Halti’s sustainability program benefits the Baltic Sea

Organisation: Halti Oy

Time: 11/1/2011 – 10/31/2013

Description:

Halti has started a sustainability program which is divided into two parts, Environmental and Social Sustainability. Program.

Environmentally sustainable development encourages the conservation and preservation of natural resources and the management of energy, waste and transportation.

Some important aspects for environmental sustainability that demand attention are: compliance with environmental regulations, banning toxics, controlling and managing waste and other pollutants, efficient use of energy and minimizing transport impacts.

A variety of chemicals including hazardous ones are applied in textile industry. The chemicals are needed for manufacturing, dyeing and finishing of textiles. Hazardous chemicals in textiles cause multi-dimensional risks, including environmental, safety and health risks notably to consumers but also to ecosystems in regions of production, use and disposal.

Recent studies have indicated that a major source of fluorinated polymers in the environment is the leakage from consumer products, such as tablecloths, men´s trousers, work wear, umbrellas d outdoor clothing.

Exponentially increasing concentrations of fluorinated compounds in wildlife have been reported since the 1990s. Although more research is needed, existing studies have shown that some fluorinated chemicals are extremely persistent and bioaccumulative, as well as, among other things, cancer-causing and hormone disrupting.

In outdoor clothing fluorochemicals are used in water-repellent finishes and waterproof membranes. Durable water repellency (DWR) treatments’ functions include water repellency, stain repellency, soil repellency and durability to laundering, light explosure and abrasion. The most used perfluorinated surfactants (PTF) in DWR treatments are perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). PFOS is already banned, but PFOA is still widely used in outdoor clothing. Although U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is going to ban PFOA in 2015 as well. There are alternatives for fluorocarbon DWR treatments, but they are not as soil and oil repellent as fluorinated polymers.

Because we at Halti love the great Finnish nature and get our inspiration from it, we want to provide extraordinary outdoor experiences for people by designing sustainable outdoor gear.

The objective of our commitment is to design an outdoor jacket without any fluoro-organic compounds in order to protect the Baltic Sea. Halti wants to act for and raise awareness regarding sustainability and the Baltic Sea.