LIVESTRONG

We are passionate about working with companies who are innovative and value sustainability, while making excellent products to support the LIVESTRONG mission. We take these concepts through as many aspects of the supply chain as possible. Here's our apparel partner Nike, Inc.'s statement of this commitment:

Nike, Inc. sees Sustainable Business and Innovation as an integral part of how we can use the power of our brand, the energy and passion of our people, and the scale of our business to create meaningful change.

The opportunity is greater than ever for sustainability principles and practices to deliver business returns and become a driver of growth, to build deeper consumer and community connections and to create positive social and environmental impact in the world.

Read more about the Nike position on Social Responsibility and Considered Design and the Environment. Since 2004, Nike has helped the Lance Armstrong Foundation raise over $80,000,000 to fight cancer.

For us, this also means protection from the sun. There are many legal restrictions to deem a product UV protective due to fabric and sleeve length. We always encourage our vendors to provide this very important, preventative measure as one additional way to protect skin against damage.

For instance, the Nike requirements for UV protective clothing includes both fabric selection and body coverage. Fabric selection must meet all testing requirements for acceptable UV protection - a minimum of 40 UPF for apparel and 50 UPF for headwear.

In addition, the body coverage requirements are also important in this process. For a shirt/top to be considered UV protective, the coverage must extend from the base of the neck down to the hip, across the shoulders and down to majority of the upper arm (no sleeveless, cap sleeves, tank tops, etc). For a short/bottom to be considered UV protective, the coverage must extend from the waist down to below the patella (knee cap). For headwear to be considered UV protective, the coverage must cover or shade the entire scalp, ears, forehead and back of the neck. A typical baseball cap will not meet these requirements.

Since all of our cycling gear materials are made in Europe, where the standard is a UPF rating on fabrics, the range of the UPF ratings is measured up to 50. Our jerseys are made of Michron fabric and our shorts and bibs are made of Moxie. Both of these fabrics have a UPF of 50+.

UV protective apparel and headwear helps protect all covered areas from harmful UV rays. We always suggest that you wear sunscreen, under all apparel and headwear, and take other precautions to protect skin (including wearing a full coverage hat and limiting sun exposure during peak hours).

Silicone is tested to be non-toxic and hypoallergenic. Our wristbands and packaging are tested against strict LIVESTRONG and Nike standards for restricted substances and carcinogens.

Visit Nike's Reuse-a-shoe Program to repurpose your athletic shoes and LIVESTRONG wristbands "to continue to close the loop in the sporting goods industry," as Nike says. Worn-out wristbands and sneakers will be recycled and turned into Nike Grind, a material used for sports surfaces and playgrounds. (We have a floor made with Nike Grind at LIVESTRONG Headquarters.)

To locate your nearest Reuse-A-Shoe drop off location, visit www.nikereuseashoe.com and input your country and zip code on the world-wide map. We thank Nike for letting the LIVESTRONG wristband be a part of this program.

We use 30 percent recycled corrugated and all recycled packing/dunnage materials. Our plastic envelopes for smaller shipments are #4 plastic. All of our corrugated boxes can and should be recycled by our customers. We are working to have the majority of required paperwork for international orders submitted online; paperwork accepted online varies by country.

We repurpose all corrugated currently for internal use only (not for customer orders). Any boxes that cannot be reused are sold to a local recycling company.

The updated LIVESTRONG wristband packaging, available beginning in summer 2010, is a partially regenerated package. The cardboard and PET ring inserts are both made from post-industrial and post-consumer recycled materials.

Individual product bags for apparel and cycling gear are marked with the plastic type and recyclability information. Please check within your own community for rules on recycling the product packaging, and we ask for your participation in recycling.

Our fulfillment partner, as a company, uses recycled green products when practical. Controllable items include:

Toner cartridges and ink cartridges are recycled. They use paper towels and toilet paper that contain 40 percent post-consumer and 40 percent recycled content. They recycle the metal and other materials, as possible, in used equipment and computers.

Use of environmentally friendly cleaning products; programmable thermostats; fluorescent light bulbs; energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures and electronic ballasts; motion-detecting light switches; low-flow bathroom functionality; efficient landscape irrigation; live plants throughout facility.

Our shipping carrier, FedEx, also supports our ongoing goals to minimize our impact on the environment through its FedEx EarthSmart program within its Global Citizenship Report.