Sustainability News - Paddy Pallin Raises the Green Bar with New Melbourne Store

Paddy Pallin Raises the Green Bar with New Melbourne Store

After 20 years in Little Bourke Street, Australia’s oldest outdoor and travel outfitter, Paddy
Pallin is raising the bar for retailers and adventure outfitters with the opening of their new
‘green’ Melbourne store on November 17. The store’s facelift incorporates re-cycled and low
energy fittings – while ‘environmentally senstitive’ also defines much of the range of clothing
and gear.

“Paddy Pallin was a dedicated bushwalker and ardent conservationist, so ‘green’ has been a
part of our company ethos for the past 70 years. The new Melbourne fit-out gave us the
opportunity to take our efforts a step further,” explains Rob Pallin, CEO and son of Paddy
Pallin. “In Paddy’s bushwalking and conservation tradition, we’re not just talking the talk,
we’re walking the walk. We’ll be the first outdoor equipment retailer in Australia – in fact, one
of the first of any kind of retailer – to adopt a range of initiatives, building materials and green
features in a shop fit-out, over and above normal building regulations.”

The new fit-out incorporates as many environmentally-sensitive features as budget – and
Melbourne City Council – would allow. They range from the obvious, such as low energy
lighting and green energy supply, to the practical – such as bicycle racks and showers to
encourage staff to ride to work. – to the innovative. Sixty-five per cent of the old store’s timber
framing and electrical wiring was re-used; paints are all water-based and non-toxic; timber
veneer floors, walls and counters are derived from sustainable forests and the joinery is
adhesive-free, which means most of the interior is biodegradable, re-usable and recyclable.

The innovative store front signage is a vertical garden principally comprised of Australian
natives that will turn carbon dioxide back into oxygen. In an effort to reduce the 2.7 million
plastic water bottles that go into landfill each year Paddy Pallin are teaming up with Camelbak
to provide a water re-filling station in the new store. This means that customers and the
general public can fill their Camelbak bottle or bladder with filtered water every day of the
year for free and help reduce plastic waste.

The company has taken a holistic approach to sustainability. Not only does the fit-out
incorporate green features, the range of clothing and outdoor gear favours environmentallysensitive
brands and products such as Icebreaker fine merino wool clothing, which
incorporates a ‘Baa code’, enabling individual garments to be traced back to source.

There are long-standing in-store initiatives such as Don’t Bag the Environment (20 cents is
donated to conservation for every carry bag a customer refuses); recycling and waste
minimisation regimes; and staff are encouraged by the leadership provided by company
directors, Rob and Nancy Pallin, who have been active and effective environmental
conservation campaigners for most of their lives.

The new Melbourne store opens on November 17, with the official opening celebration for
Paddy Pallin Club Members and customers on December 4.