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Hutchinson has announced its first eco-tyre, the Touareg Green, an updated version of its Touareg gravel tyre.
In development since 2019, the Touareg Green is the culmination of years of research aimed at creating a tyre that incorporates as much recycled and bio-sourced materials as possible without compromising on performance or affordability.
Hutchinson’s goal with the Touareg Green was not to produce a showcase tyre with a high percentage of eco-materials at the expense of performance or cost-effectiveness.
Instead, the French brand’s aim was to develop a practical, high-performance tyre that could stand alongside the other products in Hutchinson’s line-up.
The project focused on two key objectives: maintaining equivalent performance and price. The Hutchinson team found that while possible, a tyre made of 99% ‘green’ materials today would sacrifice performance and increase costs, creating a tyre that would fail to meet the required standards and rider expectations.
This however is Hutchinson’s long-term goal.
Going about the development from the ground up, the brand has achieved the objectives set out through two newly developed compounds in the Touareg Green.
The first is the new Revea®R Casing, composed of 90% recycled or bio-sourced materials.
Second is Revea®R Tread, specifically designed for the demands of gravel riding, made from 64% recycled or bio-sourced materials.
The resulting tyres performance is on a par with the standard 700×40 Black Touareg, with the following significant improvements in sustainability:
The proportion of sustainable materials used throughout the tyre has risen to 57% from 15%.
Compounds used in the tyre consist of 76% recycled or bio-sourced materials.
The Carbon Black (a key ingredient of all tyres, used as a filler to increase stiffness and durability) is entirely recycled and sourced from Europe.
These claims have been verified using in-depth Life Cycle Analysis across the tyre’s entire production process.
With each ingredient and process individually assessed for its environmental impact and a more sustainable alternative sought. Where possible these have been sourced locally.
The Touareg Green will be made available to all Hutchinson distributors and retailers for the same price as the standard Touareg (€49.99/£45.99) and will feature new cardboard packaging.
In the UK, Hutchinson is distributed by Windwave. Trade visitors can learn more via the company’s B2B website.
Hutchinson’s sustainability commitments
Hutchinson Cycling and its parent company are committed to improving their sustainability credentials and doing so in a regulated, measurable manner.
To do so they are introducing a new labelling standard for eco products called Hutchinson ‘Resolutions®’.
All products with this label will have gone through in-depth Life Cycle Analysis to ISO standards.
Hutchinson Resolutions® products combine environmental responsibility and performance, and are based on three pillars: CO2 reduction, weight savings and use of recycled/bio-based materials.
The method includes the assessment of the environmental impact of the product on these three pillars as well as a more global analysis of the entire environmental footprint.
Guillaume Trouvain, head of R&D at Hutchinson Cycling Department, revealed: “By 2025, our goal is to integrate bio-sourced and recycled materials into all new products. We are however dependent on an entire ecosystem, including our supply chain and the availability of raw materials. So it is something we need to tackle together.
“We have vastly improved our analysis of the manufacturing lifecycle. Each ingredient and process has been checked to determine if it can be replaced with a bio-sourced or recycled alternative. We didn’t stop at the three main ingredients; elastomer, carbon black, and oil, but also targeted additives and the vulcanization system, testing hundreds of products.
“Raw materials are also a huge part of the transition to sustainability. Our suppliers recognise this and are constantly testing and developing new products and processes which show real promise. Everyone in the ecosystem must participate to ensure the transition continues and we are proud to be one of the driving forces behind this progress.”
