Small streams make great rivers.
Despite being a very small company compared to many of our peers in the footwear industry, setting a good example in terms taking responsibility is incredibly important for us as an organization. This is something we've felt ever since the founding of our company back in 2019. Some of the steps we’ve taken towards becoming a more sustainable brand over the past seasons have been highlighted below:
- A number of both short- and long-term sustainability goals was set in 2023, including 1) cutting the amount of greenhouse gas emissions FUBUKI is directly responsible for in half by 2028, 2) reaching net zero by 2026 (through certified offsetting), and 3) reduce the amount of waste produced in the developing/manufacturing of our products by 75% by 2028.
- We keep working closely with our suppliers and manufacturing partners to ensure all of our materials are being sourced responsibly and that our factories always strive to adopt the most energy-efficient/waste minimizing production techniques.
- We continue to actively seek the most eco-friendly packaging solutions on the market. A full (100%) switch to FSC-certified paper and cardboard packaging was made in 2024.
- Eliminating the use of unnecessary chemicals, including PFCs, in our products was a decision we took early on despite the higher production costs that followed with it.
- To minimize the distance our products need to travel before reaching their end users, we are now (2024) opening up a North American warehouse/fulfillment centre. This will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the products sold via fubukiboots.com.
- Moreover, we continue to explore new transportation options/distribution processes so as to minimize the emissions associated with the shipping of our products.
- A new partnership for social and environmental auditing of our factories will be fully entered during 2025, partly to make sure our Supplier Code of Conduct is being respected and followed, partly to make sure we don’t fail to meet internationally recognized standards on things such as labor conditions and water usage. FUBUKI currently works with two factories - primarily.
- Looking for ways to extend the lifecycle of our products is another way in which we’re trying to reduce our overall footprint. Key activities here have been, and will always be, customer feedback collection, material research, and product experimentation. Future product drops will be the result of all the things we’ve learned about our users/products over the past four years. In 2024, we're releasing our third take on the FUBUKI Niseko boot, a product line that is way ahead of its predecessors in terms of lifetime expectancy.
- On the same note, several different ways to make the most out of retired FUBUKI products are still being evaluated. Not only are we investigating ways to recycle our products, but we’re also looking at different ways to help our customers repair them.
At FUBUKI, we believe that creating long-lasting, high-quality products is crucial in order to preserve the environment for future generations of adventurers.