The 2025 Contribute Report highlights the main applications of textile-to-textile recycling, mono-material design and over 7,000 products that have been given a second life.
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Oberalp launches circularly designed products on its journey to Net Zero
In 2025, Oberalp focused a significant portion of its efforts on textile-to-textile recycling and single-material design, applied to commercial products. To mark Salewa’s 90th anniversary, the brand launched a limited-edition product made from 100% recycled polyester fabric, 51% of which came from textile-to-textile recycling. LaMunt also introduced fleece garments made from 100% polyester fabrics and a reduced number of mixed-material components, to facilitate future sorting and recycling operations.
Oberalp and circularity: reducing the impact of products
Oberalp has always invested in circularity, as the products it distributes account for the largest share of the Group’s measured environmental impact. Corporate Carbon Footprint surveys for 2024 and 2025 revealed that over 80% of the impact is related to its own products, with fabric processing accounting for a particularly significant share.
Textile-to-textile recycling: keeping materials in the textile system
Textile-to-textile recycling uses materials from end-of-life textile products to produce fibers for new garments. Unlike recycled polyester, which is obtained from other waste streams such as plastic bottles, this process aims to keep textile materials within the textile system. Its wider adoption, however, depends on the availability of effective collection and sorting systems, the ability to maintain the quality of the materials used, and adequate recycling capacity.
Single-material design for easy recycling
Monomaterial design approaches the circularity challenge from a different perspective. By reducing the number of materials used in a fabric or product, it’s easier to sort and recycle at the end of its life cycle.
The LaMunt brand has applied this principle to a selection of fleece garments, using 100% polyester fabrics and eliminating unnecessary components made of other materials. Some zippers and trims still need to be removed before recycling, as the polyester alternatives did not meet the required performance standards. Furthermore, given that adequate textile collection and recycling systems are not yet widespread, Oberalp defines these products as designed with circularity in mind, rather than as fully circular or fully recyclable.
Repair, reconditioning and second life of products
For the Group, “circularity” also means keeping products in use for as long as possible. Among the brands distributed, repair, resoling, reconditioning, resale, and spare parts supply services continued to grow in 2025. Repair volumes increased by 19%, while over 7,000 products have received a second life since 2023.
Product lifecycle extension includes Dynafit’s “Care & Repair” service, Salewa’s “Second Life” program, repair patches from Dynafit, Wild Country, and LaMunt, Evolv’s climbing shoe resoling service, as well as Salewa and Wild Country products designed for easy maintenance, disassembly, and component replacement.
“Circularity will not be achieved through a single material innovation or a single product. It requires rethinking how products are designed, used, and repaired, and how their materials can ultimately be recovered at the end of their lifespan. In 2025, we took important concrete steps, while also gaining a greater awareness of the technical and systemic limitations that still exist,” said Ruth Oberrauch, President of the Oberalp Group.
The 2025 Contribute Report and the Path to Net Zero
The “Contribute Report 2025” therefore illustrates how these measures contribute to Oberalp’s journey towards its Net Zero goal. Reducing material complexity, increasing the use of recycled and durable elements, and extending product lifespans are central to the Group’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.
In 2025, Oberalp also improved the quality and availability of product data, further automated its life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon accounting processes, and took a formal step towards establishing evidence-based targets for its Net Zero 2050 strategy.
In addition to circularity and climate action, the Report addresses Oberalp’s continued integration of human rights due diligence into its operations and supplier relationships, including collaboration with manufacturing facilities and external stakeholders in key sourcing countries.
- The report refers to GRI standards and is available online
- For further information, please contact contribute@oberalp.com
