How sustainable is Haglöfs?
But this doesn’t mean the company is currently not taking action. Haglofs has published its tier 1 factories and is working on mapping and publishing its material suppliers by 2020. In 2019, materials were 75% Bluesign certified, which means that these materials were sourced responsibly and chemicals were being managed. It sourced all its leather from Leather Working Group certified tanneries and offers an elaborate overview of where its materials originate and why it uses them. This includes 100% organic cotton and 100% responsible down. Wool is currently certified mulesing-free and the company aims to source strictly Responsible Wool Standard by 2022. Fluorocarbons are not phased out completely yet, but the company aims to achieve this in 2020 as well.
The company doesn’t use plastic bags in its stores, has adopted a target for completely reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2022 and done a pilot with the Repack project to improve its packaging. This is an area that definitely requires improvement. Another point of improvement is Haglofs’ energy usage, which grew in 2019 because of the opening of more stores. The Swedish brand consumed 70% renewable energy in its own stores in 2019 and aims for 100% by 2022.
As a member of the Fair Wear Foundation, Haglofs has 96% of its production under monitoring, with a benchmarking score of 66. The company has therefore received a Good rating and already ensures good labor rights in its supply chain. The year before, Haglofs received a Leader rating by the Fair Wear Foundation. Although it’s doing above industry average on workers’ rights, there is improvement to be made.
Haglofs is moving forwards rapidly and doing its part when it comes to improving the industry. It raised its prices on Black Friday and launched a project completely made from leftovers to make a statement, which shows that the company is willing to go the extra mile. However, measurements of its carbon footprint and appropriate climate action is needed first.
