Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CASE STUDY: OUTDOOR
SPORTSWEAR
Quiksilver and Ripcurl will constitute the two
main illustrative cases in this section.
Situation and Questions
A Paradox: Environment at Core but
Not Envisioned in the Core-Business
Outdoor sportswear companies enable us to ad-
dress the impacts on environment of the industry
of good production and consumption, in particular
manufacture and fabrics. The impacts of any con-
sumption good on the environment can be evalu-
ated taking into account its life cycle, considering
different stage related to the production, diffusion
and usage of the final product:
Quiksilver and Ripcurl are two brands that
emerged close to nature. They are an American
and an Australian company respectively spe-
cialised in the conception and commercialisation
of sportswear, related accessories (eyewear, bags,
etc) and technical equipment (e.g. snowboard,
wetsuits, etc), for young, outdoorsy customers,
embodying a casual life-style. Both companies
operate through regional branches in America,
Asia, Europe.
Initially developed for and by surf practitioners,
the business was based on empirical approaches.
The years of steady growth led the companies to
realise how much they were tributary to environ-
ment. This raised the need to redistribute part of
the profits through the creation of foundations
(e.g. Ripcurl planet or Quiksilver foundation),
aiming at protecting the coastline and mountains
and promoting environmental awareness. These
foundations convey values on nature protection
mainly through sponsorship and communication
with several non-profit organisations (e.g. WWF,
Surfrider Foundations
2
, Mountain Riders Founda-
tion
3
, Surfers Against Sewages, Summit Founda-
tion,
4
etc). This trend was mostly inspired from the
British charity tradition. It expressed the concern
of an industry to protect the very source of leisure
activities, at the centre of its business. However,
not to the extent to put into question the impacts
on environment of the business activities itself.
These companies experienced a large success
and developed rapidly. They increasingly diverged
from their initial surf-community-based approach,
adopted even more radical business approach,
also in the management of human resources. For
these companies, the economic value is usually
rooted in the sale of textiles (around 60%) and
•
Raw material production
•
Product manufacturing
•
Distribution
•
Use and re-use
•
End of life
The categories of assessed damages can en-
compass GHG emissions (global warming) but
also acidification, smog, ozone layer depletion,
eutrophication, eco-toxicological and human-
toxicological pollutants, habitat destruction,
desertification, land use as well as depletion of
minerals and fossil fuels.
This case study was selected because outdoor
sportswear businesses are built upon the com-
mercialisation of products for outdoor activities.
This statement raises several issues:
•
Is environmental protection a prerequisite
of business viability as environment is em-
bedded in its design?
•
How does this sector integrate environ-
mental concerns in its core-business?
•
Where are the driving forces to push for
increased environmental reintegration?
•
Are these companies about to build a new
vision for the transition to a low carbon
economy?
