British outdoor and trail running brand Rab (owned by Equip Outdoor Technologies) is increasing transparency around corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications with the launch of Material Facts.
The company notes that the Material Facts programme aims to lead the way by taking into account consumers’ and retailers’ demands for accurate and honest sustainability claims about their products.
With Material Facts, Rab is supporting the European Outdoor Group’s (EOG) Sustainability Data Exchange Project. This project was conceived to address the need for alignment on product sustainability attribute communication between brands and retailers. It aims to explore and find approaches to address multiple and diverse sustainability standards requests.
The programme has been launched to the brand’s retail partners and will be rolled out to consumers in autumn/winter 2023. With its launch, Rab is calling on retailers, other brands and industry stakeholders to action, and support the EOG’s Sustainability Data Exchange Project.
Material Facts will be available for every apparel product, and focus on disclosing (by % weight) accurate recycled material content, fluorocarbon status and production location, with more criteria to be added in the future.
As Rab moves towards a goal of net zero emissions by 2030, it adds that it is… ‘making incremental improvements to their products. Not simply considering face fabric, but getting into the details of sewing thread and trims. Material Facts will communicate these marginal gains in an open, honest, and easy-to-understand format.’
Material Facts information will be available on Rab’s website and can be reached through a QR code printed on every product’s hangtag, as well as provided to retailers for their own channels.
www.rab.equipment
www.equipuk.com
