CRUX AND THE ENVIRONMENT
All our products are made from materials derived from hydrocarbons. They are not renewable or usefully biodegradable. Little is efficiently recyclable. Downstream processes such as dyeing and coating have a no less significant impact upon energy consumption and the environment.
We don't have any answers to the environmental issues raised by our choice of materials. At this point in time, we are unable to achieve the high performance parameters of crux products with anything but oil-derivative fabrics. We can only hope for the imminent development of suitable new materials from non-hydrocarbon sources and using low energy-intensive manufacturing processes.
In the short-term we resolve to:
- Make our products functional and durable.
- Repair as much as we can.
- Recycle as much as we can. Warranty returns are re-sold or donated.
- Consume less. Don't buy or use anything we don't need.
In practice, we recycle all the cartons in which the goods are originally shipped. We produce very little marketing material (hangtags only – we don't have point-of-sale materials or catalogues, for example). We do not commute: the vast majority of our product presentations are done at two annual trade shows (so our agents also spend little time on the road). We do not reinvent our products year in and year out (which entails needless designing, sampling, selling…).
Our medium-term goals include simplifying our supply-chain logistics. These are undeniably complex, primarily due to three factors: our use of specialist fabrics, which in some cases are manufactured on one continent and laminated or coated in another; the wholesale migration of specialist production facilities to the Far East; and the distances between these and our markets.
We applaud every effort made by our fabric and component suppliers, and the initiatives of brands such as Patagonia and Vaude. But let's be honest, the outdoor industry is not green.