Welcome to our first Annual Sustainability Report.
Our love of the outdoors steers the way we do business. It’s in our nature to look after what’s important, whether that’s the environment, animals, suppliers, staff, community or our customers. We know we wouldn’t be here without you.
In 2004 we first wrote down our sustainability principles and shared them on our website. We're now publishing our first sustainability report. We do this knowing that we don’t know all the answers, that we’re not perfect and all our actions have consequences. And in the hope that, by choosing to do the right thing and aiming to do better each year, we are world-class in what we do.David Hanney, CEO

Reduce Reuse Repair Recycle
We look to maximise the level of recycled content in all our fabrics, materials and packaging and make our products as recyclable as possible. We take back old gear and give it a new home. Read More

Respect Our Environment
We control all aspects of the products we sell. We make considered choices in the chemicals, fabrics, water use, transport & energy use. Read More

Treat Animals Humanely
Where we use animal products we source natural farms certified as using the most humane farming methods. We use leather, down and wool. We don’t use angora or fur. Read More

Work With People We Believe In
We work with the best factories in the world. We regularly visit and assess performance making sure they comply with ETI Base Code. Read More

Build A Better Business
We look to build a better business: pay our taxes, pay our bills on time, no modern slavery, respect privacy laws, recruit fair and encourage opportunity for all. Read More
Contribute by giving us a call or emailing sustainability@alpkit.com
Reduce, Repair, Reuse, Recycle
What We're Proud of:
This Year We Will:
Continuum Project in Action
Elly Cundill, Customer Support Hero“Birmingham City Mission is amazing. They run a care centre every Tuesday where people in need can drop in for food, clothing and even a warm bed for the night. The range of people they help is huge – some are homeless, some are victims of domestic abuse and others are people suffering with mental health problems. Amongst the most frequently requested items are sleeping bags and outdoor clothing so it’s a real privilege to be able to support Birmingham City Mission by providing gear donated by our customers. It’s truly wonderful to think that the actions of our customers really are helping people through difficult times in their lives”
Respecting Our Environment
We know that some materials, processes and chemicals used in our products and production processes are harmful to the environment – when you think about it, most outdoor gear is made from plastic or made from things that are dug up from the ground (we’re talking metals, not potatoes!). We seek to minimise that harm without compromise to performance or quality.
What We're Proud of:
This Year We Will:
What Does it all Mean... Busting the Jargon
PFOA-Free
The waterproofs that we all wore throughout the 1980’s to 2010’s were treated with perfluorooctanoic acid (commonly known as PFOA) to help rainwater bead away in bad weather rather than wet out. These compounds are now known to be harmful and have been found to build up in the environment, human body and even Polar Bears. We stopped using PFOA in 2016.PFC-Free
Modern waterproofs are treated with poly-flourinated chemicals rather than PFOA to help water bead away. Whilst these break down more quickly than PFOA they still cause damage. Alpkit is one of the few brands moving to completely PFC-free high performance waterproofs in 2020.BFR-Free
Many tents are treated with flame retardants so they don’t burn as quickly in the event of fire. However research shows these chemicals are toxic and tents are safer for you without them.BCI Cotton
The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) is a global organisation which encourages sustainable cotton farming through training, reducing environmental impact and poor work practices. (And it still feels super soft.)
Treating Animals Humanely
What We're Proud of:
This Year We Will:
Three Questions we get Asked About Animal Products Answered by Ronnie (Head of Design)
Why use animal products?
How do you make sure animal products are responsibly sourced?
Isn’t using synthetic better for the planet?
Working With People We Believe In
What We're Proud of:
This Year We Will:
Our Tier One Factories
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Alpkit HQ |
Bikepacking Bags, Packs, Bouldering Mats |
Nottingham, UK |
J Adams |
Waterproofs |
Taipei, Taiwan |
KC Manufacturing |
Legwear, Midlayers |
Hong Kong, China |
Taraniss |
Down, Midlayers |
Xiamen, Fujian, China |
Changzou Himalaya Outdoor Products |
Tents and Camping Equipment |
Changzou, Jiangsu, China |
Zhejiang Nature Travel Goods Co. Ltd. |
Sleeping Mats |
Pingqiao Town, Zhejiang Province, China |
Wallgreen Outdoor Limited |
Dry Bags and Backpacks |
Minhou, Fuzhou, China |
Firemaple |
Cookware |
Weihai, Shandong, China |
Kingcamp |
Sleeping Bags |
Beijing, China |
Shanghai Solarwool Apparel |
Merino |
Shanghai, China |
Artplus |
Sonder Bike Frames |
Gongming Town, Shenzhen City, China |
Building a Better Business
What We're Proud of:
What We Need to Focus on:
This Year We Will:
Even More on Sustainability
There’s loads more we do here - check out our sustainability policy at alpkit.com/sustainability.
Josh's Alpkit Journey to Accountancy Jedi
I’m an Accounts Apprentice and started in October 2017 as my first proper job. I started doing book-keeping, then moved onto looking after management accounts and assisting senior members of the team. After just over two years I’m now training people on how to do the job that I used to do when I first started!
Alpkit has paid for my formal training as well as what I’m doing on-the-job. I’m in college one day a week, training for my AAT qualification, which will be finished this year. The next step for me is to get the CIMA qualification, which will take three years and mean that I’ll be a qualified accountant, which is amazing.
I love working at Alpkit, it’s relaxed, positive and everyone here is supportive. It’s also been interesting to go on Adventure Training with the team, which totally took me out of my comfort zone! Hiking up hills, mountain-biking and running along trails in the dark learning about head torches is very different to reconciliations and posting prepayments and accruals. Apparently the mountain biking was a beginners route but seriously, I could barely walk some bits, let alone ride them – great fun!
Josh Soar, Accountancy Apprentice
Giving Back
What We're Proud of:
This Year We Will:
Alpkit Foundation: Helping People Go Nice Places, Do Good Things
Spending time outdoors is good for the mind, body and soul. But generally people are spending less time outdoors. That is a problem we’re helping to tackle. 1% of Alpkit sales go to individuals and direct-action projects. From ti-spoons to titanium tandems, every penny adds up to a huge amount – more than £200,000 so far.
We support ordinary people doing extraordinary things to make the world a better place. We’re incredibly proud that the Foundation has now been involved in over 600 projects. That’s over 10,000 people that have directly benefited from the support that Alpkit customers have given through the Foundation.
It’s humbling to see the effect that these small steps can make to so many people. Our hope is that everyone gets the chance to Go Nice Places Do Good Things, even just sometimes. The Foundation is a thank you from us to all our customers as we know we would not be here without you.
If you know of a deserving project or think you’re someone that only needs a bit of backing to make a big difference, it’s simple to apply, or donate. Just head to alpkit.com/foundation.