Environmental Impact

Anyone who's had experience with Bavsound products can see that a lot of care has been taken to make a high-quality product with rugged performance and amazing sound quality, but as we know, everything has a cost.

So when making our products what's our philosophy on protecting our most precious resource: Mother Earth and its people?

It’s simple: we believe we have a duty to be careful with our planet's finite natural resources, to protect the environment, and to ensure that the workers involved in making our products aren’t subject to human rights abuses.

THE FIRST STEP: HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS

For the environment, the very best thing we can do is make truly high quality gear. If we make awesome stuff that rarely breaks (i.e. no built-in obsolescence here!) and will last for the life of your car, then that's the first, best step we can take, and we've taken it.

OPENNESS & TRANSPARENCY

But what have we done when it comes to actually making our products?

While it's very difficult for any manufactured good not to have an adverse impact on the environment, we are committed to constantly finding ways to reduce the impact that our products make.

We also strive to for an honest dialogue with ourselves and our customers about what we make, where it is manufactured, and under what conditions -- so you can make an informed decision as a consumer about what you’re buying.

THE DETAILS: HOW OUR PRODUCTS ARE MADE, WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW, AND OUR FUTURE PLANS

(Keep in mind some products we license, resell, or source through an intermediary, so we are unable to comment on their manufacturing processes, as this is information to which we are not privy. We’re working on getting more information and developing more direct relationships with factories moving forward).

WHERE OUR PRODUCTS ARE MADE

Almost all products we sell are made in three places: right here in the United States, Taiwan, and China. Those products which we do not receive in “finished” form from China or Taiwan are assembled here in the United States.

Almost every single product we sell falls into this category, except our integration products.

That means that if you’ve purchased one of our speaker upgrade kits or subwoofer systems, you’re supporting American labor and industry. However, while in many cases we could, we do not label any of the products we sell as “Made in the USA” unless they are made 100% here in the U.S.

WHAT WE'VE DONE TO PROTECT LABOR AND HUMAN RIGHTS

We've had our representative in China inspect the factories and companies we work with directly to make sure there is no use of child labor or abusive factory conditions, and to make sure the factories are in general "good standing" and respected within their community.

We have on our "to do list" a more extensive personal inspection and/or audit of these facilities as well.

WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE TO REDUCE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

1. We are in the process of transitioning to 100% recycled corrugated material on our speaker and amplifier boxes. We’ve also spent extra time and money to engineer a purely corrugated (biodegradable) structure to hold the speakers in place rather than using cheaper, easier, molded foam which, for all practical intents, does not biodegrade.
2. We've also begun eliminating certain unnecessary parts on certain speakers like the rubber "boot" on our the 5.25" drivers used a number of vehicles, and will continue to do so throughout our entire speaker line.
3. We use 15% recycled bags for shipping our speakers. (We’d love to use higher recycled content bags, but any more than that and they rip too easily).
4. Our entire BAVSOUND Interior Disassembly Tool Kit was sourced in Taiwan at greater expense due to their (generally) higher standard of pollution control and human rights protections. We also chose at higher cost a poly- fiber toolkit bag that we knew was free of lead and some known toxic chemicals.
5. We’ve eliminated our office, so everyone on the Bavsound team works from home. This means we don’t use any energy to heat or cool an office space, and we’ve reduced our contribution to greenhouse gases by eliminating our daily commutes (although, to be fair, we’re car nuts. So, it’s possible we’ve made that up in joyrides!)

WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IN THE FUTURE

1. Purchase carbon offsets for all aspects of business operations, including manufacturing, at no additional cost to our customers. Shipping alone produces approximately 10% of the world’s green-house gas emissions, and is one of the fastest-growing causes of climate change. We’d like to reduce our impact.
2. Use 100% vegetable-based plastic bags to protect products in transit (Currently our Soundplicity ONE uses a biodegradable cellophane rather than petroleum-based "Celo" material. The problem is this material isn't strong enough for the larger items we sell. Maybe one day it will be readily available).
3. We also dream that soon all plastic we use in manufacturing, for which it is possible from an engineering standpoint, will come from vegetable-based sources, and all metal possible (again, from an engineering standpoint) can be sourced from recycled materials.
4. We are unable at a certain point to track the origins of component materials such as neodymium, copper or certain plastics. We hope for the best and support institutions around the world that are fighting for greener, more humane methods of manufacturing or acquiring raw material.
5. Eventually, we would like to be large enough to dictate to our factories where to source their materials and their manufacturing processes, but this simply isn’t possible given our relatively small size and volume. (Hint: it helps if you buy our products!)

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

1. Recycle or reuse your box, paperwork, and OEM (factory) equipment. If your OEM equipment is working consider selling or donating them on eBay or Craigslist, or a BMW forum. If they are no longer working, please recycle them. The best bet is a local electronics recycling facility or event in your area (a good time to toss in that old monitor, TV, and those 5 broken flashlights and calculators cluttering up your castle).
2. Save, recycle or reuse shipping carton and packing material. Instead of throwing it away you can save it for a rainy day, or if you don't have space for storing leave it out in your complex or the street in front of your house. It's amazing how often things get taken and used when we just leave them in a visible place.
3. Please share your ideas with us. We'd love to hear from you and will take your feedback to heart. Connect us with contacts that can help -- we are always open to the idea that there are people and companies out there that can help us be a better, greener company as we develop. Know of an eco- conscious speaker manufacturer, or a new non-toxic high-performance plastic? Let us know!

OUR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE

Across the world things are changing very rapidly, and though we are still a small company with limited resources and "clout" we hope everyday to become more and more a part of "the solution." Our children's (and our great-great grandchildren's) well-being depends on it. We are working towards this goal professionally and personally, and hope you will join with us to reach this higher, healthier place.