Sustainable Sourcing

 

WAYKS Sustainability Aylaan MoodyssonOur Commitment:

At WAYKS we commit to take effective actions to significantly and continuously reduce the social and environmental impact of all our products.

Sustainable sourcing and production are part of the foundation of our business.

Fitness For Purpose And Product Lifetime

No matter how much effort you put into sourcing sustainable materials, every product consumes resources in its production and distribution. Therefore, WAYKS creates products that serve a clear purpose for a long time.

We only use high-quality materials and strive for impeccable craftsmanship. We work with a well-respected manufacturer, who is known for outstanding production quality.

 

Versatile Products Support Sustainability

We want you to get the most out of our products. The WAYKS ONE combines several bags in just one product. 

By offering versatile functions we can save resource and you can save space in your closet and funds in your bank account:

  • The Day Pack: A Pack for your daily commute
  • The Travel Backpack: For your weekend get-away
  • The Cube (Camera and Cooler Bag): For a day in the outdoors
  • The Light Day Pack, the lightest and smallest version, for whenever you just want to take the essentials
WAYKS Travel Backpack Nathalie Francois

    Treat Workers Right

    Throughout the development of the WAYKS ONE, we visited our production facility in North Vietnam several times. We have since established a trusting relationship with the German factory owner, the managers, and also their team.

    This has allowed us to get first-hand impressions of their fair workers’ treatment and high Occupational Health & Safety standards.

    Our manufacturer also collaborates with the Fair Wear Foundation. The Fair Wear Foundation works with factories to verify and improve their workplace conditions.

    WAYKS Sample Room Team
    WAYKS Sample Room Team

    Don't Make A Mess

    Throughout the fashion and accessories industry, dyes and chemicals are applied to improve material finish and feel, colour fastness, durability and water resistance. Unfortunately they can also pose a threat to the environment and humans — both workers and end-consumers.

    To reduce the environmental effects of our production, we chose a manufacturer, who is producing for bluesign® system partners. The majority of our materials are also sourced from bluesign® system partners.

    bluesign® is a Swiss organisation, which certifies and assists companies throughout the fashion industry's supply chain, helping them to reduce their environmental impact by

    • Improving resource productivity
    • Ensuring consumer safety
    • Reducing water emissions
    • Decreasing air emissions

    Recycled Material

    Backpacks are usually made from Nylon or Polyester (PET) based fabrics. Most commonly these yarns are derived from virgin material, that is: Oil.

    An increasing amount of fabric suppliers have started introducing fabrications derived from recycled material, especially for Polyester fabrics. For this, used plastic bottles are collected, shredded, cleaned, melted, formed into pallets, spun into yarn, and then woven into fabrics.

    This both saves lots of energy (and CO2) compared to fabrics made from virgin material and also helps reducing plastic waste.

    For the WAYKS ONE and its accessories, we are using recycled polyester in these components:

    • Main outside fabric: 91% recycled PET
    • Main lining fabric of the Day Pack: 100% recycled PET
    • Mat Strap: 100% recycled PET
    • YKK Natulon® zippers (all zippers except the PU coated zippers of the two back pockets): Partly made from recycled PET

    PFC-free Water Repellency Treatment

    Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are used as a water-repellency treatment in many outdoor products, such as jackets, tents and backpacks. Due to their excellent performance characteristics they have been used for decades by major outdoor brands.

    Unfortunately, they are deemed harmful for the environment and humans. Through leakages in the production process or washing the final product, PFCs can make their way into natural waterways and eventually into your food.

    Many outdoor brands still use water repellency treatments containing PFCs for their products. However, well-performing PFC-free alternatives are available. Most leading brands have committed to phase out PFC over next years. At WAYKS, we do not source any materials with PFC finishing.

    Limitations

    As WAYKS is a small brand just starting out, our direct insights into our supply chain are not all-encompassing. The WAYKS ONE is complex to produce, with materials sourced from several different suppliers. Whilst we assess all products, we have not yet been able to visit and inspect each individual factory in person.

    Therefore, we carefully select only reputable suppliers, who take their social and environmental responsibility serious. We prefer suppliers who can provide acknowledged certifications, such as bluesign®.

    We prioritise manufacturers, who can demonstrate long-standing business relationships with established, sustainability-oriented brands, such as Patagonia or Vaude. Those brands have both resources and standing to hold suppliers accountable to meet their social and environmental standards. They also assist them to continuously reduce their harmful impact in those areas.

    We have ambitious goals for the future. We aim to continuously increase the share of recycled materials in our products. Eventually, we want to work with 100% recycled materials only and sell products that can easily be recycled at the end of their lifetime.

    We want to gain deeper insights into our supply chain to continuously improve the sustainability of our products.

    We are convinced that the WAYKS ONE is already among the most sustainably made backpacks you can get on the market. We are dedicated to make WAYKS more sustainable with every new product release.