Jun 05 2024 // Latest News
Eco-Cycle Q&A
Eco-Cycle is a project created by Kingfisher Yacht Ropes which gives our team a focus on ways we can help our planet. We have carried out a Q&A with Group Partner, Nigel Saddington which explains a little more about our thoughts and processes that in our own way help to protect the environment.
Q, Why Eco-Cycle and what does it mean ?
A, It is called Eco-Cycle because we believe in the full life cycle of a product, not just a small part of the circle. Finding ways to improve our products and processes are far more important to us as a company than promoting something we don’t believe completes the circle. We really dislike the “Green washing” type approach, where companies talk about an environmental gain in a certain area. This is a marketing ploy, and you need to look at the full life span of a product from inception to the end to really know the true environmental impact it has. There are many products on the market that are marketed as environmentally friendly, but when you look into the full life cycle of the product, they are actually worse for the environment than an equivalent product that is not classed as “environmentally friendly”
Q, Please can you explain how something can be worse for the environment, when it is promoted as an eco-type of product ?
A, I can try. There are many products from ourselves and other rope manufacturers that are actually evolving in a way that is better for the environment, but during our tests we don’t believe that all products are really helping, despite the marketing suggesting that they are. For example, you can have a recycled fibre which sounds amazing, but you need study past the headline grabbing part and start from the beginning of the process or the start of the circle. Take in to consideration how the bottles are delivered to the yarn manufacturer, what the carbon footprint is to collect and transport these to the them, and what energy is used in these factories to change the plastic bottles from their current form, to a yarn that ropes can be made from. I don’t believe these products currently complete or fill enough of the circle to be something we want to promote and market. We are however constantly monitoring the processes, as at some point I am sure the process and finished products will be improved.
Q, So how is Eco-Cycle helping Kingfisher Yacht Ropes improve lifespan and reduce environmental impact ?
A, Eco-Cycle has really helped our team over the years to think of ways to improve our products, our packaging, and our processes so that our impact is reduced. This is done by internal discussions, lots of research, and conversations with suppliers, customers, and industry experts. Together this gives us a strategy to work from, our Eco-Cycle programme is ever-changing, we cannot stand still as there are always more areas to improve on, and almost daily we are making changes to be better.
Q, Are you able to name some examples of what Eco-Cycle has created and improved for Kingfisher Yacht Ropes ?
A, Yes, there are too many to talk about but some things I am really proud that Eco-Cycle have achieved are:
Our reels are made from plastic, and although they are fully recyclable we wanted to go one better than recycling, so we encourage our customers to return empty spools to us, so we can RE-USE these reels. Recycling is fantastic but re-using something is even better. Some of our spools have been reused over 10 times which has significantly reduced the need to produce new spools.
We really believe in creating a high-quality product that last a long time, the longer a product can last on board has a significant impact on its environmental impact. This comes from a combination of using high quality fibres, and making sure the construction is optimised to create longer lasting lines. Along with being better for the environment, it is better for the value for money. If we can produce a product which lasts longer, this reduces the need for replacements which in turn saves money.
We use Bio-based Dyneema® on all our lines produced with Dyneema® fibre. This mass balance approach to the production of the fibres significantly reduces the impact of the production of Dyneema® without altering the performance of the finished product.
We re-use the majority of our plastic and carboard packaging that arrives with our purchases. Rather than placing these in our recycling bins, we try our best to re-use it when dispatching our parcels. We can see the impact on this approach by a significant reduction in purchasing of new packaging materials.