Salomon Sports, a global leader in trail running and winter sports equipment, has shared details of its developing Play Minded Program, which addresses the company’s immediate and long-term commitment to operate in a more sustainable and socially responsible manner.
Additionally, in the brand’s new Experience Store in Munich, Salomon lifted the curtain this month on the concept for a new running shoe that can be fully recycled into a ski boot shell.
The Salomon Play Minded Program consists of four key focus areas, all with specific objectives:
- Protecting the Playground (the places where lovers of life outdoors practice sports)
- Producing more sustainable Toys (the Salomon products used to practice those sports)
- Educating the Players (the people who make up the communities of outdoor sports).
- Caring for the Playmakers (the people around the world who create Salomon products).
Salomon President Jean-Marc Pambet said, “Today’s outdoor sports participants expect us to make a positive impact on the world, and we have made great efforts in recent years to reduce our impact on the environment and we will continue to do so.
“As a company, we have always prided ourselves on having a uniquely
close relationship with our local sports communities. We haven’t always
discussed our programs in the areas of sustainability, but we recognize that
fans of our brand and our products are eager to understand the actions we are
taking.”
Salomon has made several commitments in the areas outlined by the Play Minded
Program. To reduce its impact on the environment, the company has pledged to
reduce its overall carbon emissions by 30% by the year 2030. It will also
eliminate perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) across all equipment categories by
2023.
PFCs will be non-existent in Salomon footwear by the Fall of 2020, in
gear by 2022,and in winter sports equipment and apparel by 2023.
By 2025, 70% of the waste created by operations will be recycled or re-used and
the environmental performance of every Salomon product will be visible to the
consumer.
Also, by 2025, 100% of top-tier materials suppliers will have signed or otherwise demonstrated compliance with category-level Materials Compliance Programs and Restricted Substances Lists (RSLs).
Circular Economy Product Design
The concept for a fully recyclable running shoe is the first step in Salomon’s commitment to have 100% of its new products designed to one or several of the company’s circular economy principles by 2025. Salomon’s footwear team is working to implement elements of this concept in running footwear that will be available in 2021.
As a leader in running and the world’s largest ski boot
manufacturer, the shoe provides a uniquely Salomon solution to footwear
sustainability that extends the lifecycle of the materials used. It is made
completely of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), which can be ground down at the
end of its life and then combined with pre-consumer material to be used to
construct an alpine ski boot shell.
Guillaume Meyzenq, V.P. of Salomon Footwear, said, “By creating this concept
shoe that can be recycled into a ski boot shell, we are showing that it is
possible to find alternative materials to create performance footwear. It’s an
exciting development that will help lead us to more sustainable footwear
solutions in the future.”
An Educational Role
The Salomon Play Minded Program is based on the belief that the more people
understand and appreciate their outdoor surroundings and their impacts on it,
the more they will value it and care for it.
To foster that appreciation for the outdoors, fans of Salomon can expect to see even more content that educates and inspires its followers to find responsible ways to play outside.
The brand will also award grants to a variety of organizations that Salomon athletes are involved in and continue to fund the Salomon Mountain Academy and the Salomon Foundation. The Foundation has been providing services to injured mountain professionals and competitors in need since 1999.
