The Rhanders forest » Read about our forest

For more than 200 years, we have worked with our hands, nurturing and protecting our quality craftsmanship – with gratitude and respect for what nature gives us from year to year. Today, we are still hands-on. We build, craft and sustain everything we do by hand. But how can we lend a hand to nature? How can we practically move towards being more sustainable and ultimately carbon positive?

CAN A COMPANY BE CARBON NEUTRAL?

We do not know yet, but we certainly want to do our part and try our very best to support natural climate solutions. Not by buying climate quotas. Not by supporting a tree certificate in far flung destinations. That’s not moving the needle for us. Instead, we want to take responsibility for our local environment and nature – directly connected to our life and supply chain. So, we decided to be hands-on by restoring, planting and nurturing a forest in our very own backyard.

RHANDERS FOREST

Yes, it’s a dream come true! We already have 5.000 grown trees, and we are committed to growing and nurturing another 12.000 trees in the coming years. On top of that, our forest also has a 2 hectares large peat bog, which has been rewilding and turned into a lake over the last 50 years, allowing biodiversity to flourish once again – and naturally swallow CO2. We will keep embracing climate-smart strategies to help protect and restore nature and its biodiversity, which will lessen the impacts of climate change in the future. Why? Because we depend on nature’s health – as human beings and as a company. Imagine, if we did not have cold winters anymore, we wouldn’t need gloves…

Fact box:

Trees: As trees grow, they pull in carbon dioxide (CO2) through their leaves and convert it into carbohydrates, which they use to grow. So long as a tree lives, that carbon stays within it – and trees can live for decades or centuries. Trees are a natural “carbon sink”. Therefore, planting trees, is one of the most effective carbon drawdown solutions to date.¹

Peatlands: According to one of the leading climate researchers and main author of UN’s climate report², Tero Mustonen, existing bogs and peatlands are the most effective carbon sinks (natural sites that trap carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and lock it back into the soil), and are defined by the UN as highly critical for the survival of humankind because they are helping with climate change through natural processes ³^,⁴.

1 tree = 10 pairs of gloves

For the sake of understanding, we made the calculation as simple as possible: A pair of leather gloves weigh on average 75 grams. This equals 2,5 kilograms Co2 through material and production. We craft approximately 30.000 pairs of leather gloves a year. This equivalates to 75.000 kilograms. A grown tree absorbs approximately 24 kg Co2 per year, meaning we need 3.125 trees a year to neutralise our emissions.

What if we are so fortunate to grow our business and thereby run out of space for trees in our forest? We will commit to buy another forest in our local area and keep on planting and nurturing the natural fauna. In this, we will of course also grow our heritage treasure; the Kalmus plant.

WHY NOT DO IT THE EASY WAY?

Owner and CEO, Rina Hansen, explains: ‘We could choose to do it the easy way and just purchase CO2 quotas to offset our emissions. This would only cost us about 25.000 DKK a year. Meaning, I could be retired and hand over to the next generation, and they could too, before the investment of the forest would make sense economically. But this is not about financial matters, this is about taking responsibility and doing the right thing”.

We are born craftsmen, not traders. We work with our hands and with respect for what nature gives us. We always choose the most natural, uncoated, organic and responsible material available. Aniline leather. Wool. Cotton. Peace silk. The best of what nature can offer, naturally. This is how we worked 200 years ago, 100 years ago, and today. Not because of a sustainability trend, but because this is how we were born and raised. We take care of what we have in our hands and what we do with our hands.

In line with our belief in protecting and nurturing our quality craftsmanship, we also believe in protecting and nurturing our nature. We are hands-on. We build, craft and sustain everything we do by hand. So, it is no different when it comes to our obligations in society. We do it with our very own hands.

Naturally, in parallel we also minimise our emissions in other ways. E.g., by only utilising leather by-products from the food industry, responsibly up-cycle and recycle our own leather, by developing our sustainable plant-based textile collection, by expanding our craftsmanship hyperlocal production in Denmark, and by minimally wrapping the beautiful products in plastic-free, FCS certified and locally produced packaging.

Still, we have a long way to go. And, while we strive toward carbon neutrality, we might just craft a beautiful treetop house or two, as a sanctum for our employees and community…