Sustainable Outdoor Apparel
Sustainable Innovation in Outdoor Apparel: The Basics
By: Frankie Getman
As college students in Vermont, we know the importance of high-functioning outdoor apparel. If you’re reading Clover Magazine, you know it can be tricky to look stylish while braving the Vermont winters. However, with the rise of “Gorpcore” and other outdoor-apparel-inspired fashion trends, functionality and fashion are no longer mutually exclusive.
Unfortunately, the fashion industry contributes at least 10% of carbon emissions worldwide. At the intersection of science and style, however, the outdoor apparel industry is investing many of its resources into creating products that simultaneously address our functional and environmental needs. As consumers, it is important that we are informed about our clothing, and there are three main points of innovation to be aware of: synthetic materials, natural materials, and circularity.
Weather-proof outdoor apparel is often reliant on synthetic materials. In recent years, there has been a movement to remove PFAs (polyfluoroalkyl substances) from clothing. PFAs are used to make clothing water- and stain-resistant, but they are known as “forever chemicals” because they can take hundreds to thousands of years to break down. They are extremely harmful for humans and animals, and also threaten our air and water quality. So, textile manufacturers and chemists have been developing PFA-free weather-proof alternatives such as Primaloft Bio, GoreTex ePe, Polartec Power Shield Pro, and Artilect EMPEL. These textiles are used by brands like Arc’teryx and REI to phase out their fabrics that contain PFAs. Some other brands, like Jack Wolfskin and KEEN, have completely eliminated PFAs from their products and supply chain. While this is significant, many of these alternative synthetic textiles still contain microplastics and chemicals that can be harmful to humans and the environment as they break down.
Aside from synthetics, there is also ongoing innovation on the natural fiber front. Brands like PAKA, Ibex, FreeFly, Nuyarn, and Jungmaven are innovating the use of merino wool, alpaca wool, hemp, and bamboo in outdoor apparel. Natural fibers are beneficial because they tend to break down and reintegrate into the environment more easily than synthetic fibers. While these changes move away from the potentially harmful aspects of synthetics, they rely on animal and land farming, which can use a lot of natural resources and energy.
The final, and possibly most important, point of sustainable improvement is circularity. Circularity creates a circular supply chain by creating pathways for garment reuse. As reported by the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, approximately 92 million tons of clothing end up discarded in landfills annually. So, it is crucial to find ways to keep apparel in use for as long as possible without throwing it away. On the market today, circularity can be seen in Patagonia Worn Wear, REI Garage, Arc’teryx ReBird and ReGear, The North Face Renewed, and Outerknown. Some companies, like Houdini, attack their sustainability from all three directions – both synthetic and natural fibers as well as circularity. Many of the sustainable textiles available today are extremely expensive, so circularity is crucial because it provides a more affordable way to participate in sustainable clothing practices.
There is amazing innovation happening in outdoor apparel materials and design. As we continue to deal with worsening and unpredictable weather conditions due to climate change, the garments we use will become increasingly essential. I think it is important that in this process, we do not lose the joy of wearing beautiful clothing, but that we also continue to find ways to consume more responsibly.