The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 34

Ideas
B I G

T R E N D S

From top: Fjällräven Greenland
Re-Wool Jacket, The North
Face ThermoBall Eco, Flylow
Quantum Pro Jacket.

Sustainability
Moves Forward
Consumers are seeking out even more
eco-friendly apparel. Outdoor suppliers and
manufacturers are listening. By Tracy Ross
For the past two decades, the
outdoor industry has committed
to more sustainable performance
apparel that keeps the bad stuff
(wind, rain, snow, sun) out and
lets the good stuff (air) in. This
season's fabrics expand on those
ongoing efforts. That makes for a
win-win for manufacturers and
retailers because outdoor consumers want the products they
buy to reflect real outdoor values.

ability manager for Fjällräven,
which eliminated PFCs from its
garments in 2015. "And since PFCs
are stored in living organisms,
they can work their way up the
food chain." At the Show, the company will be debuting packs made
from its enviro-friendly, hydrophobic, PFC-free DWR Bergshell
fabric. Look for it in the Ulvö Rolltop 23 daypack and the Bergtagen
38 mountaineering pack.

PUNTING PFCS
Back in 2014, the chemists at Under Armour started investigating
an environmentally safer DWR
(the hydrophobic coating added
to many outdoor fabrics). Their
answer after a year of trials? Omnibloq, a new eco-friendly DWR
finish with a longer shelf life than
what was currently on the market.
Omnibloq delivers laminate-like
rain resistance without blocking
breathability-and without the use
of perfluorooctanoic acid, a chemical used in Teflon that wreaks
havoc in animals and the environment. Flylow will also premiere
several pieces that employ the new
technology, including the Quantum Pro Jacket for men and the
Billie Coat for women.
"When you use that PFC-impregnated-shell jacket for your
escape into nature, small PFC
particles also escape into nature,"
explains Christiane Dolva, sustain-

NO-SHED FABRIC
A major downside to synthetic
fleeces are the thousands of microscopic fibers that release into
the environment each time they're
run through the washer. Polartec
Power Air is a new technology
engineered to reduce fiber shedding by encapsulating lofted fibers
within a multilayer, continuous
yarn fabric construction, while
also enhancing thermal capabilities. Find it in the new Windweave
Insulation Jacket by Adidas Outdoor. At the Show, Polartec will
unveil Houdini's Power Air Houdi,
a light insulated jacket featuring
the no-shed tech.

34

/ SNOW SHOW 2019

CLIMATE-FRIENDLY WOOL
Wool has been a classic staple in
outdoor garments for decades,
but the manufacturing and harvesting process can be hard on
the environment. With Fjällräven's Re-Wool initiative, wool

from Italian textile facilities that
would otherwise be thrown away
is repurposed into new garments,
which takes less energy and fewer
resources than crafting pieces
from virgin wool. At the Show,
check out the brand's Greenland
Re-Wool Jacket and Greenland
Re-Wool Cardigan. This fall, The
North Face expands the offerings
in its Climate Beneficial Wool to
include a beanie, scarf, and jacket. The North Face has partnered
with California's Bare Ranch,
which raises sheep using farming
practices that sequester more carbon dioxide than the ranch emits.
RESPONSIBLE SHELLS
AND PUFFIES
Patagonia continues to push the
industry to build eco-friendly gear.
"The use of recycled materials in
sportswear and casual wear has
increased significantly in the past
few seasons," says Patagonia's Corey Simpson. "This is a great step
forward, but the next frontier is in
the technical garment space." At
the Show, every technical Patagonia shell-that's 62 total-is built
of 100 percent recycled materials.
The collection is anchored around
the new Ascensionist Jacket, a
13-ounce three-layer Gore-Tex
piece, and the Macro Puff, with
100 percent upcycled insulation.
Today at the Show, The North
Face launches a new waterproof-breathable three-layer fabric
developed using an innovative
nanospinning technology. Called
Futurelight, the material uses
recycled fabrics and sustainable
manufacturing in a solar-powered
factory. The North Face will also
premiere its ThermoBall Eco insulation made from plastic bottles.
The insulation from each jacket is
equivalent to about five plastic bottles diverted from the landfill.
The Daily - January 30, 2019

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