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Our values
Durability
- Product longevity: Opinels are made to keep and hand down.
- Our aim is to reduce the environmental impact of our manufacturing processes.
Simplicity
- Functional, useful, and accessible products.
- A benevolent, positive, and collaborative state of mind.
Transmission
- Intergenerational products faithful to the design heritage of 1890.
- Savoir-faire handed down and preserved in Savoie.
- A family business attached to its roots.
Our objectives
We are committed to improving our environmental impact as part of a virtuous cycle.
Reduce by
15%
our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030
Our certifications
Member of the United Nations Global Compact
For compliance with the Ten Universal Principles of Sustainable Development
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Member of 1% for the Planet
We are committed to donating 1% of our sales of plastic products to environmental bodies.
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PEFC certification
Our beech and hornbeam come from local sustainably managed forests (Vercors, Jura).
Read moreOur environmental actions
At Opinel, we place sustainability and respect for the environment at the heart of our approach, from the design of our products through to their manufacture and distribution.
Sustainable and repairable products
Designed to last, our knives have been passed down through the generations.
By simply sharpening them, you can maintain their effectiveness through time, making them far from disposable.
We also offer sharpening and repair services to extend their lifetime and reduce waste.
Read more
Positive products that encourage a healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle
Our products combine environmental respect with meaningful uses, for example:
- N°08 "Atelier" has been designed to use reclaimed wood.
- The Picnic+ Set replaces disposable cutlery, and the Nomadic Kitchen Kit lets you cook anywhere without sacrificing quality.
- Our Mini Chef collection introduces children to the pleasure of healthy cooking, while My First Opinel teaches them all about crafts and discovering nature.
Locally sourced, sustainable materials.
We favour sustainable, recyclable or recycled, local materials.
Steel
Our steel is European (France, Sweden, Germany) and 100% recyclable. Our stainless steel suppliers guarantee a recycled steel content of 80 to 85%.
Wood
95% of our wood comes from France. Beech and hornbeam, which account for 80% of our products, are PEFC-certified woods from sustainably managed local forests (Vercors, Jura).
Polymers
At the end of 2024, we began the virtuous transformation of our polymer collections by adopting rPP, recycled polypropylene, a plastic made from recycled industrial waste. Its manufacturing process generates 90% less CO2 emissions, and the recycling of waste reduces the consumption of a natural fossil resource, crude oil.
Our Facette table knives feature handles made from VittEr® eco-material, which itself is the product of FSC-certified paper from a short, 100% Italian supply chain, without the use of glues, resins, or plastic derivatives: the result is a product with zero formaldehyde emissions.
Textile materials
Our cases are made in Savoie, using eco-responsible recycled materials such as regenerated leather, an ecological material derived from the processing of waste leather fibres to which plant-based substances are added, or R-PET felt, which is derived from the recycling of plastic bottles.
Eco-responsible manufacturing
Our production process minimises its environmental impact:
- We limit transport pollution by working with local suppliers, 80% of whom are French and 96% European.
- We release zero waste into the water, and we sort and recycle our waste: Paper / cardboard / wood / scrap metal / steel scrap 100% of waste is recycled or recycled Plastic → 99% of plastic is recycled 98% of textile supplies are reusable
- The handles are coloured using water-based dyes.
- Our blades are cleaned and degreased without chemical agents, using cereal grains in a vibrational machine.
Reduced, eco-friendly packaging
40% of our products are sold without individual packaging.
For the past 20 years, our packaging and displays have been made mainly from recycled cardboard using environmentally friendly inks.
Our blister packs, which were redesigned in 2023, use recyclable PET, reducing plastic consumption by 80%; that's nearly 10 tonnes of plastic.
Un site vertueux
Energy
Combustion of the wood chips from the shaping of the knife handles, together with the energy released by the air compressors, provide all the heating for the workshops and offices; that means zero consumption of gas and fuel oil 100% of our lighting is provided by low-energy bulbs. The site is also equipped with presence detector lighting.
We plan to install solar panels on the roof of our new 500 m2 extension to cover 10% of our electricity consumption.
Mobility
To help reduce pollution caused by transportation, we provide our employees with 6 electric bicycles and charging points for electric vehicles.
A lump-sum sustainable mobility allowance, introduced on 1 July 2023, is paid to employees who opt for alternatives to driving their personal vehicle for their commute.
Our sales staff drive full hybrid vehicles.
Biodiversity
Since 2016, four beehives have been installed on our site in Chambéry, helping to maintain biodiversity. This means the bees produce honey while enjoying the trees near our workshops.
This is a nod to our founder, Joseph Opinel, an amateur beekeeper.
Our partnerships
Our patronage policy is devoted to associations working to preserve and develop the forest (Sylv'acctes, Francis Hallé Foundation for the Primary Forest).
Our sponsorship initiatives are dedicated to positive areas that are in line with our products and that encourage sharing, transmission, and closeness to nature: cooking, outdoor activities, and sailing.
