The apparel industry is known for its negative impact on our environment and climate. For this reason, we at Equip My Horse see it as our responsibility to make our business as sustainable as possible. However, positive change towards a less disruptive impact on nature and climate can only be constantly created in the apparel industry if other brands are equally dedicated to this issue. Sporting goods are generally subject to even higher resilience requirements than products for the pure fashion industry. Therefore, we hope that more and more strategies will be made possible for us in the future that will lead to sustainability becoming more feasible in the equestrian industry as well.

 

At Equip My Horse, we have developed guidelines for more sustainable practices that cover the entire supply chain, from the production of samples to packaging and delivery to the end consumer. We are always very keen to make our actions as sustainable as possible and to adapt the latest efforts. Nevertheless, we are aware that there are companies that invest even more capital in sustainability.

 

Design:

Our products are kept in muted colors so that they are 1. timeless and thus wearable until worn out, and 2. can be produced in a much less harmful way than flashier colors that cannot be produced without a particularly toxic chemical compound.

 

Function:

Our products are designed to provide all the functions you could want in a barn environment.

 

Quality of materials:

We place the higher quality texture (e.g. stretch, feel or comfort) and especially longevity of materials over a more sustainable, but not as snug fitting and less durable material. Because the reverse conclusion would be that a faster wear or a worse wearing comfort would lead to more frequent purchases or dissatisfied customers, which does not make our business more sustainable. Our demands follow the guiding principle of very high quality, functionality combined with timeless and elegant design. We are looking forward to offer our customers in the long term future with new development and perfection of materials and ingredients even more sustainable fashion, which close the cycle of clothing.

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Office:

Our office management is designed for sustainability. For example, we separate waste properly, always use recycled paper and use as little energy and as many energy-saving measures as possible. We work to some extent in a home office, which is advantageous both for employees and for saving emissions when traveling.

 

Production:

We work in close cooperation with our producers and suppliers and therefore take great care not to order superfluous sample parts. The sample part should already be produced as optimally as possible at the beginning, so that there must be at most an improved pre-production sample. This also saves enormous CO2 emissions and material. In this we invest much more working time than if we would have unnecessarily many samples sent to us.

 

Transportation:

We produce for the most part in Asia, since the access for us as a start-up and the given possibilities for the individualization of our products is currently most feasible there. In order to act more sustainably, we have found suppliers for our producers in their immediate vicinity, which enable our quality requirements as well as the design-functional feasibility, which is needed for durable products. This saves transport routes within production, which among other things reduces CO 2 emissions for delivery routes. In addition, we prefer to have our large orders transported by ship and train, which means significantly less CO2 impact on our environment.

 

Packing:

Our products are individually checked for quality after arriving at our warehouse. Then they are packed in such a way that they will not be damaged during transportation. Therefore, our products are packaged in waterproof "zip bags" for shipment to the end customer before being ready for shipment in a recyclable carton that has been treated without toxic lamination or prints. Our high-quality zip bags are not the typical poly bags that get ripped open and thrown away. They are ideal as everyday packaging of e.g. dirty laundry on trips, small notes or other smaller things. In this way, our customers give the outer packaging a second life and ensure more sustainability themselves.

 

Travel:

Equip My Horse conducts all meetings with producers, suppliers and business partners online. This means that emissions for travel by car only occur at trade fairs that are chosen in the immediate vicinity. We avoid traveling to other countries or by air. This saves CO2 emissions and protects our environment.

 

Returns:

It is a matter of course for our customers to be aware of the urgency of the need for the products before buying them and therefore, in the best case, not to return them. If, however, a return is necessary, the costs for sending the return are to be borne by the customer. Hereby we want to increase the inhibition to return products, as this causes enormous amounts of packaging waste and CO2 emissions.

 

Sale:

We have deliberately decided against common sale promotions (e.g. Black Friday, Summer Sale, Winter Sale etc.). The only discounts we give on our products are through selected infuencer collaborations. We want to make a statement against fast fashion and the environmentally unsustainable sale routine. We were shocked to find out that even the sustainable equestrian brands go along with these regular sale promotions. After all, sale promotions of more than 20% are not sustainable in any way, as they result in exactly one thing: People buy products they often don't need. Customers are just waiting for discount promotions and so the value and uniqueness of the products is unnecessarily degraded, which creates a high incentive to buy. That's why it's so popular with both consumers and brands. However, we want customers to wear our products out of conviction and genuine need and not because they were just planned and time foreseeable cheaper and thereby bought clothes that are not needed.

 

Love your Products!

By taking proper care of their products, our customers ensure that the products last as long as possible. The individual care instructions can be found on the respective product page in our online store and on the item itself on the care label. We have a few tips on how to make our products live even longer product and extend their value:

 

1. Our equestrian products should always be washed and cared for according to instructions.Our products should not be washed with fabric softener or bleaching detergents (this includes solid or full detergents). Instead, a color or, even better, mild detergent is recommended, as well as a hygiene detergent for extra thorough disinfection of the usually sweaty riding clothes.

2. The less often textile products are washed, the longer they last. It is therefore advisable not to wash the garments after every riding session and instead to air them out regularly to extend the washing intervals.

3. The use of a dryer should be strongly avoided for materials with a high nylon or stretch content. In general, the use of a dryer makes textiles age faster, as there is a lot of mechanical friction combined with heat.

4. Ironing also leads to faster aging of materials for this reason and is usually not necessary for stretchy materials.

5. Attention pointed fingernails - we love to have healthy and long nails. However, the longer the nails, the more careful we need to be with our garments. Especially with gloves, it is therefore recommended to order one size larger with long nails. With stretchy clothing it is especially important to put on riding leggings or tops with the fingertips and not with the nails. Because if punctual with sharp objects, stitches are exercised, the quality can still be so good. No comparable material can withstand such stress.

6. In this course, it is recommended for our customer to take rather the larger size, if she is between two sizes. Because the less the material is stressed by severe overstretching, the longer it will last.

7. Riding leggings are made for optimal hold in the saddle and offer reliable grip. The more they are strained by influences outside the saddle, the faster they wear out. It is therefore recommended to sit as little as possible on rough surfaces (eg. rough wooden bench).

8. It is natural for our customers to be aware of the urgency of the need for the products before purchasing them and therefore, in the optimal case, not to return them.

9. Our high quality zip bags, in which our products are delivered, are not the typical poly bags that are torn open and thrown away. They are ideal for everyday packaging of e.g. dirty laundry on trips, small notes or other smaller things. In this way, our customers give the outer packaging a second life and ensure greater sustainability themselves.
   
   With all the sustainability efforts we should not forget with fun and joy to go to the stable and enjoy the time with our darling! <3