Hutchinson Announces First Eco-Tyre: The Touareg Green
Brands leading gravel tyre relaunched with new eco-design.
- Performance levels and price unchanged to encourage customers to switch to more sustainable alternative
- 80% of casing compound and 55% of tread compound now recycled or bio-sourced
- Tyre is made in France and utilises EU sourced recycled carbon black
3rd July, Paris, France - French tubeless tyre pioneer Hutchinson has today announced its first eco-tyre, the Touareg Green, an updated version of its popular 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, their aim was to develop a practical, high-performance tyre that could stand alongside the other top-tier products in Hutchinson's lineup.
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 their high 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 80% recycled or bio-sourced materials. Second is revea®R Tread, specifically designed for the challenging demands of gravel riding, made from 55% recycled or bio-sourced materials.
The resulting tyres performance is on a par with the standard 700x40 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.
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 Dpt. revealed:
"We've made big steps in creating a more sustainable tyre but want to go further. 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. Thanks to these efforts, over 50% of ingredients in the Touareg Green are now recycled or bio-sourced.
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.”
Additional Information
For a selection of lifestyle and studio imagery, click here
Visit the Hutchinson stand at Eurobike in Hall 11 Stand B06 to see the new Touareg Green and the rest of the Hutchinson range:
Tyres launched this year include the 'Caracal Race' the world's fastest gravel tyre, the 'Blackbird' a new performance road tyre as well as an updated version of the iconic 'Python' MTB tyre.
Learn more about Hutchinson and their sustainability initiatives at cycling.hutchinson.com
For more information, testing enquiries or any questions please contact:
