The topic of sustainability is everywhere these days: from the "last generation" (climate activists) to the environmental impact of plastics and emissions to the damage caused by fossil fuel power generation, everyone has their own viewpoint on sustainability. But it's more complicated than we hear from the media every day. Sustainability is about much, much more.
You can download our Sustainability Report 2022 free of charge here: Sustainability Report 2022
Sustainability even affects our beloved hobby: equestrian sports. It also contributes to environmental pollution and causes CO2 emissions due to various factors. This starts with the masses of plastic packaging, e.g. for treats or various grooming sprays. The production of bedding also requires a great deal of resources and energy. As close to nature as our passion may seem, it still contributes to environmental pollution. But the great thing is that everyone has the opportunity to give something back to nature. Right? We at Royal Horsemen are convinced that every little eco-friendly action shows that we are on the right track. Winnie the Pooh used to say: "A good deed can bring a smile to anyone's face." Because doing good is fun!
Here is a list of things we have already implemented:
Fabrics: We use organic cotton, (recycled) polyester, leather alternatives and other environmentally friendly alternative fabrics such as modal from Tencel for the production of our textiles. Here too, we are constantly on the lookout for new developments and opportunities to be able to use even more or newer fabric creations.
Transportation: We make every effort to ensure geographically short transportation routes from the fabric supplier to the clothing manufacturer. The finished goods are then usually delivered to our warehouse in Germany by ship or truck. Orders in the online store are shipped exclusively by DHL GoGreen.
Packaging: Our product packaging consists of paper banderoles and paper bags. The shipping boxes and adhesive tape are also made of paper. This allows us to work almost plastic-free.
Certifications: We, and our producers, are GOTS and GRS certified. This enables us to ensure the sourcing of sustainably flawless fabrics, their correct processing and reasonable working conditions.
Highlight: A particular highlight in 2022 was receiving the Innovation Award for our belt made from sustainable AppleSkin.
Travel: We endeavor to carry out all trips with the lowest possible CO2 emissions. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, we have switched many processes and meetings to digital alternatives.
A sustainable lifestyle is always equated with doing without. But it's not always about doing without. Rather, it's about taking responsibility. Just like you do with your horse. Species-appropriate and healthy interaction between humans and animals requires respect. Trust between you and your pet is the basis for your time together. You have to empathize with your horse or pony, respond to its character and get involved with its nature. When you sit on a horse, this is based on the horse's good nature. They trust you to sit on their back and you take on the responsibility of not breaking this trust and being a fair friend to your horse. We show this responsibility in all areas of our lives. We only want the best for ourselves and our animals. And the best is always that which
- does not harm our health
- does not harm the health of our animals
- does not cause irreparable damage to the environment
- uses only as much material and resources as is absolutely necessary and
- does not harm the people involved in production.
1. we only use raw materials that we can take responsibility for. These are, for example, organic cotton, recycled paper and harmless, recycled polyester.
2. we make sure that only harmless chemicals are used in the production of our riding clothing, which can also be recycled or disposed of without any problems.
3. we do not want clothing from production facilities that discharge chemicals into water - sustainability means that the water is treated.
4. we value the use of so-called green energy from solar power, wind power and hydropower.
5. we do not produce fast fashion. Our goods remain in the range until they are sold out.
6. we have our goods transported preferably and predominantly by ship and train.
7. our products arrive in sustainable and plastic-free packaging.
For us, this means ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions. Sufficient work breaks are a matter of course for us. Sustainability strictly excludes child labor! Certificates such as GOTS and GRS show you that we don't just talk about sustainability, we actually do something about it.
As a young start-up company, we are still looking for justifiable solutions in some areas and are generally constantly striving for improvements. Our sustainability standards are high - but no one is perfect. We work on it every day. We are building our company sustainably right from the start - even if it takes longer. And we want to support even more research projects in the future.
One of our core values is transparency. We want to be honest with you and work with you to make the world a better place! Because sustainability is particularly important to us, but of course we are not perfect either! Every day we try to become even more sustainable and take you with us on this journey. We personally stand behind everything we do. For this reason, you will always find posts and videos in which we tell you about the materials, the supply chain and the manufacture of our products or explain the advantages and disadvantages of materials. And if you have any additional questions about us or our products, someone from the team will always be there to answer them personally. Our aim is to live sustainability and to meet and even exceed our quality standards time and time again. When you wear our riding clothing, you are setting an example for environmental awareness, fair wages and sensible production conditions.
Our long-term and major goal is to create a circular system by paying attention to materials and production processes that offer the possibility of recycling. We also want to create awareness, but without moralizing. In this way, we want to encourage a rethink in the equestrian world in order to achieve a more sustainable lifestyle together with you. And we are looking forward to this journey - together with you!
As an economic company, we are aware that we also contribute to consumption in the equine world by using resources and selling products. And this is precisely why we take responsibility. Not only by acting as a climate-friendly company, but also because we want to achieve even more. We want to do good and thus support charitable projects and deeds.
Every six months, we work with you to select a charitable project that we will support for six months. We donate 1% of our monthly net sales to the respective organization. To date, we have donated to "die Bienenretter", the maritime waste collection organization "One Earth - One Ocean", the Balthasar children's hospice, "IG Mustang", Aktion Deutschland Hilft (Ukraine war), "Plant for the Planet Wipperfürth", the GREEN FOREST FUND e.V. and the "Tenerife Horse Rescue Organization", among others. In other words, a really colourful mix of organizations from a wide variety of areas. In total, we have now been able to donate over 25,000€! We are overjoyed that we can give something back to nature together with you!
We have always wanted to help animals in need. Because in our opinion, every animal deserves a second chance. That's why we rescued two wonderful foals from slaughter in September 2020. Our two protégés Nakito and Dean are two Haflinger colts (now laid), which unfortunately did not meet the breeding ideal and were therefore condemned to slaughter. Fortunately, we became aware of these two treasures through the organization "Battle foals on their way to happiness". They have now found their new dream home here in Germany. On YouTube, social media and our blog posts, you can follow their journey with us so far and find all the relevant information about our former protégés.
