Berghaus is celebrating after success at The Great Outdoors Awards 2016.  Organised by the long-running magazine The Great Outdoors, the awards celebrate the best new developments in outdoor products.  As well as achieving Highly Commended in two categories, Berghaus won the Sustainability award for its ground-breaking MADEKIND initiative, which was launched earlier this year.

MADEKIND is an umbrella programme that Berghaus has developed, to reduce the impact on the environment of its business activities, and it has become a core element of the company’s product development process.

The project is led by Elaine Gardiner, Berghaus’ sustainability manager.

To earn the MADEKIND tag, Berghaus products must meet at least one of three criteria: be made out of a bluesign® approved fabric (Berghaus is the first UK clothing brand to sign up to the bluesign® system); be made using the award winning Colourkind fabric dyeing process; or be made using recycled materials.

Berghaus has placed a particular focus on reducing water use in product manufacture, recognising the increasing pressure that is being put on this limited resource by growing populations and industrialisation.  This was highlighted by the World Economic Forum which put water scarcity at the top of its global risk ranking for 2015.  Colourkind uses 89% less water than standard fabric dyeing techniques and Berghaus has already saved several million litres of water through the process.

The Great Outdoor Awards’ jury of experts praised Berghaus MADEKIND for being a fully rounded and well thought through initiative and one which represented a significant step by the brand.