While global trends such as urbanization, globalisation, and technological innovation have brought remarkable evolutionary advancements for the human race, they have also caused us to disconnect from the natural beauty of our world.
To live a more sustainable lifestyle, we need to reconnect with nature. Scandinavian breathtaking landscapes provide unique opportunities to do so. There are countless isolated places where you can camp and stare at the stars. If you get lucky, depending on the period of the year, you may be bathed by northern lights.
The ‘Right to Roam‘ in Nordic countries allows people – foreigners as well as locals – to hike and camp more or less freely in the woods and in the mountains, regardless of land ownership. Although these countries tend to be expensive destinations, ‘free access to nature’ gives you the opportunity to visit them while saving on accommodation.
To make your stay in nature a success, you only need to get the right outdoor gear. Fortunately, deuter have joined the Sustainable Tour. German backpacks and sleeping bag specialists have provided all the necessary equipment to make the Sustainable Tour, in fact, as sustainable as possible when passing through the Nordic countries.
However, the sustainability of the brand is not only linked to the access to nature that they provide to their users. The backpack pioneer incorporates sustainability criteria into all its daily business practices, and it is embedded in the considerations of its employees worldwide. For years already it has worked on coming up with innovative product solutions. One of these is the UP series, where “UP” stands for upcycling. The backpacks in the UP series are all made in a very resource-efficient way. The fabrics used are made entirely from recycled PET bottles. With each day pack using between 35 and 40 PET bottles. This results in a substantial reduction in both the water and crude oil used in their manufacture.
And like all new deuter products since 2020, the UP series is also PFC free, and is manufactured according to the bluesign® standard. The bluesign® standard is the world’s strictest standard for environmental protection, occupational safety and consumer protection in the textile industry. deuter has been a bluesign® system partner since 2008.
Unlike most eco-labels, the bluesign® standard doesn’t just check the end product for harmful substances or chemical residue, it examines the manufacturing processes for all the individual components that make up a product. For instance, they test chemical substances for the effect they have on workers in the textile factories, and on the environment, and on the end product. deuter particularly likes the holistic view it takes – from selection of materials, to packaging guidelines, through to the repairs carried out on products. It’s about taking accountability for the entire supply chain.
As a brand, deuter is committed to a responsible and sustainable approach to people, the environment and resources. Any brand can sign up to the bluesign® standard if they are willing to adopt the system and make products in a more sustainable way. This includes adhering to bluesign® ‘black limits’ (threshold limits for chemical substances) for chemicals contained in dyes for example, and to consumer safety limits. There are over 800 banned substances listed, with the list updated on a yearly basis and open to public scrutiny.
A product can only be certified as a ‘bluesign® product’ if a minimum of 90% of the fabric used, and for backpacks, 20% of the components used are bluesign® approved. bluesign® approved covers all the various elements of a product like the fabrics, the yarn, or zippers.
Because the new deuter UP backpacks are bluesign® products, and therefore meet all the criteria of the bluesign® standard, DAN Europe Ambassadors Alana Alvarez and Manuel Bustelo can count on the fact that:
- they are made with as few pollutants as possible
- they are not made using environmentally harmful substances
- they are not harmful to human health
- controls and limits were upheld for the use of chemicals
The backpacks from the UP series – UP Seoul, UP Stockholm and UP Sydney – are designed for active people living an urban lifestyle who want a sustainably made backpack and who like to keep their gear well organized. The deuter UP Stockholm and UP Sydney both have 22 liters’ capacity. The deuter UP Seoul has 16 liters’ capacity and can be expanded by 10 liters. All three models come in a unisex fit and are available in 6 different colors.
So, it’s clear that the new UP series of urban day packs from deuter is a perfect fit for the Sustainable Tour mission.
Make do & mend – deuter’s repair service – saving resources one stitch at a time
However well you look after a product, at some stage, it will start to show signs of wear and tear. It’s very clear to deuter that mending is better than throwing away. And that’s not just because Eugen and Özlem, from the deuter repairs department, are real miracle workers at stitching patches, replacing zippers and sewing on straps, or even carrying out specific repairs that customers have requested. It’s because the lifetime repair service deuter provides also increases the lifespan of a product, which in turn saves resources. But it’s a practice that goes back a long way at deuter – they’ve been carrying out specialist repairs at their headquarters in Gersthofen for over 120 years. In 2020, repairs were carried out on 2,185 products in Germany alone, and worldwide, that figure rises to 3,307.
The deuter promise – worldwide, lifelong repairs
deuter wants to act as a lifelong partner to its customers, and naturally hopes they can enjoy their favorite items for as long as possible. That’s why deuter provides a two-year warranty from the date of purchase for each of its products – over and above the statutory warranty obligations through specialist retailers.
The warranty can be used in any country in which consumers have purchased their authorized deuter product. Within the two-year warranty period, deuter will repair or replace any product with defects caused by material or manufacturing flaws, free of charge. Once the warranty period has passed, deuter will repair damaged products for a small fee.
Eugen and Özlem are skilled at figuring out creative solutions for almost any repair job. It’s their own way of contributing to a more sustainable system through their everyday work. Just like the DAN Europe Sustainable Tour 2021 with deuter’s UP day packs, touring Europe.
For more information visit deuter.com