Sustainability

ECO-CYCLE

ECO-CYCLE FOR A BETTER, MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

For some considerable time now, we at DSM have been working on many ways to reduce our carbon footprint and be more socially responsible for our world.

We have created “Eco-Cycle,” which is our internal project name for all improvements and ideas relating to the environment. We have formed an internal focus group to regularly discuss possible improvements and we welcome any ideas from both employees and customers.

The goal of the focus group is to help DSM become carbon neutral and protect the environment we live in, on both a local and international level. Some of our developments and upcoming projects can be seen below.

We are delighted to announce a major change in the production of all our ropes using Dyneema® fibre. We have decided to change all Kingfisher Yacht Ropes lines to the new bio-based Dyneema® fibres. While the fibre’s feedstock will be transitioned from conventional (fossil fuel) to a renewable source via mass balancing, the performance & specifications will remain unchanged. For every 1 tonne of bio-based Dyneema® purchased, 5 tonnes of CO2 emissions are avoided when compared to standard Dyneema® fibres. This is fantastic news and an excellent development from our friends at DSM Protective Materials.

Enviro-Line Ropes & Webbings

We are now offering a range of ropes called “EnviroLine”. We have developed rope and webbing products produced with rPET (recycled Polyester) yarns. Over the past few years we have tested many products produced with rPET fibres but, until recently, we had not found a yarn that performed to the quality level that we expect from a Kingfisher Yacht Ropes product. In fact, the initial products that were produced and tested would, despite their environmentally friendly properties, actually be worse for the environment, as they would need to be replaced much sooner than our standard products. As technology has advanced, it is now possible to produce a product that not only uses an environmentally friendly fibre but also continues to be good for the environment in longevity and lifetime application.

Plastic Rope Reels

We encourage our customers to save or return our plastic rope reels. Since the start of this project, we have either re-used (after full cleaning) or recycled many thousands of our reels, significantly reducing our consumption of new reel purchases. We encourage all our customers to take part in the scheme and, even when this is not possible, our reels are fully recyclable.

Packaging Materials

We currently re-use or recycle 95% of our incoming packaging materials. All plastic packaging materials are re-used as packaging for our outgoing parcels and all unusable cardboard is collected and sent to a local recycling mill.

Reusable Water Bottles

In partnership with Kleen Kanteen we purchased Kingfisher Yacht Ropes branded water bottles (designed to replace single use plastics) for use by our team, customers, sponsored sailors, and competition winners. We have also removed all single use plastic cups from our locations.

What have we brought you from our Eco-Cycle projects so far?

All our trade price lists are now printed on FSC stock by an FSC approved printer. The FSC logo on our brochures guarantees that the trees that are harvested are replaced or allowed to regenerate naturally. All FSC certified forests are managed with consideration for people, wildlife, and the environment.