Project Blueprint is our long-term and ongoing commitment to lower our environmental impact without jeopardizing the safety of our products.
POC a is Swedish contemporary and design-driven manufacturer of protection with the mission to save lives and reduce the consequences of accidents for athletes and anyone inspired to be one.
Project Blueprint started from the UN Sustainable Development Goal. We screen the entire company, and examine every single process, product and supplier. As a company putting products to market, a majority of our impact and our opportunities lie in how and where we produce our products.
A key task for our Research and Development team is to find better solutions for the environment without compromising the safety of our products.
Whenever we can choose a material or design that lowers the environmental impact of a product, we do. That is our promise to the next generation of athletes.
Our performance eyewear uses snap hinges and replaceable lenses that lengthens the lifetime of the products and makes them versatile. For our cycling collection 2020, we used fabrics that had been left over from earlier production as the starting point for designing a limited edition upcycled road cycling apparel range.
We adopt a resource-efficient bio-circular perspective, meaning we are mindful of what resources are needed to fill the desired function of each product.
We choose preferred materials such as recycled and responsibly sourced bio-based materials, maximize the durability, versatility and recyclability of a product to keep it from becoming waste for as long as possible.
The outdoor industry has for a long time used PFC-treatments for their dirt- and water-repellency properties, and biocidal substances for their anti-odor properties. However, these treatments pose a risk to the environment and POC continues to work to phase them out.
We have already phased out the use of long chained PFC treatments on our products and we are currently in the process of phasing out the last few styles that still have short chained PFC treatments and biocidal substances. The phase-out has been made possible as we have implemented new technologies and have reviewed what functionality is really needed.
Maybe it is not reasonable to expect mud to simply run off pants while riding trails. But if a cycling jacket that is intended to protect you from the rain does not keep you dry, that is not a good use of the resources used to produce that jacket.
POC products are made in partnership with valued suppliers, and we work with finished goods suppliers and material suppliers from several regions around the globe.
Standards and legislations can vary in different regions, but we always ensure our partners meet POC minimum standards when it comes to social, environmental, and chemical management aspects.
Our Code of Conduct and Restricted Substance List are revised yearly according to best practice, not only to make sure our suppliers are aligned, but also to put emphasis on positive improvements in our collective impact for future years.
The packaging of our products is important to ensure product quality and safety, but the packaging needs to be optimized; to not ship air, to be designed for the current infrastructure and techniques available for recycling packaging; and to use recycled or responsibly sourced bio-based materials. Improvements in packaging may not always be the most obvious priority but for some of our high-performance products, the packaging actually weighs more than the product.
As a part of Project Blueprint, we are updating our entire line of packaging to make sure our demands on optimizing, responsible use of materials and recyclability are always met.
2022 - One of our latest helmets, Myelin, uses recycled materials wherever possible. The helmet has a glue-free construction to make it easier to separate into its constituent parts at the end of its life. Engineered to be deconstructed, the Myelin can easily be broken down so all different materials used can be separated and recycled where possible.
2019 - Our performance eyewear uses snap hinges and replaceable lenses to lengthen the lifetime of the products and make them more versatile.
From 2022 bio-based materials feature in almost all of our eyewear styles.
2020 - For our cycling collection, we used leftover fabrics from earlier productions as the starting point for creating a limited-edition upcycled apparel range.
Since 2021, our biggest-volume apparel styles for cycling use GRS-certified recycled polyester.
2020 - Our range of protective backpacks now feature PFC-free DWR and recycled fabrics.