Planet Earth, our natural playground
The precious place we call home may not look the same through the eyes of generations to come. As the world continues to deal with a global pandemic, the planet continues to fight climate change each and every day. Over the past twelve months, Portwest outdoor shop has started to make some changes, to do what we can as a business, to protect the Earth for our children.
This year, on Earth Day, we acknowledge climate change and the harm that we, the people of the world, have caused. Whether you’re a surfer, hiker, biker, kayaker or enjoy any outdoor activities you will have seen the impact of our actions and you will know that there is a lot of work to be done to battle to 'Restore Our Earth'.
With a shift in awareness and a increase in acknowledgment for the need for change, greater opportunities lay ahead for everyone to work together to make a difference. It is a necessity that we all take action to 'Restore Our Earth' not just because we care about our natural playgrounds, but because we live on it.
Our team at Portwest Ireland are outdoor enthusiasts; when we are not advising our loyal customers on the best kit and outdoor clothing for their next adventure, we’re planning our own! We too know that action is needed and we want to make changes. Even if we just take small steps to start with, we want to make a difference.
Where do we start?
In 2020, although it was just the beginning, our plans come to fruition. As a brand, we have taken our first steps in our strategy to make our business more sustainable. Some adaptions where made at the manufacturing stage in the production of our own brand of outdoor wear and others shifts came from the decisions we made about what we purchase from our suppliers.
Here is a list of some of our actions, in our move to become more sustainable as a business and as a brand;
- We stopped using plastic kimble tags on all our Portwest outdoor clothing ranges and we switched them for hemp (a natural fiber) cord tags.
- We starting making all our product tags from recycled card, which means, they in turn, are also recyclable.
- We sourced cardboard cartons which are made from an even higher levels of recycled cardboard than we previously used
- We swapped our plastic polybags to biodegradable ones made from corn starch and other plant-based materials
What more can we do?
Although we are proud we have been able to make these initial changes, we know there is so much more we need to do as a business. Here are some more actions we have in the pipeline:
- Portwest Ireland plans to continue to reduce excess packing and in turn prevent excess waste
- Portwest Ireland plan to introduce eco-friendly carton sealing tape which is made of 60% bio-based materials
- Portwest Ireland plans to increase the amount of recycled fabric in their product range.
- Some of our AW21 fleeces be labelled with the average number of PET recycled bottles from which they are made from
- Portwest Ireland plan to use more eco-friendly production processes and in turn discontinuing the use of some rainwear fabric and waterproof clothing
- Portwest Ireland plan to use more eco dyes in the production of their collections.
What about your Suppliers?
Customers of our stores will have seen new product lines from our Eco-Conscious Range. All clothes and accessories in this collection have green credentials or show concern for the environment in their production. Some items are Vegan-Friendly, others are made from recycled plastic.
We recommend that our customers read the items details in the description online or the labels in store, to discover the particular features of each individual product. Products in this range are from various brands, including Craghoppers, Oboz, Weird Fish and Regatta.
Since launching this collection, it has been a great success and in 2021 we will be adding more to this range with more recycled lines from our own brand Portwest, Lifeventure and Jack Wolfskin.
What impact does buying from these brands make?
'One More Tree' is an initiative lead by Oboz which is going above and beyond to protect our natural playgrounds. This is a brand that we are proud to feature on our extensive footwear collection and waterproof boots in store and we are excited to announce, that we will be adding them to our online store very soon.
Since 2007, when they sold their first pair of shoes, Oboz has planted a tree for every pair of shoes they sold since. That’s over 3.5 million trees!
In total, Portwest clothing customers have contributed to 762 trees planted since we started selling the brand.
This Earth Day at Portwest outdoor store we are thankful for the beautiful planet we live on and we hope the day help to raise more awareness for the environmental problems it faces. We hope you have enjoyed reading about the steps we are taking to do what we can to help protect and restore our #PortofCall
We leave you with this appropriate quote for Earth Day:
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty, the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”
- Sir David Attenborough
