GREEN FRIDAY!
5% of all sales to environmental conservation
We’re taking a step away from the fabricated frenzy that is Black Friday focusing instead on the many products we sell which either incorporate recycled materials, replace single use items or raise money for positive environmental change, offering you the chance to be kinder to the planet when it is time to replace worn out items.
Take a look at the vast range of products we stock - it’s getting bigger every season!
The Climbers Shop and Joe Brown Online: Green Friday
Technical fabrics have been finely tuned over many years from man-made fibres so the road to finding environmentally friendly high-performance alternatives isn’t a swift one. That said there is LOADS going on behind the scenes and we are beginning to see recycled fibres appearing in textiles as well as fabrics and leathers created using less water or lower CO2 emissions. It’s a very complex arena and trying to understand if items made using recycled fibres are actually any kinder to the planet is extremely difficult indeed.
The absolute best way to reduce our carbon footprint is to use the items we already own for longer. Once they’re worn out - re-purpose them. After that, it’s time to make a decision on buying the best product that will fit your individual need while being as kind to the planet as possible. Buy once. Buy well.
To play our part in supporting the hills and mountains that we love
Joe Browns and The Climbers Shop pledge 5% of all sales across the weekend of 26/27/28 November
to local environmental conservation charities. This year we will be splitting the amount between The Snowdonia Society and The Lake District Foundation who are both committed to conserving, protecting and enhancing our National Parks through footpath maintenance and improving wildlife habitat through tree and hedgerow planting.
We’re a small company doing our small bit to directly protect our local environment - we’ll leave the Greenwashing to the big guys!
What to look out for…..
The items featuring on our Green Friday page are all either bio-degradable, rechargeable, recyclable, contain recycled content, use lower polluting alternatives or generate a donation for environmental conservation charities. We’ve tried to ensure all green credentials are included in the product descriptions but it’s not always easy to understand brand names and terminology so to help we have added the outline below…..
PFC Free - Perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals, PFCs for short, are substances that are harmful to the environment and also have a major impact on our health. Once they enter the environment, they spread worldwide. Some PFCs can even negatively affect reproduction and cause cancer. The harmful fluorocarbons degrade only very slowly - over several hundred years - or in some cases not at all. PFCs are used for their water-, dirt- and grease-repellent properties and in breathable membranes, among other things. PFCs are popular in the outdoor industry for impregnating textiles. Without the water-repellent coating, the material would become saturated with water, wet and therefore heavy. For a long time there was no comparable alternative to the harmful chemicals. It wasn't until Greenpeace launched the "Detoxifying our Clothes" campaign in 2012 that suppliers and the chemical industry began to develop alternative, environmentally friendly methods for impregnating textiles. Many outdoor companies are responding to this.
PVC Free - Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic—commonly known as vinyl—has become one of the most widely-used types of plastics. In fact, this commonplace plastic is one of the most toxic substances saturating our planet. Substitutes for PVC include traditional materials such as clay, glass, ceramics and linoleum. In those cases where traditional materials cannot be used as a replacement, even chlorine-free plastics are preferable to PVC.
Tencel - TENCEL™ branded lyocell and modal fibers are produced by environmentally responsible processes from the sustainably sourced natural raw material; wood. Often Eucalyptus or Beech.
Econyl - Nylon carpets and fishing nets are recycled back to their pure nylon form, spun into new yarn and used to create new textiles.
Pertex Quantum Eco - Pertex® Eco fabrics are woven from yarns made from recycled content. Using both recycled nylon and recycled polyester, currently the recycled nylon is sourced from post-industrial waste. The recycled polyester content used is sourced from post-consumer waste, specifically mechanically recycled PET bottles. Using recycled content not only provides a use for waste material, it also reduces CO2 emissions compared with using virgin content.
Primaloft Eco - PrimaLoft® Eco polyester yarn features a blend of 30% PrimaLoft® fibres and 70% Post Consumer Recycled materials, providing an environmentally sustainable alternative to yarns made solely from virgin fibre. PrimaLoft® Eco is soft, non absorbing and very effective at moisture transport.
Apex Thermo Eco - Made from 88% recycled nylon with 12% spandex for stretch and comfort.
Polartec Thermal Pro - Highly durable, fast drying performance fleece made from either 50% recycled PET Plastic or 100% recycled PET Plastic.
Polartec Alpha - Highly durable and compressable insulation made from either 100% or 50% recycled PET Plastic.
Bluesign® - products and textiles carrying the Bluesign label show they fit the following criteria: Highest degree of safety for the consumer, manufactured with the lowest possible impact on people and the environment, responsible use of resources.
Fairwear - The Fair Wear Foundation focusses on a better way to make clothes. Their vision is to see a world where the garment industry supports workers in realising their rights to safe, dignified, properly paid employment.
Want to know more about who you are buying from…
Rab_and_Lowe_Alpine_Sustainability_Report_2021.pdf
La Sportiva Environmental Care | La Sportiva® UK
Sustainability – Mountain Equipment (mountain-equipment.co.uk)
Further. Forever. – Montane - UK
Sustainability — The Climbers Shop / Joe Brown Blog (theclimbersshopjoebrownblog.co.uk)