Unconventional in many ways, the sportswear company Houdini was founded in 1993 by skier and mountaineer Lotta Giornofelice, and is today one of the leading actors on circular business models for outdoors clothing, with the motto “maximum experiences, zero impact”. Those are ambitious words, but this Swedish company is also walking the talk. Apart from applying a circular life cycle to more than 65% of their garments and being one of the first companies to offer sportswear for rent, Houdini Sportswear is happy to cooperate with other actors to improve the sustainability performance of the entire outdoors industry. Partners include, for example, the real-estate company Vasakronan, the research network MISTRA, and the traceable wool program of ZQ Merino.
Starting from fleece
Initially focusing on garments produced from stretch fleece, Houdini Sportswear is built around crafting garments that can be made from recycled material and then be recycled. Applying progressive sustainability policies, the company has grown into a small but strong frontrunner, pulling the entire sportswear sector toward increased sustainability. The ambitious policies are the work of passionate business leaders and employees who missed finding equivalent motives among other actors in the sector. The company is now clearing the way, not only into more circular business models, but also into the sharing economy by offering garments for rent, repair, and as second-hand items. This is possible since the products are not only designed from scratch with circularity in mind; they are also made to be multifunctional, long lasting, and timelessly designed, which makes them usable over a long period by a broad spectrum of customers.
Pushing policy for more responsibility
As a company with an annual turnover of about SEK 100 million (€10.8m), political policy can both hinder and support its development. For example, Houdini Sportswear has chosen to keep 99.5% of its production chain within Europe to be able to assure acceptable labour conditions. Nationally, Houdini Sportswear is also pushing the system by asking Swedish politicians not only to tighten producer responsibility but also to make producers responsible for recycling. Policy could also help facilitate a shift in attitude among consumers as well as producers, since it is still cheaper to buy new items than repair the ones you already own. Further, Karlsson thinks producers should take more responsibility in increasing transparency, so consumers can get better access to all necessary facts and thereby make better-informed decisions on their choices of consumption. Of course, the fact remains that the most environmentally friendly garment will keep being the one you never use.
Spotlight on: Outdoors within the Planetary Boundaries initiative
Since 2006, Houdini has had a closed-loop garment recycling program together with the world’s leading textile producer Teijin in Japan, and now also runs the newly started Re-project, focusing on reuse, rental, repair, and recycling of garments. In 2013, Houdini’s garments consisted of 72% recycled material, and 81% of the garments were recyclable. The same year, it also pioneered offering outdoor wear for rent. Just before the UN Climate Conference COP21 in Paris in December 2015, Houdini launched a new initiative together with the nonprofit research communication organization Albaeco: the first-ever corporate Planetary Boundaries Assessment. Together, Houdini and Albaeco will create an open-source method for assessing business from a Planetary Boundaries perspective. The purpose is to provide businesses with a deeper understanding of their current impacts so that significant improvements can be made as soon as possible, for example, by using interdisciplinary collaborations for knowledge sharing and innovation.
Regional dimension
By encouraging collaboration with other actors and sharing their knowledge and vision, Houdini Sportswear could be a great support for regional development in the Nordic countries considering its current Planetary Boundaries Assessment initiative – as well as the countries’ common cultures of focus on research and innovation, and the high value placed on nature and outdoors activities. Additionally, Houdini is at the forefront, working to phase out all harmful fluorocarbons from its production by 2017. These are chemical substances that are long lived and have been found in snow and animals in some of the most remote wilderness areas in the Nordic countries as well as the world.
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