Environmental

Environmental is the E in the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) model and for Brav it also refers to the UN Sustainability Development Goal #12 Sustainable Consumption and Production, ensuring responsible consumption and production patterns. To Brav, this means striving towards the most environmental friendly and durable materials, efficient energy saving manufacturing, and avoiding overproduction. It also refers to the UN Sustainability Development Goal #13 Climate Action. For Brav this means to analyse and strive to measurably and considerably reduce our climate footprint through innovation and science.

BRAV ESG Model Environmental_v3
Our strategy 2021-2024 gives us clear directions in our Responsibility work.

We chose Chain of Custody (CoC)/Product certifications to ensure traceability, open for 3rd party control, and communicate our means to reduce the negative impact of our products on the environment.

How do we monitor and report?
  • Annual GHG Emissions Accounting – please find the reports here.
  • KPI Roadmap achievements
Our goals for a sustainable development are: 

Nature and work environment

  • We provide our customers with products that are safe to use. Our brands and products are to ensure a good reputation when it comes to taking care of nature.
  • We operate in accordance with all current and any future laws and regulations relating to the environment, and we contribute actively to the reduction of unwanted substances in the natural environment.
  • Our products are produced in a secure manner and with little or no impact on the surroundings.
  • Our products are produced in a manner that ensures good animal welfare.

We shall be at the forefront to deliver innovative and long lasting products with a high and consistent level of quality at the right time, that are meeting or exceeding the expectations of our customers, while acting transparently, responsible and never compromising nature. 

Protecting the environment is a fundamental prerequisite and a matter of course for our business. We will strive to reduce our carbon footprint, prevent pollution, and reduce the amount of waste generated as a result of production and use of our products and services. 

We shall be our customers and suppliers preferred partner and traveling companion on their journey of turning dreams into memories. 

Through smooth processes and systematic work, close communication and cooperation within our organization and value chain, we will continuously work with improvements of our quality and environmental management systems to ensure compliance at all times, sustainable growth, and sustained success for all stakeholders.

The purpose of the Brav Circularity Model is to visualize our journey from a linear towards a circular business model, and the different aspects of circularity.
In the Brav Strategy 2020-2024 our ambition is to act responsible, and by 2024 we are considered to be in the forefront in selected areas in sustainable business practices.
One of the key initiatives is to implement principles for a circular product life cycle.
To get there we have to transfer ourselves from today’s linear (with some recycled and repair) economy to a fully circular economy. 
It all starts by having a circular mindset in everything we do.

 

Brav New Circularity Model

Repair

 

Brav’s slogan is turning dreams into memories and one of our biggest hopes is that our products will be useful to our customers for many memorable adventures.

The most sustainable choice all of us can make is to buy fewer things of high quality and to maintain and repair our belongings for as long as possible before replacing them. With this in mind, Brav brands create high quality functional products for the consumer with longevity.

Durability, maintenance and repair play important parts in Brav’s journey towards a circular business model.

Our brands have a long tradition for repair, for example we have been repairing Lundhags boots in our Järpen repair shop since the 1930’s and Helsport repair and spare parts have been available since 1970. We also offer Swix spare parts for poles and rollerskis, and Swix and Toko spare parts for tools.

Brav is always trying to design for easy repair and increasing the number of repair centres to meet the need for repair/maintenance and longevity on all the brands is a top priority for us.

To increase the lifetime of our products, we recommend to take good care of your products between each use and to use the Toko careline for maintenance and care where possible.

Leaving PFAS behind: All Brav products will achieve 100% PFAS-free production by the spring & summer 2025 collection

After years of research and hard work, we’ve substantially reduced the use of PFAS in our brands’ products—from apparel to hard goods. We’d like to explain why eliminating PFAS is essential, where we stand today, and what challenges we still face.

What is PFAS?

For years, coatings in apparel, tents and ski wax have relied on per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are a class of thousands of synthetic organofluorine chemicals. Many different types of PFAS have been used for textile waterproofing and stain resistance or as moisture barriers for garments. Their strong fluorine-carbon bonds make PFAS very effective, but consequently, these chemicals typically don’t break down quickly and can accumulate in the environment.

Where are we?

Swix Ski wax – PFAS-free since 2022

Ski wax is an important product for Swix, and PFAS were historically used industry-wide to enhance performance. Recognizing their environmental persistence Swix began phasing out PFAS already in 2013. By the 2021-2022 winter season, Swix stopped selling PFAS-containing waxes to the mass market (wholesale, own retail stores and webshop), replacing them with PFAS-free alternatives that maintained high performance. And by the winter season 2022-2023, before an official ban even existed, Swix was the first brand to stop selling PFAS waxes to professional athletes entirely.

Lundhags – PFAS-free since 2018

Lundhags is our frontrunner brand in sustainable practices and was one of the first in the industry to achieve PFAS-free production across its entire collection in 2018 and beyond.

Toko – Ski wax and careline products PFAS-free since 2021

Toko has been PFAS-free in its ski wax and careline product portfolio since 2021.

Ulvang – Naturally PFAS-free

Ulvang is Brav’s iconic wool brand and is produced completely PFAS-free. Wool is an extraordinarily technical fiber, providing natural odor control, excellent thermal insulation, and moisture management.

What is next?

Swix Apparel & Helsport Products  – Moving towards 100% PFAS-free production 

We’ve also been working to remove PFAS from our Swix apparel and Helsport products. By the spring/summer 2025 collection, all Swix apparel will be produced without any PFAS chemicals. The same goes for Helsport products: all newly created products for the spring/summer 2024 collection are already PFAS-free, and by 2025, no more products will be produced with PFAS. Any remaining items with PFAS are due to older stock. Given the current market situation, we anticipate clearing all PFAS products from our warehouses by 2026, aligning with predicted PFAS regulations in the EU. Swix US already complies with the current and upcoming PFAS legislation in certain states of the US (e.g., California, New York State, Colorado and Minnesota). 

Minimizing cross-contamination: Our current focus

All Brav products will be developed and produced without any intentionally added PFAS chemicals by spring/summer 2025. Unfortunately, a low level of cross-contamination at our suppliers remains a challenge. Most of our apparel and Helsport products are made in Asia, where PFAS are still in use, increasing the risk of cross-contamination. We’re working closely with our suppliers to help them eliminate PFAS and are testing our products with a third party to ensure they meet our standards.