PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTH SAILS
Sailmaking pioneer North Sails announced the launch of its new RENEW Sailcloth – a North Paneled Laminate sailcloth for cruising boats 25-45 feet that is constructed from more than 90% sustainable sources. RENEW highlights North Sails’ shift toward building more sustainable sails with the best materials available.
“There’s been a lot of rigorous work behind the scenes over a number of years to ensure RENEW is a sailcloth with legitimate sustainability credentials,” says RENEW Product Director Tom Davis. “This product has been tested to the absolute limit, and we are confident that a sail constructed with RENEW will offer unbeatable durability and sail shape for our cruising customers without compromising on performance.”
Under the RENEW program, North Sails partners with suppliers to identify and refine raw materials to produce more sustainable sails made of highly durable cruising laminate cloth from supplier products that are Bluesign Certified and ISCC compliant.
“We have been deliberate and comprehensive in vetting the authenticity of sustainability claims and thoroughly testing the materials before bringing a product to market,” adds North Sails President Ken Read. “We wanted to be 100% certain with RENEW that North Sails could stand behind the improvements in the carbon footprint and authenticity of the sustainable materials in our sailcloth. With our wider commitment to continuous improvement and our push to strive for more sustainable solutions across the business at all levels, RENEW will not stop with panel laminates, and we will look to apply this approach to sustainable raw materials across our broader range of products.”
The company is currently working on new solutions for using sustainable sourcing across all its North Sails technologies.
“North Sails has committed to adopting Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to learn about the ecological impact of all products and to establish goals for reducing waste and pollution. An important aspect of achieving these goals is to introduce more recycled content. By 2025, North Sails will implement a Responsible Product Scorecard for all products and will also establish measurable goals for circular products that can be recycled at the end of their lifecycle,” says Davis.
To learn more, visit northsails.com.
