The Green Shape Environmental Standard—A Success Story

For us, responsibility is an integral part of entrepreneurship. When we develop outdoor products, we also consider the impact of their production on people and the environment. That’s why we launched Green Shape as our own environmental standard in 2010. It was designed to establish clear requirements for the materials and manufacturing of our products. Later, additional criteria were added, such as repairability and material efficiency. This story shows how Green Shape has evolved—leading up to independent certification in 2026.

Green Shape served as a tool to embed environmental requirements into product development and to evaluate their implementation based on defined criteria.

Textile production requires raw materials, water, and energy. The chemicals used and the treatment of wastewater can also have a negative impact on the environment and human health. Added to this are challenges related to working conditions in the supply chains. For VAUDE, it was therefore clear: We must address the impact of our products and start doing so right from the development stage.

Antje von Dewitz still holds this view today: “As a textile manufacturer, we are part of the problem, but we want to be part of the solution. We are aware that our business activities place a burden on the environment and that our planet’s resources are finite. We accept this responsibility and are constantly working to keep our ecological footprint as small as possible.”

A key milestone in 2010 was the introduction of Green Shape. At the time, this in-house label identified products that met the requirements for materials and manufacturing established by VAUDE.

Green Shape was designed to bring together different material standards into a single evaluation system.

In 2010, we were looking for an overarching evaluation system that would be suitable for the various materials used in our outdoor products. Since 2001, VAUDE had been a system partner of bluesign®, a system with requirements covering, among other things, chemical use and manufacturing processes. But our products weren’t made solely of synthetic fibers: we also used metals and natural materials. We needed appropriate certifications for each of these different components.

VAUDE therefore developed its own evaluation system that incorporated existing textile and environmental standards. It was later designed to also take into account requirements throughout the entire product life cycle. The impetus came from specialty retailers: they wanted a labeling system that would help customers make informed purchasing decisions. Hilke Patzwall, Head of Sustainability Management at VAUDE, played a key role in developing Green Shape from the very beginning.

As early as 2009, the team established the first criteria for the materials used. The goal was to develop a comprehensive rating system for outdoor products.

A challenging task. A comprehensive list of criteria and a rigorous evaluation system were developed. But to do so, many questions had to be answered. Aside from bluesign®, what other meaningful certifications or standards existed for materials and substances? Could problematic chemicals be replaced? And how could manufacturers be successfully involved? When it came to the difficult task of evaluating various natural materials, VAUDE was supported not only by its long-standing partner, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), but also by many retailers in the outdoor and sports sectors.

Developing its own standard took a great deal of time and required ongoing coordination with suppliers, specialty retailers, and the teams within the company.

In the initial development phase, the focus was on the materials and the environmental requirements for their production. The criteria catalog specified which forms of verification were accepted. Internally, VAUDE set annual targets for the percentage of Green Shape products in its collection.

The goal was to establish a chemicals management system as part of the quality management system. To begin with, materials were systematically screened for problematic substances. This revealed differences among suppliers—both in terms of material quality and knowledge of chemicals.

The lesson learned: Testing finished products alone was not enough. The process had to begin with material selection and manufacturing processes.

Substances were identified whose use should be prohibited or restricted by threshold limits. This involved collaboration with bluesign®, among others. The guidelines were documented in lists of restricted substances and further developed based on available knowledge. A Restricted Substance List (RSL) addresses residues in the material or final product; a Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL) regulates the use of chemicals in manufacturing. Manufacturers were required to comply with the respective guidelines.

In doing so, VAUDE shifted part of the control to the beginning of the production process: guidelines for chemical use, requirements for production facilities, and material testing were designed to work in tandem. This does not guarantee that all products are free of every problematic substance. What matters are defined restrictions, threshold limits, and the corresponding documentation.

A particular challenge in the development of Green Shape was the use of fluorinated chemicals. In textile production, poly- and perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), also known as fluorocarbons, are especially problematic. They are not biodegradable, enter the environment via wastewater, and accumulate in the human body through the food chain. They are also suspected of being carcinogenic.

These so-called PFAS have long been used in the outdoor industry for water- and dirt-repellent treatments. Because they hardly break down in the environment, they are also referred to as “forever chemicals.” VAUDE set out early on to replace these substances with alternative solutions.

Since 2010, we have avoided using PFCs—which belong to the PFAS group of substances—in our waterproof membranes. The transition to new waterproofing treatments for outer fabrics proved more challenging. Together with our partners, we developed and tested alternatives that also had to meet the requirements for functionality and durability.

Greenpeace’s Detox campaign put additional pressure on the entire industry. In 2016, VAUDE became the first major outdoor brand to sign the “Greenpeace Detox Commitment.” In doing so, we voluntarily committed to eliminating harmful substances from our supply chain and reporting on our progress.

The transition took place step by step: first with water-repellent clothing, and later with sleeping bags, shoes, and backpacks. Since 2021, we have eliminated the use of PFAS in all our apparel fabrics. Our water- and stain-repellent finish, previously known as Eco Finish, is now called NoPFAS Finish. The finishing chemicals used for this have been verified to contain no PFAS.

The final challenges were waterproof zippers and tents. Here, too, we were able to transition the remaining applications by the 2025 summer collection. After 15 years of development work, the phase-out of PFAS was thus complete: Since the 2025 summer collection, VAUDE has consciously avoided the use of PFAS in all product groups.

Despite this complete elimination, our products may still contain traces or residues of PFAS—for example, due to contamination in water, machinery, or raw materials. That is why we refer to the elimination of PFAS use and do not generally label our products as “PFAS-free.”

As a medium-sized family-owned business, it wasn’t always easy to change the framework conditions on our own, particularly in the supply chain and in textile manufacturing. For a long time, Antje von Dewitz and her colleagues on the executive board had been advocating for a unified approach across the entire industry and for political support. And so it was only natural that VAUDE became a founding member of the German federal government’s “Alliance for Sustainable Textiles” in 2014. “That was a great opportunity to bring about change together,” recalls Antje von Dewitz. For the first time, the German federal government, the textile and apparel industry, retailers, labor unions, and civil society voluntarily pooled their expertise and resources with the goal of better implementing internationally recognized environmental and social standards throughout the entire textile production value chain.

Green Shape also continued to evolve. In 2015, the criteria were expanded beyond material selection to include additional phases: design, material production, manufacturing facilities, use and care, and end-of-life. This brought into focus decisions made long before a product is manufactured.

In 2019, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development introduced the Green Button. This government-administered label combines requirements for companies with requirements for products, taking environmental and social aspects into account. VAUDE participated in its development.

Under the system in place at that time, Green Shape was recognized as proof of compliance with the Green Button’s environmental requirements. This historical recognition should be distinguished from today’s independent Green Shape certification.

For the team, that recognition was a validation of their development work. However, it did not replace independent certification according to today’s Green Shape standard.

For the 2022 summer collection, VAUDE expanded the Green Shape standard at that time to include additional criteria regarding recycled or bio-based materials, repairability, material efficiency, and recyclability. Under today’s independent standard, the required proportion of certified recycled or renewable raw materials is more than 50 percent by weight of the textile raw materials. This figure refers to the textile components, not to the total weight including all non-textile components.

VAUDE developed a repair index for this purpose. It helps the teams assess, right from the design phase, how components can be replaced or damage repaired. For certain bike bags, for example, buckles can be replaced in just a few simple steps. In addition, VAUDE offers a repair service as well as instructions and replacement parts, including through the iFixit platform. Which repairs are possible depends on the specific product and the nature of the damage.

Another key consideration is material consumption. Product designers coordinate the cut and design so that as much of the material used as possible actually ends up in the product. Material efficiency is evaluated in this process. The goal is to minimize waste—not to make every production run completely waste-free.

The end of a product’s life is also taken into account as early as the development stage. Repairability and maximizing the product’s useful life are key considerations here. When a product can no longer be used, its actual recyclability depends, among other things, on its material composition, the separability of its components, and the available collection and recycling processes.

Hilke Patzwall described the approach as follows: “We establish criteria early in the product development phase to guide the selection of materials and processing technologies, because products made from materials that are as homogeneous as possible and can be easily separated from one another are ideal for material recycling.”

The teams evaluate materials in terms of their recyclability and the existing infrastructure. For materials that are difficult to recycle—such as spandex or certain polyurethane applications—they assess whether these are necessary for the product’s function and whether their proportion can be reduced. However, such design criteria do not mean that every Green Shape product can currently be recycled completely or on a large scale.

VAUDE began exploring alternatives to virgin fossil-based raw materials early on. Depending on the product, the company has used materials such as recycled polyester and polyamide, as well as bio-based materials. The specific raw materials used in each product and their respective proportions are listed on the corresponding product page.

Various recycling processes were also tested. One example is polyamide, in the production of which raw materials from the chemical recycling of scrap tires are allocated using a mass balance method.

In a mass balance method, alternative and conventional raw materials are processed together in the production system. The alternative portion is allocated to specific material quantities determined by calculation. This does not imply that the allocated portion is physically present in exactly that amount in the individual product.

In September 2026, VAUDE became the first brand to successfully complete this process. The independent certification body Control Union Certifications Germany conducted the first certification. 80 percent of the products in our Fall/Winter 2026 collection are certified according to the Green Shape Standard and bear the new label. This information refers to this collection and does not apply to all VAUDE products.

“The fact that we are now the first brand to successfully complete the independent certification process is a logical next step for us,” says Antje von Dewitz, CEO of VAUDE.

Green Shape thus stands for products that meet defined environmental requirements and have been certified according to the independent standard. The criteria cover the product life cycle from design and material selection through manufacturing and use to the end of the product’s life. This includes requirements for chemical management, material efficiency, reparability, and recyclability. This does not imply a blanket statement that a product is “environmentally friendly” in every respect or has no environmental impact.

Independent certification should be distinguished from accreditation. The program review for accreditation eligibility by the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS) is still ongoing. According to the latest joint press release, confirmation of accreditation eligibility has not yet been received.

Green Shape focuses on environmental criteria. Basic human rights due diligence requirements are assessed prior to certification; however, the environmental label is not a comprehensive certification of fair working conditions.

The next step is open to the entire industry: Other brands can also have their products independently certified according to the Green Shape standard. What began as a company-specific standard has thus evolved into a certification system whose requirements can be applied beyond VAUDE.

You can find out more about our certified Green Shape products Green Shape products, and if you want to dive even deeper into how our environmental standard works in detail and what criteria we take into account, click on our Sustainability Report.

You can find out more about the Green Shape label on the Green Shape website.