What is VAUDE Professional?
VAUDE Professional is an expert in sustainable custom textile manufacturing, employee equipment, and corporate wear.
VAUDE Professional offers sustainable, high-quality, and innovative textile products. Our product portfolio is diverse and inspired by VAUDE's sustainable corporate philosophy. The services we provide include all steps from ideation to the production of the final product. We place great importance on personal exchange, expert advice, tailored solutions, reliable delivery, and environmentally friendly and fair manufacturing.
Our customers come from various industries, including companies of all sizes, from corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as government agencies, associations, and other public institutions. As a result, our product range is wide-ranging and includes custom-made products, clothing items, bags and backpacks of all kinds, tents, sleeping bags, and accessories. We are always open to new product ideas and also offer customization of collection items to meet the individual needs of our customers.
»Our long-standing experience in the production of sustainable products allows us to offer tailor-made solutions to our customers. We are proud that through our work, we can make a positive contribution to the environment.«
Renate Ebi, Head of VAUDE Professional
Objective
Our objective is to support the industry with our products and expertise in the field of sustainability and contribute to making their business models more sustainable. We firmly believe that through our products and services, we can make a significant contribution to achieving sustainability goals. We place great emphasis on ensuring that our products and services are not only sustainable but also meet the highest quality standards.
What is the significance of VAUDE Professional for VAUDE?
In addition to our traditional seasonal business with outdoor and bike products, the VAUDE Professional division forms another pillar of our company. This business segment is independent of seasons and serves customers and markets outside the outdoor industry. By doing so, we can reduce our dependence on the outdoor market and diversify our risks.
In 2016, we made the decision to explore an additional business field targeting "professional customers" from industries, authorities, and associations. This approach aims to reduce our reliance on the retail sector and create optimizations on the production side through counter-cyclical production. Based on promising experiences in the German-speaking region, we are currently focusing on this market and only sporadically expanding our business to other EU countries.
In 2023, the VAUDE Professional division accounts for just under 4% of our total revenue. A portion of this revenue is generated through continuous orders from existing customers. Our goal is to increase awareness of this division and establish VAUDE Professional as a relevant player in the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) market for industrial and government equipment by 2025.
Examples of our work
Beekeeping of the future: The sustainable HIIVE beehive with a protective cover from VAUDE Professional
VAUDE Professional has taken a significant step towards sustainability and closeness to nature in an innovative partnership with HIIVE. The HIIVE beehive, exemplifies our expertise in developing innovative solutions that not only meet the needs of our customers, but also have a positive impact on the environment.
By using sustainable materials in the design of the hive's textile components, we have created an environmentally friendly option that mimics the natural microclimate of a tree hollow and thus supports the well-being of the bees. With features such as the weatherproof cover, hemp insulation and a modular design that allows for easy repairs, we are helping to set new standards in beekeeping.
This project impressively demonstrates how VAUDE Professional masters the challenges of modern product development by focusing on sustainability and user-friendliness.
From tent to bag: How VAUDE Professional supports MARC CAIN in upcycling
As part of our commitment to sustainability and innovative design, VAUDE Professional has realized an outstanding upcycling project for our customer MARC CAIN. This project illustrates our holistic approach: from brainstorming, design and development to the production of upcycled bags that are manufactured entirely in Germany. The challenge was to transform the robust and sturdily designed tarpaulin material of the MARC CAIN event tent, which was not originally intended for the production of bags, into high-quality shoppers and cosmetic bags. Thanks to our expertise and creative approach, we were able to give new life to materials that would otherwise have remained unused and been disposed of as residual waste.
The result of this sustainable commitment was 2,000 unique shoppers and cosmetic bags in MARC CAIN's characteristic leopard look, which are now available in the customer's webshop. These bags are not only a statement of fashion awareness and individuality, but also proof of the possibility of harmoniously combining sustainability and design. "This sustainable approach and the history associated with it give the bags their unique charm," says MARC CAIN's appreciation, which once again shows how VAUDE Professional innovatively implements sustainability.
Read more
Sustainable employee equipment for everyday work and leisure time
As part of our commitment to sustainability and innovative customer solutions, VAUDE Professional has developed a special offer for customers such as VERBUND, KfW and others, which is exemplary for our entire customer portfolio.
With the production of sustainable hoodies for all 3,700 employees of the energy company VERBUND, we have shown that we can also successfully implement large orders with high demands on sustainability and individual design. By using materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester, manufactured in Europe under fair working conditions, we guarantee products that meet both ecological and social standards. This approach illustrates how VAUDE Professional manages to support and communicate the values of our customers - in this case VERBUND's vision of the energy transition - with our sustainable and high-quality products.
The cooperation between VAUDE Professional and KfW Bankengruppe for the 75th anniversary demonstrates what sustainable corporate gifts can look like: customized backpacks in the corporate design made from 100 percent recycled material. Manufactured in Fair Wear Foundation-audited production facilities, these backpacks combine sustainability with practical functionality and underline the ecological and social values of both organizations.
These employee kits in our customers' corporate design demonstrate our expertise in design and sustainability. They not only represent the environmental responsibility of our customers, but also our ability to implement customer wishes sustainably. In this way, our joint commitment to a better world is made visible.
Read more:
https://www.vaude.com/de/de/professional-referenz-verbund-hoodies.html
https://www.vaude.com/de/de/professional-referenz-kfw-rucksack.html
