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The brand’s flagship Gravel tire redesigned with a new eco-friendly concept.
Source: Press Release
Hutchinson, French pioneer of tubeless tires, today unveils its first eco-designed tire, the Touareg Green resolutions®, an updated version of its iconic Touareg gravel tire. In development since 2019, the Touareg Green is the result of several years of research aimed at creating a tire incorporating as many recycled and bio-sourced materials as possible without compromising performance or price. Hutchinson’s objective with the Touareg Green was not to produce a demonstration tire with a high percentage of ecological materials at the expense of performance or a reasonable price. The goal was to develop a tire as functional and high-performing as the standard version, capable of competing with other high-end Hutchinson products.
The project focused on two key objectives in the specifications: maintaining equivalent performance and price. The Hutchinson team found that while it was possible to manufacture a tire composed of 99% bio-sourced or recycled materials, this would sacrifice performance and increase costs, thus creating a tire that would not meet their high requirements or user expectations.
Starting from the tire’s development basics, the brand achieved the set objectives thanks to two new compounds developed for the Touareg Green. The first is the new revea®R Casing, a casing compound made of 90% recycled or bio-sourced materials. The second is the revea®R Tread, a new tread compound, specially designed for the rigorous demands of gravel, made from 64% recycled or bio-sourced materials.
The resulting tire offers equivalent performance to the standard Touareg, with the following significant improvements in durability:
● The proportion of sustainable materials used throughout the tire has increased from 15% to 57%.
● The compounds used in the tire are composed of 76% recycled or bio-sourced materials.
● Carbon black (a key ingredient in all tires, used as a filler to increase stiffness and durability) is entirely recycled and sourced from Europe.
These claims have been verified using an in-depth analysis of the product’s life cycle and its entire production process. Each ingredient and process was individually evaluated for its environmental impact, and a more sustainable alternative was sought. Wherever possible, these alternatives were sourced locally.
The Touareg Green will be available to all Hutchinson distributors and retailers in July 2024, at the same price as the standard Touareg, with a recommended retail price of €49.99.
Hutchinson’s commitments to sustainable development
Hutchinson’s cycling department and its parent company are committed to improving their sustainability standards in a regulated and measurable way. Hutchinson is introducing a new label for its sustainable solutions called resolutions® by Hutchinson. All products bearing this label will have undergone a thorough life cycle analysis compliant with ISO standards.
Hutchinson resolutions® products combine environmental responsibility and performance, and are based on three pillars: CO2 reduction, weight reduction, and the use of recycled/bio-sourced materials. The method includes evaluating the product’s environmental impact on these three pillars, as well as a more global analysis of the environmental footprint.
Definition of revea® materials
revea® materials are designed by Hutchinson to meet the specific needs of its customers. They offer the same performance as classic Hutchinson materials while containing at least 25% recycled and/or bio-sourced ingredients. They are aligned with Hutchinson’s global material policy. This range comes in three brands, including revea®R for rubber materials.
Guillaume Trouvain, R&D Manager of the Hutchinson Cycling department, stated: “We have made great strides in creating a more sustainable tire, but we want to go further. By 2025, our goal is to integrate bio-sourced and recycled materials into all new products. However, we depend on an entire ecosystem, including our supply chain and the availability of raw materials. It is therefore a challenge that we must address together, with all stakeholders, all actors. We have significantly improved our product life cycle analysis. Each ingredient and process has been checked to determine if it could be replaced by a bio-sourced or recycled alternative. We did not stop at the three main ingredients: elastomer, carbon black, and oil, but we also targeted additives and the vulcanization system, testing hundreds of products. Thanks to these efforts, more than 50% of the ingredients in the Touareg Green are now recycled or bio-sourced. Raw materials are also an essential part of the transition to sustainability. Our suppliers recognize this and are constantly testing and developing new products and processes that show real potential. The entire ecosystem must participate to ensure the continuity of this transition, and we are proud to be one of the drivers of this progress.”
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