ORTOVOX: Responsible Ski Touring

It takes knowledge, ability and the right equipment to keep yourself safe in the mountains. And something more, too: It takes an awareness of the habitat. When you are out in the mountains, you have responsibilities – for yourself, for others, for nature. Lets take a look at what ORTOVOX has to say about it.

Responsible Skitouring: The complete winter collection is now climate-neutral – a milestone, yet also just a small step on a long path. ORTOVOX’s goal is not to offset carbon, but to significantly reduce the company’s carbon footprint!

But ORTOVOX’s focus is by no means restricted to climate neutrality. Community, respect, animal welfare and the protection of nature have always been important to ORTOVOX. For example, the brand has once again been awarded Leader status by Fair Wear Foundation, highlighting the company’s efforts to guarantee fair production. Animal welfare is also guaranteed by the brand’s own wool standard, the ORTOVOX WOOL PROMISE, which goes beyond the requirements of the market’s standard RWS certification.

ProtACT LAB

There’s also a new addition to the “LABS”, the ORTOVOX multimedia learning and training platforms: For the 2022/23 winter season, a new chapter on “responsible backcountry skiing” is being added to the ProtACT LAB. The aim of this new chapter is to show ski tourers how they can pursue mountain sports in the most animal-friendly and nature-friendly way possible. With the DAV’s (Deutscher Alpenverein) 10 tips for nature-friendly ski touring, readers can learn how to be especially considerate of animals and nature when enjoying the mountains. In a video, a ranger describes the biggest problems and their consequences. At the end, an animal tracks quiz on of endangered species tests your newly acquired knowledge. Check out the ProtACT LAB chapter here.

The ProtACT LAB was launched in spring 2022 to inspire the mountain sports community to take a more socially and environmentally responsible approach to the mountains and – in a comprehensive, entertaining way – explains how they can do this. It is filled with tips and apps, offers multimedia expertise and e.g. explains in Repair & Care videos how to get the most out of your products for as long as possible.

FWF – Fair Wear Foundation

Fair Wear Foundation is a non-profit organization that works together with manufacturers, factories, trade unions and governments to improve working conditions in the textile industry. Members commit to upholding Fair Wear's Code of Labour Practices. Fair Wear carries out regular compliance audits. The Code of Labor Practices includes standards such as legally binding employment contracts, payment of a living wage, and reasonable working hours.

Bluesign

The bluesign® SYSTEM is one of the key and most strict solutions in the textile industry for the environmentally friendly production of chemicals, materials and end products. It focuses upon the use of good and safe chemicals for clean, resource efficient production throughout the entire manufacturing process, promoting safe working conditions and ensuring that products do not pose a risk to consumers’ health.

Grüner Knopf

The „Grüner Knopf“ is a government-run label for sustainably produced textiles. It demands that mandatory standards are met to protect people and the environment in the textile production process. A total of 46 stringent social and environmental criteria must be met, covering a wide spectrum from wastewater to forced labor. What’s special about the „Grüner Knopf“? Not only are the products audited, but the entire company too. The German government lays down the criteria and conditions for the „Grüner Knopf“. Independent auditors review compliance with the set criteria.

RDS – Responsible Down Standard

Products certified to the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) contain down or feathers from farms certified to animal welfare requirements.

RWS – Responsible Wool Standard

Products certified to the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) contain wool from farms (independently) certified to animal welfare and land management requirements.

SWISSWOOL

ORTOVOX have been using SWISSWOOL – wool fibers from Switzerland – as insulation material since 2011. A sustainable wool of regional origin, it warms superbly even when wet, is easy to care for and offers a perfect microclimate.

PFC FREE

PFC-free products contain no environmentally harmful per- or polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). In order to ensure that no harmful substances are used in our products, we require our partners and suppliers to comply with our “Guide to Chemical Management and Compliance”. We also provide our suppliers with comprehensive information on issues such as good housekeeping, wastewater management, etc. Furthermore, we are working to phase out PFC-free products step by step, with the aim of selling only PFC-free products by 2024.

MADE IN EU

Products labelled with “Made in EU” are produced in Europe. This promotes regional expertise and avoids long transport routes.

LANGLEBIGKEIT – Durability & Reparability

Durability and reparability have a significant influence upon the sustainability of a product and are, therefore, of particular importance to the company. ORTOVOX's Second Life strategy focuses upon the best possible use and care of their products, further optimization of reparability and the development of solutions that will facilitate and simplify the recycling of used products.

KLIMANEUTRRAL (CLIMATE NEUTRAL)

Climate-neutral products are produced in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Any unavoidable CO2 emissions have been offset.

MERINO INSIDE

Sustainable MERINO WOOL used by ORTOVOX comes from monitored, ethical sheep farms. It is comfortably soft, easy to care for, and provides an optimum body climate thanks to its moisture- and temperature-regulating properties.

The ProtACT LAB was launched in spring 2022 to inspire the mountain sports community to take a more socially and environmentally responsible approach to the mountains and – in a comprehensive, entertaining way – explains how they can do this. It is filled with tips and apps, offers multimedia expertise and e.g. explains in Repair & Care videos how to get the most out of your products for as long as possible.

 

Highlights of the ski touring collection

THERMOVENT

The technical MERINO THERMOVENT is an ORTOVOX base layer made using fine Tasmanian merino wool. It makes use of a flat knitting technique that allows various knit structures to be exactly tailored to individual areas of the body. The material structure warms and ventilates in exactly the right spots, has no seams and creates no fabric waste.

3L ORTLER jacket and pants

Merino wool is also responsible for comfort when it comes to the 3L ORTLER JACKET and PANTS. These alpine purists have been completely reworked and even further optimized for demanding ski tourers. These lightweight items can be packed down small and offer protection against the weather thanks to the most high-performance membrane used in the ORTOVOX collection: Dermizax® NX from Toray. The outfit is also PFC-free and climate-neutral, and scores points with its high elasticity.

COL BECCHEI jacket and pants, SWISSWOOL COL BECCHEI HYBRID jacket

COL BECCHEI JACKET and PANTS: This softshell outfit for demanding ski tourers combines soft merino fibers on the inside with protective polyamide on the outside, and uses the intelligent C_CHANGE membrane, which opens its polymer structure when the body heats up and closes it when it gets cold. The series is rounded off with the SWISSWOOL COL BECCHEI HYBRID JACKET, a lightweight, insulated, super comfortable jacket that features warming wool from Swiss mountain sheep. Highly elastic TEC STRETCH material on the outside offers protection against wind and water, and merino on the inside makes the jacket comfortable. And the jacket is manufactured entirely in Europe.

The entire ORTOVOX offer