The Hutchinson Touareg Green gravel tyre is a new “eco tyre” that uses recycled or “bio-sourced” materials.
Revealed at Eurobike, the Touareg Green replaces the previous Touareg and follows a trend for more environmentally friendly tyres.
Schwalbe’s new Green Marathon tyre, which has a closed-loop production cycle, is probably the best known. The Norwegian company ReTyre is also showing the world’s first carbon-neutral tyre at Eurobike.
Hutchinson has also announced it will introduce recycled and bio-sourced material into all of its products by next year.
Hutchinson says its new gravel tyre offers the same performance and standard as the previous Touareg. It is also available for the same price of £45.99 / €49.99.
Five years of development
Hutchinson says it began developing the Touareg Green in 2019. It aimed to create a sustainable gravel tyre that maintains the same performance and price as typical gravel tyres.
To achieve this goal, Hutchinson has developed two new compounds, a casing and tread, which use 90 and 64 per cent recycled or bio-sourced materials, respectively.
The previous Touareg gravel went some way towards being sustainable. But Hutchinson says the proportion of sustainable materials used throughout the Tourag has risen from 15 to 57 per cent.
Hutchinson says it didn't want to create a tyre with a higher percentage of sustainable materials that impact performance or lead to a price increase.
The French company now uses carbon black – a material used in tyres for stiffness and durability – that is recycled and sourced in Europe.
Guillaume Trouvain, head of research and development at Hutchinson says: “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.”
Hutchinson ‘Resolutions’
The Touareg Green is part of Hutchinson’s commitment to improving its environmental credentials.
To highlight its credentials, Hutchinson has created a new labelling standard for eco products called ‘Resolutions’.
All products with this label will go through in-depth lifecycle analysis to ISO standards, according to Hutchinson.
The products are assessed in three areas: CO2 reduction; weight savings; and use of recycled or bio-based materials.
Hutchinson says it also conducts “a more global analysis of the entire environmental footprint” of the products.
