Petzl - Impact Report 2025

Yes , it ’ s complicated

“ Moving from virgin material to recycled material

is not that straightforward . Early tests showed a

10 to 15 % loss in mechanical strength for straps

made from recycled material . This loss does not

affect compliance with standards , but it does raise

questions about how reproducible the approach

is , ” explains Maurine . This means she has to test

again , reassess and adjust . And above all , she has

to convince people . Because beyond the techni

cal constraints , habits and mindsets can be hard

to shift .

So the teams need to be supported , suppliers need

to be brought on board , and evidence needs to be

provided to standard - setting bodies in an effort to

move existing frameworks forward . It means de

monstrating , with hard data , that a

recycled material is not less reliable

simply because it is recycled . What

matters is the quality of the yarn , the

manufacturing process and its tra

ceability .

And sometimes , evidence alone is not

enough . What is accepted in Europe

or Canada is not necessarily accep

ted in the United States . Faced with

this demanding regulatory environ

ment , Maurine remains undeterred :

“ Of course it can slow down the de

velopment of certain ranges , but so -

lutions are possible when teams are

motivated — and that is already a f irst step we can

be pleased about . ” Patience and perseverance .

At last , tangible results

This approach has helped open the door to recy -

cled materials After months of experimentation

the work carried out by Maurine and her colleagues

f inally began to bear fruit The VOLT harness be

came the f irst professional Petzl product sold wor

ldwide to incorporate safety straps made from recy

cled material By modifying three key straps 30

of the harness s weight was switched to recycled

material certif ied to the Global Recycled Standard

GRS

Behind this progress lies major collective work on

traceability carried out with Tiphaine Gagneux

Eco Design Manager and Marlène Dechenaud

Responsible Purchasing Coordinator

Our experts initiated visits

to recycling sites and close

collaboration with French

suppliers in order to gua

rantee the quality and

transparency of the mate -

rials used , and to be able

to provide a sustainability

certif icate for each recy -

cled material .

The team is also moving

forward on bio - based ma -

terials , particularly for plas -

tic parts . We know that

recycled materials can lose performance through

repeated reprocessing , whereas bio - based mate -

rials can deliver performance equivalent to that of

virgin material . “ At Petzl , we make a point of using

only organic waste ( stems , wood , used cooking

oils ) rather than food crops such as corn or wheat ,

in order to ensure that no agricultural land is diverted

away from food production Maurine explains

There is still a long way to go but our conviction

has not changed if we want to transform our indus

try successfully we need to take our eco design

approach further This f irst step has enabled us to

work very early on with our suppliers on alternative

materials The next step will be to act across the

entire life cycle What happens to our products at

end of life How can they be designed to optimise

recycling And many other questions to which we

do not yet have the answers

There is still a long

way to go ,

but our conviction

has not changed :

we need to take

our eco - design

approach further .

Maurine Solle

Textile engineer and eco - design project manager

LIMITING

OUR IMPACT