The Road to Sustainable Outerwear
The process of making our cozy, planet-friendly Spruce Wood Collection
The road to creating resource-friendly clothing isn’t an easy one, especially when it comes to insulated outerwear. But for us, it’s been the only road. This fall, we’re stoked to have Mother Nature’s stamp of approval on our first-ever release of cozy recycled insulation outerwear.
Insulated outerwear are jackets lined with a filler to keep you toasty. The fabric making up the shell of the jacket helps keep the elements out and warmth in. Zippers and buttons are added to keep the coziness factors high, and then little details come in – trims, hood, collar… the list goes on. Making these jackets is a complicated process, but it becomes much tougher with sustainability in mind.
Traditionally, the filler of insulated jackets is made from synthetic materials or down feathers – neither are eco-friendly choices. On top of that, material availability, cost, and development are all considerations. We took the time to work across suppliers to create and execute our vision of crafting a high-quality filler with a lower impact than the traditional option. Kyle, our Chief Product Officer, explains:
“Instead of using down, we are using a recycled fiber fill that is blown into the outerwear’s channels in the same way as goose and duck down. This gives it loft (fluffy, lightweight-ness) and warmth. The actual recycled fiber fill is constructed to mimic a down plume so that it holds heat in and gives maximum loft.”
Outside of some rad and sustainable filler innovation with recycled fibers, the Spruce Wood Collection was crafted with vintage vibes in mind. Think mountain parkas of the 60s and 70s meets the coziness of a fluffy sleeping bag. The exterior shells are made from a recycled polyester blend to give a modern take on sustainability and jacket performance (AKA handling chilly weather).
And though it sounds obvious, outerwear needs to be, well, warm. It was important to us that this collection be high quality enough to stand the test of weather (and time!). So, we wear-tested the collection to make sure every style could hold up to cold weather adventures.
Insulation in a jacket is measured by grams per square meter (GSM). Generally, a higher GSM translates to a warmer jacket. With that in mind, a 550 GSM jacket would be a true cold weather jacket, great for wearing before/after hitting the slopes and when there’s snow on the ground.
Our Spruce Wood Shirt Jacket is rated at 220 GSM, not quite slope-wear, but a great option to stay warm on chilly nights up until the first big snowfall. And our Spruce Wood Parka comes in at 550 GSM – ready for all the true cold weather adventures.
If you’re bundling up this winter, our new Spruce Wood Collection gives recycled fibers a second life in a comfy, sustainable outerwear option that’s timeless and will truly keep you warm in the cold. As Kyle says: “It has all the nostalgic vibes with all of the sustainable and performance goodness.”
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