BETTER WITH EACH DESIGN
SUSTAINABLE SOURCING
We carefully consider the materials that go into Ruffwear products for durability, responsible production, and performance. An increasing portion of our materials are bluesign® approved, produced by suppliers that have met the criteria for bluesign® certification which include the highest standards for consumers, workers, and the environment. Our rubber toys are made from natural rubber, a renewable resource that when responsibly grown and harvested has low impact on the environment and low risk of contamination with hazardous chemicals more commonly associated with petroleum-based rubbers and plastics.
REDUCING WASTE
In 2016, we committed to a supply chain initiative of leaner and more agile manufacturing, which we called Project V (“V” for velocity, variability, and visibility). With the help of our key factory partner, Shilla, we achieved as low as a 30-day lead time from purchase order to shipment of some of our most popular styles. This practice, which we still employ today in products like our harnesses, leashes and collars, allows us to respond more swiftly to market demand and produce only what is needed.
CONSCIOUS DESIGN
In 2022, we implemented a new practice into our product design & development process of using the Higg Product Tools to model the environmental impact of our customized materials and products. Now when we go to redesign a product, we know exactly what impact numbers we have to beat. An example of this data-driven practice is the new design of the Front Range Harness™ which reduced the carbon footprint of manufacturing by 11% and 8% (solid color and print, respectively) over the previous design.
“ Our journey of accountability is inextricable from our purpose. Holding ourselves and each other accountable to our work for the brand and, by extension, for the planet is rooted in our ‘why’ of unleashing possibility for dogs and their humans. ”
Brandan, President at RuffwearCLIMATE ACTION PLAN
CLIMATE NEUTRAL BY 2027
We're working to balance our cradle-to-customer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with an equivalent reduction of emissions avoided or removed.
ACHIEVE SCIENCE-BASED TARGETS (SBT) BY 2029
Our goal is to achieve a 63% reduction of absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions and a 52% reduction of scope3 GHG emissions per dollar of gross profit by 2029 from a 2019 base year.
CLIMATE POSITIVE BY 2030
We strive to remove more greenhouse gas emissions than we emit and work toward systemic change that preserves natural climate solutions, builds climate-resilient communities, and accelerates the transition to renewable energy.
What We've Achieved
PFAS-FREE BY 2024
We hit our internal deadline to cease all manufacturing with materials that contain intentionally added PFAS by January 1, 2024.
BETTER WITH EACH DESIGN
4 out of 5 (80%) revamped designs in the Fall/Winter 2023 launch, and 8 out of 8 (100%) in the Spring/Summer 2024 launch, reduced impact compared to their previous versions.
BLUESIGN® SYSTEM PARTNER BRAND
Two of our key webbing suppliers are now bluesign®certified, adding a whole lot of sustainable material certificates to our library of trusted and tested materials for 2024.
PEOPLE IMPACT
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Paw It Forward
Our Paw It Forward program is designed to give back a portion of revenue to organizations doing meaningful work in land conservation, Diversity Equity & Inclusion, dog adoption, and working dogs. Organizations are nominated by and voted on by Ruffwear employees and ambassadors, and in 2023, Ruffwear donated a total of $50,000 across these four impact areas.
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Supply Chain Responsibility
We require our suppliers to adhere to our Code of Conduct , which includes the standards we have for our manufacturing partners as part of our commitment to do business better.
