All news

GOBI, a technical supplier committed to zero waste

In line with the environmental commitments it unveiled at its press conference at UNESCO last February, the Vendée Globe has approached Gobi to design its official water bottle, in order to eliminate the use of plastic bottles in the 2024 village.

Violette Dorange et sa gourde Gobi
Violette Dorange et sa gourde Gobi
© Jean-Marie Liot/Aléa/VG2024

Founded in 2010, Gobi is helping organisations move towards reusability. Instead of importing products from the other side of the world, this company - based in Paris and Bordeaux - prefers to invent and manufacture water bottles, cutlery sets and lunch boxes locally, all eco-designed to minimise their environmental impact. The company works with ten or so industrial partners in France, and all the products are assembled in a workplace for the disabled.

‘In the Vendée Globe village, we have redesigned the waste route according to the 5Rs philosophy: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (as a last resort) and Return to the earth what can be composted. Our partnership with Gobi fits in perfectly with this approach. Water fountains will also be set up in the village so that everyone can fill their GOBI water bottle, thus eliminating the distribution and sale of plastic bottles,’ explains Alain Leboeuf, President of the Vendée Globe and President of the Vendée Department. 

We have redesigned the waste route according to the 5Rs philosophy.

Alain Leboeuf

Président du Vendée Globe
Les gourdes Gobi
Les gourdes Gobi

Solutions to suit every need

For the journalists from all over the world who come to the Vendée, the Gobi Street water bottle - the most sober in terms of the environmental impact of its manufacture - was chosen. It's also the lightest. For the volunteers and the organising team, who will always be on the move and need to hydrate regularly, Gobi also provides a 100% made in France lanyard so that they can carry their water bottle over their shoulder, making sure they don't lose it at race HQ or on the pontoons! Finally, the elegant and colourful Gobi Indoor glass bottle has been chosen to equip the skippers and press conferences.

For visitors who have forgotten their water bottle, the ‘Original’ model will be sold in the official Vendée Globe shop in the village, as well as online. It will offer a unique personalisation experience: the public will be able to personalise their water bottle with the image of a former winner of the race. It's up to the visitor to cut out their favourite card or give their predictions for the winner of this year's race!

Share this article

Latest news

Manchot adélie sur la banquise

The Vendée Globe unveils its very first mascot: Adélie the penguin

The Vendée Globe, the famous solo sailing race around the world, is proud to present its very first mascot: Adélie, the penguin. Endemic to Antarctica, the South Pole continent that sailors circumnavigate on their round-the-world voyage, the Adélie penguin is directly threatened by global warming…
Sodebo

Sodebo, VandB: partnering a boat and the Vendée Globe, how do they complement each other?

One has been a major partner of the Vendée Globe (Sodebo) for 20 years, the other a brand new official supplier (VandB). But these two companies from the Pays de la Loire region are contributing in their own way to the dynamism of the most iconic of round-the-world races. Alongside this support,…
Damien Seguin, JO de Londres

Damien Seguin: "feeding off the energy of the Olympics"

He is the most "Olympian" of the Vendée Globe skippers. The APICIL Group sailor has competed in four Olympics and won two gold medals. He will be part of the French Paralympic team's support team and will be attending events in Lille and Paris this week. But first, he looks back at the excitement…
Illustration départ du Vendée Globe

100 days to go

Objectively, time is quantified by units such as seconds, minutes, hours, days and years, and is rigorously managed by clocks and calendars. Today, only 100 days remain until the start of the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe! Subjectively - time can stretch or contract according to our activities,…
Musée de la Marine

"Solo around the world” exhibition at the musée de la Marine

From 16 October to 26 January, to mark the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe, the Musée National de la Marine in Paris-Trocadéro is devoting a major exhibition to the single-handed round-the-world race.
Paul Meilhat à bord de son IMOCA Biotherm

Paul Meilhat: ‘France can beat its record number of medals at the Olympic Sailing Games’

Sailing has a long history in the Olympic Games. Events were planned for the Athens Games in 1896, but were not held because of the weather. But four years later, the first competitions took place at the Olympic Games in Paris. That was 124 years ago, 89 years before the first Vendée Globe. Sailing…
Les équipes Sellsy

Sellsy as a committed and responsible technical supplier

Sellsy, a La Rochelle-based company offering a 100% French solution to simplify commercial and financial management for small and medium-sized companies and renowned for its commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), has signed up as a technical supplier for the Vendée Globe 2024.
IMOCA V and B - Monbana - Mayenne

V and B, official bar of the Vendée Globe 2024!

Mayenne-based company V and B will be taking over the helm of the official bar of the Vendée Globe 2024. Three weeks before the start of the single-handed, non-stop, non-assisted round-the-world race on 10 November, the 30,000 m² village will open its doors to welcome more than 2 million…