Climate protection with recycled tires

Many plastics are extremely difficult to recycle and end up either incinerated or landfilled. This is particularly true of used tires. However, even tires can be recycled and used as an environmentally-friendly alternative to crude oil.

A remarkable achievement for people and planet

VAUDE is the first company in the outdoor textile sector to use a chemical process technology that produces polyamide from plastics that are difficult to recycle. Thanks to a certified mass balance process, recycled oil from used tires (pyrolysis oil) is integrated into the polyamide production system. To achieve this, the carbon chains contained in the used tires are molecularly broken down and, through chemical transformation, serve as an alternative to crude oil for the production of plastics.

Materials of equivalent quality

As this alternative raw material is introduced into the production plant right at the start of the chemical value chain, the resulting product (as polyamide) has exactly the same qualities as conventionally manufactured products. The major advantage of this method is that these materials can be processed in the same way as before. For example, dyeing processes and other textile treatments do not need to be modified, helping to reduce waste volumes and conserve valuable resources.


Recycling process for used tires

This innovative material is just as strong, quick-drying and high-performance as conventional polyamide derived from crude oil, but much more environmentally friendly!


This material is used in the Summer 2024 collection for the following products:


- Men's Farley Stretch T-Zip III pants
- Women's Farley Stretch T-Zip III pants
- Men's Yaras ZO pants
- Women's Yaras ZO pants

Men's hiking pants and women's hiking pants.

This technology reduces CO2 emissions during production by around 60%* and conserves scarce resources, making a valuable contribution to climate protection!
* Chemcycling, Life Cycle Assessment, BASF, November 2020, GaBi version 9.2 (2020), Sphera AG, polyamide 6 granulate

Mass balance, a proven approach

Mass balance is an established method for tracking the flow of materials throughout the manufacturing process. In this approach, the proportion of recycled raw material is mathematically allocated to the finished products. This method is suitable for complex manufacturing lines where raw materials are mixed, and provides a set of rules for allocating recycled content to different products, so that content can be claimed and marketed as recycled by mass balance.

VAUDE: a committed and responsible brand

VAUDE is fully committed to people and nature by integrating transparent social and ecological standards into its global supply chains, thus guaranteeing products manufactured in an ecological and fair manner. The majority of its products carry the VAUDE Green Shape and Grüner Knopf labels, attesting to their socially and ecologically responsible production.
Collaborating with the Fair Wear Foundation, VAUDE promotes fair working conditions worldwide and has achieved climate neutrality for all its manufactured products since 2022, an initiative already in place for its Tettnang site since 2012.
The brand acts voluntarily and at its own expense to encourage a change of mentality in the economy, advocating approaches such as the common good economy. VAUDE also campaigns for comprehensive supply chain legislation, forcing all companies to assume their responsibilities.

Recognized for its commitment, VAUDE has received several awards, including the GreenTec Award, the European Business Award and the German Sustainability Award. Its mission is to act to preserve the planet for future generations and to continue to run a sustainable, forward-looking business.



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If you'd like to find out more about Vaude and its commitment to the environment, read our blog post, Vaude, the environmental pioneer.