Rab & Lowe Alpine Parent Co Equip Offers Its Pioneering Sustainability Data Platform Material Facts To The Industry And Calls For Action

British outdoor company Equip Outdoor Technologies Ltd (Equip), owner of Rab and Lowe Alpine, has announced the next stage in its Material Facts program, a pioneering open and honest CSR communication platform. Having developed almost 500 Material Facts tables for its AW23 Rab apparel and sleeping bag ranges – with more ranges to be included in upcoming seasons – the company now calls other brands to action. The aim is to provide consumers with a clear and simple industry-wide standard for communicating sustainability credentials so they can make their own, educated choices.

As the company’s Material Facts tables start to roll out to consumers this summer, Equip’s CEO Matt Gowar challenges the industry to work together to create an industry standard.

Matt Gowar, Equip CEO states, “Brands are competing to find unique and compelling ways of communicating the term ‘sustainability’. This doesn’t work, confuses the consumer, can be misleading or risks greenwashing.

We developed Material Facts as a non-branded simple way to convey data to the end consumer. We are happy to share our work and methodology so that we can as an industry work together to an agreed standard. This allows us all to concentrate on improvements in our own operations that will have a greater overall impact, rather than figure out how to state where we are today.

We are happy to work with ALL industry partners to show them how they can quickly and easily convey the information that consumers want, and shortly we will be legally required to report on.”

Equip, frustrated with a lack of clarity around sustainability criteria, created Material Facts to drive a focus on accuracy and transparency. The program leads the way by taking into account consumers’ and retailers’ demands for accurate and honest sustainability product claims.

Material Facts, which was launched to the industry last year, will roll out to consumers this summer in advance of Autumn/Winter 2023 for all Rab apparel and sleeping bags. By SS24 all Rab and Lowe Alpine packs, equipment and accessories will have Material Facts tables. Other brands and industry stakeholders, amongst others the European Outdoor Group, have already expressed their support in the development of Material Facts.

Equip will drive industry-wide engagement to constantly improve Material Facts and to jointly create an industry standard that is a clear step forward in terms of aligned accurate, honest and transparent CSR communication.

More information about the current Material Facts program can be found here.