As we continue learn and understand the impact humans are having on planet Earth, it is vital that alongside us an individuals, businesses and corporations also take their responsibility towards environmentally sustainability seriously. Healthy long-term economic growth cannot be achieved without change and we at Tentsile, have always known this to be fact. That is why our company prides itself in not just to the bare minimum to meet current and future environmental standards, but we push that boundary to stand as an example of what businesses can achieve make the greatest positive impact.
In association with our Partners, we have committed ourselves to ascertaining the highest international standards, including working with 1% For The Planet, which uses company profits to fund climate change combatting projects around the world, and European Outdoor Conservation Association, which protect and regenerate biodiversity and natural habitat across the continent. With the help of Veritree,Eden Reforestation Projects and WeForest, we have spent the past 12 years heavily supporting global reforestation efforts and providing sustainable alternative economies for areas and communities that have historically gained income through deforestation.
There are some things that the outdoor industry has so far been unable to achieve, such as lightweight natural-fibre waterproof fabrics and coatings which do not have petro-chemical elements. This is mainly due to market demand for low weight, high waterproof shelters and clothing. Work is being done to source alternative for these, but in the meantime, Tentsile has made massive changes to the way we source materials, manufacture and present our products, and how we have changed our global logistics practices to reduce the carbon and ecological footprint.
Among the evolutionary changes we have implemented over the years, the biggest gains have been made in ridding our supply chain of single use plastic components such bags, ties, labels and lamination. From 2025, we will also be moving away from hard-copy paper instruction booklets for our products opting for digital online versions for download. Not all of our efforts have been met with resounding praise from our customer base however; our 2022 initiative to make all of our tents out of undyed fabrics, made from recovered ocean plastics proved to be cost prohibitive and we have rolled this project back, with a relaunch due to take place in 2026.
Some of the more impactful carbon reducing practices we have implemented, include more mundane changes, such as our work-from-home policy, which alleviates our commuter emissions, we only freight by sea (not air), which is 5 times less pollutive, we have cut back on travel including our annual attendance of industry expos and exhibitions, and we have also made a point to never use glossy, laminated product packaging as we prefer our boxes to be made from undyed 100% recycled carboard.
To learn more about the initiative we are involved in and the work we do with our partners, please explore our website’s extensive library of blogs on this subject.
