it from there. We repair any brand and will do any modification or make custom products you ask for – all time is charged at a fair hourly rate.
Monika,
Edinburgh
Monika, in our Edinburgh store, shortened the arm length of a customer’s Gravitas jacket recently. What might seem like a small alteration from the outside can mean the biggest of things.
Charlotte, Ilkley
Charlotte from our Ilkley store was looking at a 20+ year old jacket that was going to be mightily expensive to repair. Knowing the potential costs of repair, the customer asked what she could do. She decided to get creative. And turned a funky irreparable Haglöfs jacket into an eyecatching dry bag and coin wallet.
Caroline, Rob and Chris, Hathersage
Rob’s been at it again! This time creating a bump warmer that converts into a baby carrier warmer! It zips into any jacket and has an elastic cord to adjust it in different places. Expertly modelled by Kieran. Who isn’t actually preggers.
No spring chicken, Edinburgh
One customer told the Edinburgh team that he’s “not the youngest” anymore. He wanted to add a zip to his Hunka bivvy bag to make it easier to get in and out. The team got a waterproof zip and seam-sealed it on the inside, to maintain the waterproofness. It was relatively straightforward. The only problem was the drawcord. Monika and Hania found a new hole for the cord to come out and there you have it! A waterproof zipped bivvy.
Lily, UK Factory
Lily made 10 rucksacks for Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue to carry their medical kits on call outs.
“We created 7 pouches that are held in the backpack with Velcro so they can be quickly removed and put back easily” explained Lily. “They also have a clear lid so the team can see exactly what’s inside”.
Give back 1500 £450,000
Over Projects
Alpkit only exists because of our wild places and people that make them. Alpkit Foundation is our payback, our social dividend to protect the places we love for everyone to enjoy.
We give small awards to ordinary people doing extraordinary things that make the world a better place. You help every time you buy from Alpkit. And we’ve donated 40% of our profits since 2015 to the Alpkit Foundation.
We’ve received 5,000 applications and given 1500 awards to improve education, environment, diversity, mental health and participation in the outdoors. That benefits over 30,000 people altogether.
It’s humbling to see the effect that this has:
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Desmond Tutu
Thank you from us to all our customers that make this happen.
“The pandemic has had a big impact on people’s well-being. Being unable to do some of the things that they loved during those lockdowns hit especially hard. It was during this time that we were introduced to hiking in remembrance of a manager that passed away and who loved the outdoors. We immediately felt the benefits and wanted to share this with others.”
Antwon, Kevin, Anton are AKA – three passionate guys making a positive impact. Building on their youth work they wanted to expand opportunities for people from disadvantaged, socially isolated groups in Nottingham to improve physical, emotional, and mental well-being and to create community cohesion.
“There aren’t many things more healing than feeling connected with nature, and with other people. Hiking with others lowers the guard and allows people to talk openly and actually be heard”
With National Lottery funding, AKA piloted a project in 2021, supported by the Peak District National Park Authority, that looked to lead those least likely to access the outdoors on hikes and activities. We were super keen to help.
For AKA it was important to gain experience, skills and knowledge and so we provided access to subsidised Hill and Moorland Leader training as well as grants towards equipment, backed up with support from Alpkit Continuum in establishing a kit pool others could use.
“The support we have received from the outdoor industry during the last year really helped us as newbies learn and develop the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to lead others into the outdoors. It’s so important for us all to enjoy the outdoors responsibly and safely with minimum impact.”
This has gone a long way to breaking barriers facing others getting out. Whether that’s awareness, confidence and know-how
or suitable equipment and travel. It’s amazing to hear the huge impact and long term benefits this project has been having. Giving people confidence to go out on their own and encourage a real love for the outdoors, with many now even taking opportunities to volunteer.
“Many people who attend the events have never been hiking, and cannot believe that it has been under their noses their whole lives. Seeing faces light up with genuine awe is priceless! We have facilitating events almost every month, engaging over 250 young people and adults. It’s amazing to see new friendships grow.”
Jessie Leong
We put people and planet before profit
First and foremost we’re an outdoor brand. It is our love of the outdoors and belief in nature that drives us. Everything we do comes from a desire to make great product and build a great business. Products that are purposeful and long-lasting; and a business that is responsible and we’re proud to work for: to be gentle and look after the things that matter.
This year I’m particularly proud that we:
• Estimated our end-to-end carbon footprint and proved what we always knew: that the most sustainable kit is the kit you already own. We estimate that 85% of the embedded carbon in your gear is spent in making it and getting it to you – so simply use it for longer and you’ll reduce your own footprint.
• Relaunched our volunteer days, adventure training and School of Adventure program. These were paused in the height of lockdown.
• Reduced our full value carbon intensity to 23kg per order from 28kg per order despite a spike in the need to airfreight when we were hit by the container shipping crisis in the summer.
• Have now donated £450,000 to 1500 projects with Alpkit Foundation and found a new home for 5 tonnes of outdoor kit with Continuum.
We committed to Science Based Targets Initiative in July and will halve our Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2025. This will happen by switching all fossil fuel use to renewables that use gas and petrol/diesel today. This means going electric for our heating and company cars and vans.
These targets are independently assessed and we’re proud to say we are officially doing our bit to limit global warming to the 1.5˚C scenario.
We will reduce our full value carbon emissions by at least 15% each year. We will set a more robust target each year and be Net Zero by 2050 at the absolute latest.
We define Net Zero as the total decarbonisation of our entire value chain. It’s only achievable by reduction in emissions not offset – it is far more than burn now and offset later and means a minimum 95% reduction in carbon emissions. We will continue to offset our Scope 1, 2 and Scope 3 upstream freight and commuting emissions knowing that being climate neutral is just a passing point on our journey to Net Zero.
Your feedback has guided us and we greatly appreciate the hundreds of customers that completed our sustainability consultation. You ranked our priorities for 2022 as:
• Always remember who we are: first and foremost we make high quality, affordable, long-lasting performance kit for the outdoor enthusiast.
• Run a good business that treats its staff well and pays its taxes; stay a Living Wage Foundation employer.
• Select suppliers on the basis of their ethics and environmental responsibility.
• Continue to eliminate any risk of modern slavery, deforestation or minerals from conflict zones in our products.
• Reduce our carbon footprint, choose environmentally preferable materials and look to alleviate poverty in our supply chain.
• Choose humane farming methods and support regenerative agriculture. We’re continuing to learn and share ideas about building better businesses and making better products. The buzz from seeing Alpkit customers out on the hill is so rewarding and I thank each and every customer for buying from us. I also have immense pride in our team –the spirit and soul over this past year has been inspirational –and it is great to see this validated in us winning TGO Online Retailer of The Year in 2021.
David Hanney, Chief Exec
Sustainability Principles
