VAUDE

VAUDE (German: [fau'de]) is a German producer of mountain sports equipment. The head office is in Tettnang, Germany. It was founded in 1974 by Albrecht von Dewitz. The name of the firm is derived from the initials of its founder (V, D). The company is 100 percent family owned.[1] In 2009, the management was handed over to his daughter Antje von Dewitz.[2]

Vaude Sport GmbH & Co. KG
GmbH & Co. KG
IndustryMountaineering Equipment, Sporting Goods, Outdoor Clothing, Camping Equipment
Founded1974
FounderAlbrecht von Dewitz
HeadquartersTettnang, Germany
Key people
Antje von Dewitz (CEO)
ProductsOutdoor Apparel, Backpacks, Tents, Sleeping Bags
Number of employees
1600
Websitewww.vaude.com

Products include tents, backpacks, and sleeping bags. There are 486 employees working in the head office in Germany.[3] The corporate group also owns production facilities in Bỉm Sơn/Vietnam.[4]

In 2006 Edelrid became a part of the Vaude Group.[5] The brands Lucky (climbing supplies) and Markill (camping stoves) were integrated in the Edelrid brand in 2008. Markill was originally a brand of the company Marsteller & Killman founded in Thuringia in 1866 and established in Kettwig in 1907. Marsteller & Killman produced stoves, cooking utensils, food containers, and aluminum bottles. In 2017, the Vaude Group took over Red Chili, a producer mainly of climbing shoes and other climbing garments. Red Chili is now part of Edelrid.[6]

Corporate social responsibility and environmental protection

In 2014, VAUDE published its first corporate responsibility report established in accordance with the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative.[7] Since 2010, the company is a member of the Fair Wear Foundation, an organisation which is seeking to improve working conditions in the textile industry.[8] To ensure a manufacturing process which is as environmentally friendly and safe as possible, VAUDE applies the bluesign production standard.[9] The company headquarter in Tettnang is climate neutral.

In 2015, VAUDE was one of six companies nominated for the Financial Times' Boldness in Business Award in the category Corporate Responsibility/Environment.[10] At the end of the year, VAUDE has won the first place in the category Germany's Most Sustainable Brand of the German Sustainability Award.[11] VAUDE obtained numerous further awards in the area of environmental protection and sustainability.[12]

Regional activities include the running of the company-owned creche for about 30 children,[13] and the take over of the local public swimming pool, to save it from being closed.[14]

Support for Refugee Employees

Vaude is one of the founding companies of the association Bleiberecht durch Arbeit (=Right of Residence through Work), established in 2018, which promotes the granting of right of residence for refugees with permanent employment contract. Due to the scarcity of skilled labour, Vaude would suffer considerable economic damage had their refugee employees to return to their countries of origin[15]. Numerous companies face the same problems and thus joined the association[16].

  • Headquarters in Obereisenbach, 2016
  • Climbing area at the headquarters, 2016
  • Headquarters in 2013
  • Bags by VAUDE from 2009

VAUDE-sponsored athletes (past and present)

VAUDE-sponsored teams and athletes include:[17]

References
  1. vaude.com: About us
  2. http://www.vaude.com/en-GB/VAUDE/History/
  3. http://csr-report.vaude.com/gri-en/vaude/organizational-profil.php
  4. http://www.vaude.com/en-GB/Company/About-us/Production-facilities/Vietnam/
  5. edelrid.de:
  6. ISPO website, retrieved 6 September 2017.
  7. http://www.vaude-csr-report.com/gri-en/gri-index/index.php
  8. See the documents relating to VAUDE on the fairwear.org website.
  9. List of the brands being part of bluesign
  10. List of nominees retrieved 28 October 2015.
  11. Internet Portal Innovation in Textiles, 1 December 2015.
  12. See sutainability report.
  13. As stated on the creche's website
  14. Interview with Antje von Dewitz on the Family Capital website; retrieved 8 March 2015.
  15. Germany Trained and Hired Asylum Seekers, Then Started Deporting Them, article by Melissa Eddy in the New York Times, 1 April 2019.
  16. Cfr. VAUDE Sustainability Report
  17. http://team-vaude.com/
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