Is something that was sustainably produced and lasts two years, better or worse than something that wasn’t sustainably produced, but lasts eight years? It’s one of the questions Christian de Jong spends his days asking. We gave the Manager Innovation & Sustainability at Bever a call to find out how he’s maneuvering the Dutch outdoor store – our Wavemakers of the Month – towards a more sustainable future. And whether he’s found the answer yet.
"Is something that was sustainably produced and lasts two years, better or worse than something that wasn’t sustainably produced, but lasts eight years?"
Christian de Jong, Manager Innovation & Sustainability at Bever
What drives sustainability within Bever?
“Bever exists to help people experience the outdoors. Logically, that means we have a responsibility to ensure the outdoors remains an enjoyable place to explore. Since the environmental side of sustainability has a direct link with who we are as a business – a lot of people within the organisation are intrinsically motivated to do the right thing. Over the last year, we’ve formalised that intrinsic motivation into a sustainability strategy. We’re working towards the goal that every decision made takes sustainability into account. For everything we do, we always tick the budget box and the feasibility box. I want to see everyone add the sustainability box to that checklist, which already happens more and more often."
What if having to tick the budget box prevents you from ticking the sustainability box?
“Budget and sustainability ambitions don’t always seem aligned. But – while in the future we’d like sustainability to be the norm – at the moment, it’s something that can set us apart in the market, make us stronger as a brand. That’s something worth investing in, even if you don’t immediately see a monetary return on that investment.”
From a financial perspective, that sounds like a tough call to make.
“What works for us is genuine belief that we’re doing the right thing, even if the numbers don’t support it 100%. If you want to have all the numbers add up perfectly short term, a lot of sustainability initiatives might seem challenging. For the long term, I think the financial picture often looks really good, but it can be hard to prove that beforehand. For example, we started collecting used clothing on a large scale two years ago. Financially speaking, all that did was add extra costs without knowing what it would lead to. And yet we believed it was the right move to make, to allow customers to hand in their used clothing and have us repurpose it as best we can. Two months ago, we launched a recycled clothing line born out of that collection scheme and we’ll expand it in the coming years. That’s only possible because of that initial decision to start collecting.”
Later this year, you’re introducing a sustainability label. What criteria do products need to meet to be deemed sustainable?
“Approximately 70% of our fall/winter clothing collection will get our new “Our Planet” label. That means those brands adhere to one of roughly twenty internationally recognised sustainability labels. And the other 30%? Simply put, we don’t sell bad products. So those clothes will still be durable. But that’s a quality that’s hard to put a label on. Interestingly, that’s one of the big questions we ask ourselves: is durability true sustainability? Arguably producing less is a way to a more sustainable world. For many technical materials it’s a challenge to produce them in a fully sustainable way. But is something that was sustainably produced and only lasts two years, better or worse than something that wasn’t sustainably produced, but lasts eight years? I don’t have the definitive answer. Research does suggest that durability outweighs sustainability. However, we also know that once a technical, durable product does reach end of life, it can be pretty hard to recycle or upcycle it and clothing waste is a big problem.”
"Research does suggest that durability outweighs sustainability. However, we also know that once a technical, durable product does reach end of life, it can be pretty hard to recycle or upcycle it and clothing waste is a big problem.”
How much do you communicate to customers about these kinds of sustainability considerations?
“When it comes to sustainability in general, we’re a little modest in telling our stories. We’re also purposefully careful with the things we communicate – because once we share something, we really want to tell the full, honest story. We’re so careful not to have our sustainability perceived as just a marketing strategy – we want it to be seen for what it is: part of our DNA. Once you start sharing, the critical questions pop up. Questions that should be asked, because that keeps us on our toes. But while the topic is endlessly complex, communication often needs to be simple. That’s where it can go wrong – companies are accused of greenwashing because they’re trying to simplify a complex story.”
Bever recently joined the Dopper Wave, signing the pledge against single-use water bottles. What does this mean in practice?
“Since reusable water bottles are part of our product selection, using one is something that’s pretty engrained into our teams’ daily lives. In that respect, officially banning them from our premises didn’t feel like a big behavioural change. The great thing about the Dopper Wave is that it’s not just about our behaviour though, it’s about increasing our impact. By underlining that this is something we stand for, we can hold ourselves to it as well as create awareness by communicating it to our customers. And of course, eliminating single-use plastic water bottles isn’t the only story in the fight against plastic pollution. But there’s such a good alternative available – a product you can simply reuse – that I fully support spreading the message.”
What are some of those other stories in Bever’s fight against plastic pollution?
“I want to replace the single-use plastic filling used for our webshop packages with a better alternative and we’re talking to our suppliers about not packaging every single product in plastic. Additionally, we currently still have plastic bags for customers. At some point, we placed an enormous order that would last for years. Which seemed great at the time, but we’ve now arrived at the point where we feel plastic bags aren’t an option any more. So we’ll move away from those.”
Clothing makes up a large part of your collection – how do microplastics fit into your sustainability efforts?
“When it comes to microplastics – we won’t be pulling all the clothing containing some kind of plastic for the very simple reason that those are really effective and useful for many different outdoor activities. Take fleeces for example. Those are made from polyester, meaning microplastics can end up in the water when you wash them. At the same time, they’re very durable and offer exactly what our customers need. So, instead of banning them from our stores, we sell the Guppyfriend washing bag and make customers aware that using it will help prevent polluting the water.”
How do you see Bever’s role in creating a more sustainable outdoor industry overall?
“Our direct impact is small, but our influence on the whole chain can be big. Our direct footprint as a retailer makes up less than 5% of the overall footprint of the chain – from raw materials to end user. The bulk of the footprint can be found on the production side: the sourcing of raw materials and manufacturing. That leads us to questions like: should we make our own operations more sustainable, or focus on improving the sustainability of the chain as a whole? Should we invest in switching to LED-lighting in our stores, or would it be more effective to remove certain brands from our shops? Simply put, influencing changes in the whole chain has a bigger impact than if we as a brand operate more sustainably. In reality it’s a combination of course, we do both. We operate more sustainably, offer our customers a sustainable, durable product, help them expand the product life through maintenance and repair, ánd challenge manufacturers to invest in sustainability by choosing to work with sustainable brands.”