ECO-CONSCIOUS CYCLE TRADE?
Humble beginnings: Simon Nash blends the product by hand
How ‘green’ is the bike trade?
You’d assume it to be among the most environmentally friendly businesses around, right? Well, there are green shoots, but there’s some way to go before Al Gore writes the bike business into his next film. Mark Sutton analyses various cycle firms attempting to lower their carbon tyreprint…
WE HAVE to admit, it took some researching to pull this one together, or at least more than first bargained for. The assumption that the bike trade is a green business is largely unfounded – after all, the majority of our product is shipped halfway across the world before the consumer gets their hands on items that, without the cost barrier, could largely be produced domestically. Many firms will of course use recycled
packaging, or produce one or two eco- conscious products in a catalogue many times the size. As we said, green shoots aplenty, but very few mature oaks. Green Oil will be the firm that springs
instantly to mind for many in the business with an interest in eco-credentials, so what better place to start than with Simon Nash, a man who has grown his lubrication business from his garden shed, to one with a slice of the market share pie.
BIKEBIZ.COM “Bamboo’s
tensile strength is higher than that of steel...” Rachel Hammond, Bamboo Bikes
“I’ve always thought if you’re educated on climate issues and capable, you should go into politics, or business to change things. I’m British, and love my country. We have the technology and manufacturing capability in the UK, so at Green Oil we use it. Unlike competitors who make lubes in China, we’re supporting the UK economy, and our products therefore have a much lower carbon footprint in transport.”
Nash has taken a product that traditionally
relies on oil production and found a way to produce a product of equal, or perhaps better, quality using plants which absorb CO2, which eventually returns to the soil. “Being plant based, our products also have a lower carbon footprint in manufacturing, as does our recycled packaging,” says Nash. “I’ve done what I can elsewhere too. Green Oil only uses LED lighting – this has provided a 90 per cent saving in lighting costs, and therefore
CO2. We use 100 per cent recycled plastic for our 100ml bottles. That means a lower carbon footprint, less oil imported into the UK and less plastic in landfill. We’re experimenting with using factory off-cuts from bottle manufacturing in the mix, whilst ensuring at least 50 per cent is still post consumer plastic (like from the box outside your house).” Retailers can line their pockets as a result of
Green Oil’s efforts too, says Nash. “We even offer to buy back our packaging off retailers and end users for re-use, and offer five litre re- fill cans for shops.” Practicing what he preaches, the Green Oil website has a sub-page dedicated to the recommendation of other ‘green’ companies, one of those featured is Rachel Hammond’s Bamboo Bikes. “We ship our bamboo from a commercial
farm in China, where bamboo is planted on a cycle (pardon the pun). The bamboo we use
BIKEBIZ JUNE 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92