80% of our products' environmental impact during their life cycle is determined during the design phase*
*Source: EU Eco Design Directive
DESIGN
Silva's sustainability work begins in the design department. We design products so that we as people can discover and enjoy nature more. Our basic philosophy is that our products should maintain high quality and last for a long time, but that is no longer sufficient as the only argument for sustainability. In today's consumer society, one of the main problems is that we as consumers buy a great many products that we never or rarely use.
WHY THE DESIGN PHASE IS IMPORTANT
80% of our products' environmental impact during their life cycle is determined during the design phase*. We therefore need to change the way we work to create even more sustainable products over time that are designed circularly - to be repaired, easily resold and ultimately recycled when they've done their job.
*Source: EU Eco Design Directive
OUR GOAL 2030
We have set a goal that before 2030 all our products can be reused or recycled. As a first step, we are now developing new design guidelines that will be implemented in 2024. We have also started a number of initiatives to develop our design process, which you can read more about below.
CIRCULAR DESIGN
Another important topic that currently has the highest priority is how we can design our products so that they can be disassembled at the end of their product life cycle, thus enabling the recycling or reuse of all components. In this area, we take help from experts from Stena Recycling.
Read about our three initiatives below:
Silva Curiosity Lab, Silva Terra and reduce the use of batteries.
WHY THE DESIGN PHASE IS IMPORTANT
80% of our products' environmental impact during their life cycle is determined during the design phase*. We therefore need to change the way we work to create even more sustainable products over time that are designed circularly - to be repaired, easily resold and ultimately recycled when they've done their job.
*Source: EU Eco Design Directive
OUR GOAL 2030
We have set a goal that before 2030 all our products can be reused or recycled. As a first step, we are now developing new design guidelines that will be implemented in 2024. We have also started a number of initiatives to develop our design process, which you can read more about below.
CIRCULAR DESIGN
Another important topic that currently has the highest priority is how we can design our products so that they can be disassembled at the end of their product life cycle, thus enabling the recycling or reuse of all components. In this area, we take help from experts from Stena Recycling.
Read about our three initiatives below:
Silva Curiosity Lab, Silva Terra and reduce the use of batteries.
SILVA "CURIOSITY LAB"
In 2022, we started the Silva Curiosity Lab. The aim was to generate ideas that accelerate the transition to more sustainable products and find new solutions to various problems throughout the entire product life cycle. Here Silva's design team gathers together with selected people from other departments within Silva, as well as external experts, to investigate various aspects of circular design, alternative business models, and generate new ideas about what we should and shouldn't do.
One area that we are currently investigating through the Curiosity Lab is how we can best develop digital product passports (DPP) which will soon be a legal requirement within the EU and which will give you as a consumer better insight into the origin and content of products. The DPP is part of "Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation" ( ESPR ) and one of the key measures under the EU Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP ).
Read more here:
Ordinance on ecodesign for sustainable products
SILVA TERRA
A project launched as a first step on the road to circular design is Terra - our currently most sustainable products, made from recycled materials. Terra means "earth" in Latin and products with the name Terra are more sustainable and developed to have less environmental impact. The first products in the Terra series were launched in 2022, the Terra Scout headlamp series and the waterproof Terra Dry Bags. In the spring of 2023, two new product categories were released in the Terra family. The Terra Rain Covers and the Terra Expedition S, Terra Ranger S and Terra Ranger SL compasses.
A material used in the headlamps and compasses is Trifilion Revo41, where recycled polypropylene is mixed with natural fiber from hemp and which thus has a lower CO2 footprint compared to conventional plastic materials. We have also chosen not to dye all materials in these series and we have removed any unnecessary details that would increase the negative impression of the product. Of course, we do not want to limit this to individual product lines. Our endeavor is to take the insights and knowledge we gained through Terra and implement it throughout our product portfolio.
REDUCE THE USE OF DISPOSABLE BATTERIES
In 2019, we launched headlamps with "hybrid functionality". This means that the headlamps can be used with either alkaline disposable batteries or with rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries. Then we carried out a comparative LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) on headlamps where we made a number of assumptions about the use of a headlamp over a 10-year period. Here, the results showed that with rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries, CO2 emissions are 63% lower during the lifetime of a headlamp compared to disposable batteries.
This meant that in 2022 we made a decision to stop selling alkaline disposable batteries with our headlamps and from autumn 2024 this will be implemented in the entire range.
THERE IS ALWAYS MORE TO DISCOVER
Silva's sustainability efforts begin in the design department. We design products that enable people to discover and enjoy nature even more.
Our greatest opportunity to influence — and yet our biggest challenge — is to collaborate with our suppliers and set visions, and goals, and to do follow-ups that contribute to creating positive ch...
We want our sustainability efforts to extend far beyond our company and create positive impacts on people and nature.
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