You don’t need another ski jacket
Mission statement
Our mission is to inspire the global community by championing Icelandic values that foster: a culture of protection - of people and environment; gender equality in business and society; a reevaluation of the role of clothes through the concept of úlpa, living with fewer garments that work harder for longer.
Supply chain & people
Operations reporting
Looking back to go forward
As we put pen to paper to share progress made at 66°North during 2023; the highs, the lows and everything in between - we acknowledge that the act of creating our impact report is, in itself, a powerful tool in the ongoing journey towards becoming the best possible version of ourselves. The process of reviewing the year naturally leads to moments of quiet reflection giving us a useful pause in the frenetic pace of running a business with a growing community of stakeholders, and the ambition to become the first Icelandic brand known throughout the world. All of which comes with huge responsibility, to our employees, our customers and our business partners.
2023 saw the publication of our first ever Impact report which in turn documented our milestone certification as Iceland’s first B Corp in 2022. Now as we reflect on the last 12 months we are simultaneously looking towards our recertification in 2025 with our centenary in 2026 in touching distance a year later.
This fixation with time is perhaps an inevitable occupational hazard when you are the guardians of an almost 100 year old brand.
Perhaps the greatest responsibility we have of all is to the brand itself, and the role it will play in society for the next 100 years.
We are fortunate that the brand has had the building blocks for future fitness from the very beginning; we are privileged to own a big part of our value chain with our own factories located
in Europe, enabling us to have close control on quality and ethics. Through the preservation of handicraft and the cultivation of know-how we are able to make garments that meet the first principle of circularity through their durability and multifunctionality, while our repair service, that has existed for as long as the brand has, means we can keep our clothing in circulation for longer. These fundamental foundations are as much a part of our story as the glaciers, volcanoes and oceans that form our typography and create the need for our products. Knowing how long our clothing stays in circulation and seeing it passed down through generations is one of the benefits of our longevity
Our guiding framework
In 2022 we were proud to become the first Icelandic company to certify as a B-Corporation. Since then Iceland’s iconic Blue Lagoon became the second to certify in 2023. The B Corporation membership framework, along with consideration for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals guide decisions we make around how we grow responsibly.
With the recertification process timetabled every 3 years we have one year remaining within our current term before we are re-evaluated by B Corp in 2025. This means that 2024 is an important year for evaluating our progress, reassessing our areas of focus and carrying out specific actions that will ensure we are on course.
“B Corp certification has been a transformative journey for us, embedding sustainability and social responsibility into our DNA. It’s not just a badge; it’s our commitment to doing business differently, for the betterment of our community, environment, and future generations.”
– Bjarney, CBO
B Corp score
93.5
50.9 overall B impact Score qualifies for B Corp is the median score for ordinary businesses
80
Workers 27.6
Workers evaluates a company’s contributions to its employees’ financial security, health & safety, wellness, career development, and engagement & satisfaction, as well as business models designed to benefit workers non-executive ownership and workforce development programs.
Financial Security 4.8
Health, Wellness, & Safety 8.6
Career Development 3.0
Engagement & Satisfaction 7.2
Community 18.8
Community evaluates a company’s engagement with and impact on the communities in which it operates, hires from, and sources from. Topics include diversity, equity & inclusion, economic impact, civic engagement, charitable giving, and supply chain management.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion 5.6
Economic Impact 1.3
Civic Engagement & Giving 4.1
Supply Chain Management 6.2
Environment 33.1
Environment evaluates a company’s overall environmental management practices as well as its impact on the air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity. This includes the direct impact of a company’s operations, product, supply chain and distribution channels.
Environmental Management 5.0
Air & Climate 9.2
Water 3.1
Land & Life 7.2
+ Land/wildlife Conservation 0.4
+ Toxin Reduction / Remediation 6.5
Customers 4.0
Customers evaluates a company’s stewardship of its customers through the quality of its products and services, ethical marketing, data privacy and security, and feedback channels.
Customer Stewardship 4.0
Governance 9.8
Governance evaluates a company’s overall mission, engagement around its social/ environmental impact, ethics, and transparency.
Mission & Engagement 2.2
Ethics & Transparency 5.1
+ Mission Locked 2.5
When 66°North decided to galvanise which Sustainable Development Goals the company is most aligned with in its sustainability efforts, we decided to involve the entire office staff in the decision-making process, to ensure our shared values represented the collective voice.
This dialogue culminated in a company-wide vote, allowing every team member to have a say in selecting the SDGs that 66°North would prioritize. This vote not only identified SDGs 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 5 (Gender Equality), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 13 (Climate Action) as the company’s focus areas but also strengthened the team’s bond and commitment to these goals.
This process highlighted the collective spirit of 66°North, where sustainability and social responsibility are deeply ingrained in the culture, chosen by the people who embody the brand daily. The selected SDGs now represent both the brand’s ethos and the personal convictions of its staff, making their pursuit a shared mission.
66°North actively contributes to this goal not just through the production of warm, protective, and durable clothing that enables people to experience life outdoors in nature in all types of weather, but also by promoting a culture of health and movement both within the community and amongst its employees. The company influences outdoor behavior through the sponsorship of athletes, mountaineering expeditions, and hosting events like running campaigns, which are paired with marketing initiatives to encourage more people to engage in physical activities. Internally, 66°North supports its staff well-being with initiatives such as an athletic academy, yoga and gym classes, and social events like annual golf tournaments, further advocating for a healthy, active lifestyle.
66°North’s commitment to gender equality is demonstrated through commitment to equal gender pay, employing more women than men to address workforce imbalances, and ensuring a high proportion of leadership roles are fulfilled by women, especially significant in locations like Latvia where gender equality in the workplace is a critical issue. The company’s hiring policies are gender-neutral, focusing on skills and potential rather than gender, and aim to offer growth opportunities for all employees, showcasing a robust model for promoting gender equality in the corporate sector.
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Responsible Consumption and Production
Through the use of recycled materials, minimising production waste by utilising leftover materials, offering repair services for its durable products, and selecting suppliers with environmental and social certifications, 66°North strives to operate responsibly in accordance to SDG 12. The company maintains a tight control on production levels to avoid excessive inventory. This is most effective in terms of styles produced on within our own factories in Latvia where we are able to adjust production levels to meet customer demand rather than overstock through longer range forecasting.
66°North’s engagement with climate action is comprehensive, extending from producing high-quality, durable products designed to last (“Made for Life”) to operating a repair shop that extends the products’ lifespan. The company advocates for sustainable growth through policy influence, supports glacier conservation through awareness events and donations, and commits to carbon neutrality by offsetting its carbon emissions through tree planting initiatives. These efforts showcase a profound commitment to environmental stewardship and combating climate change.
In essence, 66°North’s activities and policies provide a multifaceted approach to addressing the SDGs, demonstrating how businesses can play a critical role in advancing global goals through internal policies, product design, community engagement, and advocacy.
SDG 12:
Advocating for systematic change
Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) is a corporation created to generate social and public good, and to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner. They are legally bound to operate transparently, report environmental and social impacts, and adhere to sustainable for real sustainability progress. This status encourages social and eco-friendly
business models, attracting like-minded investors and consumers. 66°North views PBC as a superior standard to current EU disclosure regulations for large corporations, advocating for broader and more impactful corporate responsibility.
In early 2023, 66°North’s Sustainability team identified a pivotal opportunity for evolution in company law in Iceland that, if adopted, will lead to the creation of a third legal category of business in the country; that of public benefit corporation (PBC).
Having identified this powerful lever, aimed at driving increased momentum around the responsible business movement, both locally within Iceland, and globally, 66°North’s team led the drafting of the proposal to be presented for consideration by Iceland’s Parliament, securing advice from a dynamic team of legal experts to ensure it has the best possible chance of success. Once the draft proposal was ready 66°North then sought to galvanise support for the motion among like minded business figures.
On 18th September 2023, Nille Skalts, founder of the B Corp movement and executive
director of B Lab Nordics visited Iceland and added her signature to the proposal in the Sveinstofa meeting room at Logos, Iceland’s Parliament. Symbolically the room contains a bronze statue of Sveinn Bjornsson, a former president of Iceland, alongside Sigríður úr Brattholti, a bold woman who, with his help, saved Iceland‘s most beautiful waterfall ‘Gullfoss’, from being ruined by plans to build a dam.
As a member of the global B Corp movement and a passionate ambassador for Iceland and Icelandic business, 66°North recognises the importance of collaboration and is committed to driving a wider movement of change, advocating for this pathway for the benefit of all businesses in the country.
At the time of publication of this report, a working committee is in process of assessing the proposal’s potential for implementation.
[PBC status has existed in the United States since April 2010, while In Europe, so far Italy, who became the first European state and the second country in the world to introduce this new legal status for companies in 2016, and Spain, who, followed in 2022, have introduced this third category and its effects have been deemed positive. If 66°North is successful, this law change paves the way for a more equitable environment within which sustainably motivated Icelandic companies can thrive, while also having potential to create a ripple effect throughout the Nordics and Scandinavia where like minded business figures are eagerly following the motion’s progress.]
Made for life
Introduction
Nature is our greatest teacher and our harshest product tester. At 66°North, the foundation of our business is creating garments that are fit for purpose, placed in context of our Icelandic heritage it can be as serious as survival in extreme conditions outdoors. Our core principal has, therefore, always been to make garments that can be relied upon by our customers in extreme conditions, winter after winter, year after year.
While that philosophy applied to today doesn’t necessarily mean arctic cold for everyone - we apply the same standards of high quality and performance to a waterproof shell that could be worn on the streets of New York, on a hike in the UK’s Lake District or up a mountain in Europe on a bright but cold, blue sky day.
Durability and repairability are the backbone of our approach to design but as a company committed to lessening our impact on the natural environment we are acutely aware that the choices we make about which materials we use dictate the overall impact of that garment through its lifecycle.
The core of our brand is within technical outdoor wear which means a large proportion of the garments we make are created using mono-material performance fabrics. We also use cotton, wool, down and other man-made fabrics depending on the requirements of the garment by its owner.
We are actively expanding our use of recycled, upcycled, biodegradable and organic natural fibres, we also do our utmost to avoid keeping deadstock materials and make use of them as much as possible between seasons. The majority of the 2023 collections were made with materials that fall under the above and our goal is that each season we work towards a more sustainable material choices. Preferred materials* account for at least 60% of the collection.
Cotton
Traditionally farmed cotton is grown within a monoculture, which means the same crop is intensively farmed on the same piece of land year after year, depleting the soil of essential nutrients, ultimately reducing it’s capacity to produce strong, healthy crops. Over time land farmed this way becomes less productive. This, combined with the impact of chemicals through the extensive use of fertiliser and pesticides which runs off the fields into the surrounding area and waterways not only affect the soil health but also creates a range of negative environmental impacts including biodiversity loss an affects health of workers.
The impacts on people and communities from this type of cotton agriculture are wide ranging and well-documented, from keeping farmers trapped in poverty and/or economic insecurity if their work is not properly paid for or safeguarded, to diverting water resources that would otherwise be used for human needs or food agriculture, to the negative health
effects of working with harsh chemicals and the associated pollution.
For this reason 66°North is committed to using 100% certified organic cotton within its collections.
Organic Cotton is farmed without pesticides or chemical fertilizers and is typically grown so is less harmful to the environment. As we look to work increasingly in harmony with nature as part of our commitment to the environment we are looking at further improving the impact of our choices by considering regeneratively farmed cotton, which is even better for nature than organic, and considering introducing hemp, which is often called a ‘wonder crop’ in environmental terms. With similar functionality to cotton it has several advantages over it; hemp grows faster than cotton, requires far less water, is stronger and more durable, becomes softer and more comfortable than cotton over time and it accepts dye more easily than cotton.
Down
66°North has been committed to solely purchasing certified down products such as Responsible Down Standard, Downpass and the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, via our longterm partner based in Germany, since 2011.
60% of the down styles within our AW23 collection are made using recycled down which meets the Global Recycling Standard (GRS) - this is up from 43% in 2022.
The standards we adhere to guarantee a transparent chain of custody from farm to final product guarantee, ‘The Five Freedoms’, in animal management, ensuring the welfare of birds and geese from hatching to slaughter are upheld including the prohibition of liveplucking and force-feeding livestock.
Recycled down is a 100% renewable and biodegradable, natural filling material.
By keeping pre-loved down in use through a careful recycling process a circular philosophy is supported, extending the life cycle of resources.
Wool
All the merino wool that is used within our core collection is sourced from New Zealand and meets the Textile Exchange’s Responsible Wool Standard (RWS). Along with animal welfare protection standards ‘The Five Freedoms’, RWS also incorporates land health preservation, taking into account soil health, biodiversity, and the protection of native species, alongside social factors such as decent working conditions nd the health and safety of workers.
For some special lines like the Sölvhóll shearling collection, Dyngja wool capsule and Kaldi Gore Jackets, we use wool from the Icelandic sheep breed farmed on traditional Icelandic farms. This hardy wool is particularly suited to outerwear as the fleece has evolved over 1100+ years to be optimal for the unpredictable weather conditions experienced in Iceland. Icelandic sheep farming uses non-intensive, traditional farming methods that prioritise animal welfare, careful land management and heritage grazing techniques.
Recycled or man-made materials
We aim to use as much of recycled material as possible throughout our collections and work closely with our suppliers to introduce new and improved materials in our collections as they bring them to the market.
SEAQUAL® YARN is a high quality 100% post-consumer recycled polyester yarn that contains approximately 10% SEAQUAL marine plastic (from plastic marine litter), the remaining 90% is post-consumer PET from land sources.
We use SEAQUAL yarn in products like our Flot heritage line which was introduced in 2023.
Much of the Polartec fleece we offer in our collections is made with recycled plastic bottles. We have also introduced shed-less fleece options which reduce microfibres (microplastics) entering the water supply via
the washing process and, ultimately ending up in our oceans.
Our swimwear prioritises recycled materials; women’s one piece and two piece suits which require stretch are made from ECONYL® fabric produced by Carvico.
Renowned for its ultra-chlorine resistance, resistance to sun cream and oil, exceptional muscle support, excellent coverage and the material stands as a testament to quality and durability. Our men’s swim shorts are made using recycled polyester.
The PFA’s status
66°North is in the process of phasing out PFAS within its product lines. As we outlined in our 2022 impact report no new styles will be made with materials that contain PFAs. In relatable terms this means that no new styles introduced as part of our Spring Summer 2024 product selection contain PFAS. We will continue to phase materials containing PFAS out from all carry over products by Autumn Winter 2025. We would like to implement this even sooner, however, as performance fabrics must be purchased up to two years before they are needed we have stock of some fabric containing PFAS. There is no credible solution other than to use these resources. The alternatives, which are not viable, would be destruction or sending them to landfill, neither of which are a win for the environment, so we have made the decision to use them up until they are gone.
The only exception to the above is where 66°North may use dead stock materials within a collaborative project that sits outside of our core collections to use up any remaining resources. From time to time these may contain PFAS while we still have stock of such materials. During this transition phase any products that contain PFAS will be clearly labeled in accordance with current best practice specific to each market’s guidelines to allow consumers to make informed choices.
For SS24 66°North has introduced Polartec’s PFA free Power Shield fabric, which uses an alternative plant-based coating and membrane, into some garments.
[Among 66°North’s current garments the following are made from PFC-free fabric and fillings
Most of these styles should also have PFC free and recycled zippers, however, awaiting confirmation
Þórsmörk parka: fluorocarbon free, made from Bluesign approved fabric and 100% recycled (fabric, filling and lining)
Vatnajökull insulated: fluorocarbon free, made from Bluesign approved fabric and 100% recycled (fabric, filling and lining)
Skálafell jacket and pants: fluorocarbon free, made from Bluesign approved fabric, and partly recycled (fabric, filling and lining)
Krafla Down styles: fluorocarbon free, made from Bluesign approved fabric, bio dyed and partly recycled (fabric and lining). Filling is certified GRS down.
Dyngja Down styles: 100% recycled (fabric, down filling and lining)
Tindur shearling: PFC free, made from Bluesign approved fabric, and largely recycled raw materials.
Kría fleece: PFC free, made from Bluesign approved fabric, and largely recycled raw materials. This item is not currently online so not linked here.
Hrannar Alpha: PFC free, made from Bluesign approved fabric, and largely recycled raw materials.
Vik: PFC free, made from Bluesign approved fabric and largely recycled raw materials. In addition 66°North has switched to dope dyed material for this style. Dope dyeing uses less water than traditional dyeing techniques.
Straumur swimsuits and trunks are PFC free and 78% recycled.
Snæfell technostretch hoodies are in Seaqual recycled polyester that is PFC free, made from Bluesign approved fabric
Wool garments: at least 90% of the items are certified RWS ( responsible wool standard) and by default PFC free.
There are more PFC free and product made using Bluesign approved fabrics in the line but these are the most significant styles.
Durability
When 66°North uses the phrase ‘Made For Life’ we mean it quite literally. A bi-product of our longevity as a brand and our unique circumstances, as a business existing within a small island nation where nearly every Icelander owns at least one piece of our clothing, mean that we get continual direct feedback about the quality and durability of our garments.
It is gratifying to hear stories about garments that someone has owned for several decades and is still using them or of jackets passed down through the family over generations.
The motivation for 66°North to create durable garments stems from the fundamental truth that from the beginning, our very first customers had to be able to RELY on their quality not just to feel warm and dry, but to survive.
Life is much easier now than it was then but the foundations we were built on are
more relevant than ever with durability and goods staying in use for as long as possible among the core principles of a circular economy.
As the fashion industry prepares for increased regulation we are digging deep into our core values, continuing to deliver on those things we are already good at, and looking to address areas that we have potential to strengthen.
Customer Stories
Guðmundur Ingvarsson, 88, lives at Þingeyri in the Icelandic Westfjords, where he tends his two horses daily whatever the weather wearing his decades-old 66°North shell jacket, which has been a staple in his family’s wardrobe for all these years.
He said, ‘The jacket has been worn consistently going back decades into the last century. It has weathered countless outdoor adventures, emerging unscathed without a single stitch out of place - it has never even needed repair.
Aðalbjörg Sigurjónsdóttir is seen here wearing a 30-year-old Kría jacket that she found in her parents closet and now wears 10 to 11 months of the year - as a shell in Spring, and with warm layering in winter.
“This jacket is so versatile; it’s kind of like a sweater-jacket hybrid and is therefore thin enough to use during summer but warm enough for the winter too - with a well chosen mid-layer underneath.”
“What makes a good winter jacket is that it’s durable, waterproof, warm, and has good pockets,” says Aðalbjörg Sigurjónsdóttir about the Kría jacket she found in her parents’ closet. “30 years ago, my parents bought matching winter jackets, as was common in those days. My dad still wears his.”
Eco design principles
How 66°North’s approach fits within the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles as laid out in its proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), published on 30 March 2022
The EU’s Strategy lays out a forward-looking set of actions.
The European Commission will:
• Set design requirements for textiles to make them last longer, easier to repair and recycle, as well as requirements on minimum recycled content
• Introduce clearer information and a Digital Product Passport
• Reverse overproduction and overconsumption, and discourage the destruction of unsold or returned textiles
• Address the unintentional release of microplastics from synthetic textiles
• Tackle greenwashing to empower consumers and raise awareness about sustainable fashion
• Introduce mandatory and harmonised Extender Producer Responsibility rules for textiles in all Member States and incentivise producers to design products that are more sustainable
• Restrict the export of textile waste and promote sustainable textiles globally
• Incentivise circular business models, including reuse and repair sectors
• Encourage companies and Member States to support the objectives of the Strategy
Here we have summarised the requirements of ESPR and outlined how the work we are doing at 66°North aligns strongly with the proposed regulation and where we need to increase our focus.
1. Eco Design principles
Durability
Repairability
Removal of substances of concern and inhibiting circularity
Energy & resource efficiency
Recycled content
Remanufacturing ability
Repairability
Carbon & environmental footprint
2. Implementation of digital product passports
3. Oversight of unsold goods
4. Ban on unsold stock destruction
*1.6: Remanufacturing ability refers to a manufacturer’s capability to take used products, components, or materials and refurbish them to a “like-new” condition, often with the same warranty and quality as new products. This process typically involves disassembly, cleaning, repair, and reassembly. Remanufacturing helps in reducing waste, conserving resources, and lowering production costs. It’s an important aspect of sustainable manufacturing and circular economy practices.
Excellent
Excellent
In progress - no new styles being produced with PFAS
Good reducing reliance on virgin raw materials
Excellent
Excellent - no new styles made are unrepairable
See Carbon reporting (p. 79)
In progress
Not applicable
We have never destroyed product
*3 & 4: As well has having a robust stance on durability and repairability 66°North has a disciplined approach to inventory to avoid overstocking as much as possible. Where surplus inventory has occurred due to market conditions in the past twelve months, we have initiated several strategies to reduce it in a responsible way. Among these steps, we’ve provided our existing wholesale customers with access to excess products at more competitive prices. Additionally, we’ve reduced our stock of samples and surplus items by organising sample sales in key focus countries, available both online and in physical stores. Surplus items by organising sample sales in key focus countries, available both online and in physical stores.
Repair informs design
“Each time it was repaired, improvements were made that began to feed into the design of updated versions of the Magni. With a tough natural environment that is not only cold but rugged too, our products are tested harder than pretty much anywhere else in the world and the feedback we get informs improvements.” Our current head of repair Holmfridur explains. “Living in Iceland as we do it’s not your average product testing environment”
From the very beginning 66°North has offered repairs. In the beginning this was because of necessity; Iceland was a poor country and resources were scarce, so people needed their clothes to last them for as long as possible.
Fast forward to today and wider society is, to varying degrees, waking up to the reality that resources are finite and that keeping garments in use for longer is vital for us to reduce our use of raw virgin materials to a level the planet can support. Overconsumption has brought humanity full circle.
While we are acutely aware that there is more we can, and will, do in key areas, we feel confident our foundations stand us in good stead to respond to some of the most pressing aspects of ESPR.
An example of where our dual focus of durability and repair have worked synergistically to fundamentally improve one of our products is evidenced in the evolution of our Magni overall; a snowsuit that has existed as part of the 66°North childrenswear line for over 40 years.
Pálína Árnadóttir, worked at 66°North for 4 decades spending 37 years as Head of Repairs, (from 1986 until her retirement in 2023). During this time she also raised two sons who wore Magni to play throughout their childhoods. This provided a real life wear-and-tear case study that was fed directly back to design to enable them to re-engineer the suit for optimum durability. The evolution of the garment included thoughtful reinforcements in heavy wear areas but one of the most significant improvements was to switch to an incredibly hard wearing CORDURA fabric in 2015. Since that date the garment has remained unchanged having proven itself fit to meet the even the toughest of demands.
Partnerships with purpose
With our Icelandic values of making use of every last scrap ingrained in our company culture our partnerships and collaborations frequently incorporate the repurposing of otherwise unwanted offcuts or recycled materials.
During 2023 we worked on a dynamic mix of projects that encompassed retail, emerging designer and likeminded brands.
66°North for Selfridges
66°North was chosen by iconic London retailer to participate in its ‘Worn Again’ Camping & Outdoor themed initiative that took place in May 2023. The Initiative aligned with their overarching mission vision ‘to reinvent retail…and create a sustainable future for our customers’.
Highlighting circular shopping experiences, products, collaborations, events and ideas, the initiative served as a platform for giving customers alternative, more responsible options to consider alongside new season collections.
For the partnership 66°North created a unisex capsule collection designed to appeal to festival goers and individuals who love the outdoors. The collection was produced using primarily deadstock fabric from 66°North’s own factory in Latvia, and sat within Selfridges ‘Worn Again’ initiative.
66°North chose Mia Regan, a model and digital creator who is passionate about life outdoors and chooses to work only with responsible brands, to feature as the face of the campaign, alongside her friends Kevin and Karlon Bonsu, more commonly known as The Flag Twins.
Tapping Mia Regan for this initiative was a conscious decision by the brand to educate a younger demographic with messaging about responsible production.
Icelandic Glacier Research Society
In 2019 we made the decision to opt out of Black Friday, the global discounting frenzy that inevitably fuels overproduction and consumption for consumptions sake.
Rather than discounting to stimulate sales during the annual Black Friday period we have kept our product full price and instead, donated 25% of our online sales on that date to organisations whose is channelled to protecting nature. The recipient of funds raised to date has been Iceland’s Glacier Research Society, who use the money to help support research and monitoring activities that in turn are used to publicise and raise awareness about the severity of glacial mass loss.
In 2023 we raised 1,9 million ISK - roughly equivalent to £10,927 or $13,967. For the combined period 2021 and 2022 we raised 3 million ISK ($22,000 or £17,250)
“The support from 66*North is very valuable for the Glacier Research Society and has enabled us to undertake scanning of old photographs from members collection as well as to recreate selected images by visiting the same photography sites. Among other goals, the society aims to promote education about our glaciers, and the comparison of photographs clearly illustrates the changes that have occurred in them. The photographs are accessible to the public and also shed light on glacier expeditions since the society’s founding in the middle of the last century.”
In 2023, regular collaborators, Reykjavik based artisan perfumery and art collective, Fischersund, crafted a fragrance for 66°North capturing the haunting nature of glaciers, these ancient figures in the Icelandic landscape which are now quickly disappearing. Celebrating the unique smell that can only be experienced when long dormant earth and all the things that have been buried beneath the ice, come into contact with the fresh, cold air the scent, features elements including Geosmin, wet dirt and petrified wood.
Fundraising for cancer assotiations
Together with the group of Lífskraftur we raise funds for the charities LÍF and Kraftur.
LÍF Support Association works to improve the facilities and services for women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, as well as for women who require care due to gynecological conditions. Kraftur is an organization that supports young adults diagnosed with cancer between the age of 18 and 40 years old and relatives from 18 years old.
On October 7th and 8th 2023, over 120 women took part in the Life Force Walk in the Highlands of Iceland, in support of women who have to deal with infertility following cancer treatment.
Funds raised from the sale of the sweaters totalled 1.002.394 ISK (£5,777.69 or $7,283.43)
The 16 kilometre hike route took hikers around the northern edges of the Landmannaskja and the ascent to Háalda itself, which rises about 1150 m above sea level and is the highest mountain in the Landmannalaugar area.
The trail was officially named Leggangan (meaning “The Uterus Trail”) in honour of the the occasion before the walk began.
The goal of this fundraiser, organised by Lífskraftur, was to raise awareness regarding infertility in connection with cancer treatment and to raise money so that women receive psychological support and have the opportunity to undergo egg retrieval surgery before treatment begins.
Every year, around 80 women of childbearing age are diagnosed with cancer in Iceland. 66°North partnered with Lífskraft to make special Legganga sweaters, with all proceeds from the sale going to to Lífskraft.
66°North x Ganni
During 2023 66°North teamed up with long-standing collaborator, Danish women’s fashion brand, Ganni to co-create two small capsule collections utilising leftover fabricsthe first coinciding with Spring Summer 23, the second arriving in Autumn Winter 23. Ganni holds itself accountable in its public annual responsibility report; its spring–summer 2023 clothing collection is 97% “responsible” (composed of at least 50% organic, recycled, or low-impact materials). As a business we have immense respect for the role Ganni is playing in progressing sustainability within the fashion sector through their actions and, particularly, their role in taking the conversation mainstream to positively influence consumer awarenesscontributing to greater sense of responsibility in the industry as a whole.
Since our initial meeting with Ganni in 2019 when the two brands first collaborated, the husband-wife teams at the helm of each brand have recognised each other as kindred spirits, with similar outlooks and values. The Spring capsule collection was made entirely from a selection of deadstock materials, working with what we already had,
resulting in a capsule that was limited to just 100 pieces of each style.
The second of the two installments launched in Autumn Winter 2023 was designed to support its wearers through temperamental weather conditions, fusing practicality with playfulness. Crafted from lightweight, breathable and waterproof Gore-Tex materials, the collection included Bluesign and Oeko-Tex certified fabrics, alongside Seaqual — which uses 95% recycled polyester made from plastic litter removed from the ocean. For the Spring Summer capsule all of the garments were produced near-shore in our own factories in Latvia. Of the nine styles in the Autumn Winter capsule, six were made in our own factories.
“We share the same sense of pride in where we come from and for this collection, I wanted to go back to our roots and revisit some of those iconic pieces that really make us who we are. This season I have been reflecting on our journey and I love how those introspective elements come across in the collection while still being fun and new,”
– GANNI Creative director, Ditte Reffstrup
66°North x Charlie Constantinou
In 2023 we provided a platform to emerging London based designer Charlie Constantinou, giving him access to nearly 100 years of craftsmanship and know-how as a vehicle for his imaginative, textural approach to functional wear.
Having graduated in 2022 from Central Saint Martins MA Fashion Design Program where he specialised in technical fabrics and dyeing processes, Constantinou has since been awarded the ITS Academy award for emerging designers and reached the semifinals of the LVMH Prize. Brought together by a shared affinity for near-mythical landscapes and extreme weather, the collection resulting from our partnership with Charlie was made primarily from deadstock materials within 66°North’s own factories.
For Constantinou creating garments that move beyond the decorative and have a sense of purpose and of longevity is what matters - and here our values were perfectly aligned. His signature experimental quilted fabric, with its ability to expand and shrink,
adapting to the wearer, is a near perfect metaphor for 66°North’s commitment to adaptability and a perfect construction within which to use scraps and off cuts of otherwise unusable fabric to minimize waste. He is also passionate about creating something that can be used in multiple ways - also mirrored within 66°North’s design philosophy.
While planning the collection Charlie worked closely with the 66 design team, spending time in Iceland to understand how the environment has fundamentally shaped the company’s rigorous approach to garment technology. The result; two tight collections consisting of technical knitwear produced in Italy alongside outerwear staples that captured Iceland’s other worldliness through jagged dye effects and a nature-inspired colour palette. This project educates a new consumer about responsible material sourcing and, with the narrative accompanying the collection campaign, visually communicates climate impact, for example, the receding glacier profile in Iceland.
“For me the basis of this collaborative relationship was formed on the values that me and 66°North share, the need for function and practicality. The focus of my work is centred around functional wear with a greater sense of imagination and being able to break out of the proportions 66°North usually work with which played an important role in the collaboration.”
– Designer, Charlie Constantinou
‘Ever since Bjarney and I joined 66°North back in 2011, we have been interested in supporting new and emerging designers. Many of these young talents are facing similar challenges; access to capital, manufacturing capacity, and technical people. 66°North can provide all the above coupled with 100 years of experience in making performance wear that needs to keep up in the most demanding weather conditions on earth…Following the launch of our European flagship in London we wanted to find a local talent that we firmly believed did not only have talent but also the ambition to make something spectacular,’ explains CEO Helgi Oskarsson. ‘His incredible design talent is an inspiration to us and captured our imagination.’
– CEO, Helgi Rúnar Óskarsson
Airbag cushions 66°North x Fólk x Studio Flétta
For this project 66°North was introduced to emerging Icelandic interior and lifestyle brand FÓLK by regular collaboration partner Studio Flétta.
FÓLK is an emerging Icelandic interior and lifestyle brand founded in 2017 that specialises in designs for modern sustainable living. With the vision to enable and inspire people to live a more sustainable lifestyle FÓLK commissions progressive designers to create smart homeware, furniture and lifestyle products focused on sustainability, responsibility and transparency around the production process. In this example FÓLK recruited upcycling duo, Studio Flétta and gave them the brief to look for materials in a car part dealership and propose design ideas to breathe new life into discarded items from materials they found there.
Studio Flétta spent some time at the car part dealership and the pastel hued textile remnants of redundant airbags sitting
within the car wrecks caught their eye. They proposed taking these beautiful discarded textiles and redrafting them into cushions. It took two years for FÓLK to find steady sources of airbags in big enough quantities to start production. Outer airbags were sourced from car-junkyards in various countries in Europe, such as Denmark, Iceland and Poland.
Once all the fabric for the outer casing was gathered they needed a filling for the cushions and 66°North stepped in to provide repurposed power fill from 66 jackets used for the filling.
With all the components in place the cushions were then sewn by local Icelandic socio-economic non profit Huset-Venture. The rope handle is the only item used on the cushion design that is not circular.
Consumption & community
During 2023 66°North co-organised events for a range of audiences to help educate about the importance of designing for longevity and keeping goods in circulation, through repair or adaptation, for as long as possible.
Are we buying to throw away?
On 23rd November 2023, 66°North, along with the Center for Design and Architecture, and Festa, the Center for Sustainability, convened a group of Icelandic thought leaders for an anti Black Friday symposium. Held at Gróski, Hub of Innovation in Reykjavík, it was attended by academics, students, interested professionals and the general public.
Posing the question ‘Are We Buying to Throwaway?’, the purpose of the event was to highlight Icelanders’ own attitudes to consumption and how unsustainable current consumption patterns are.
Freyr Eyjólfsson, Circular Economy Manager at Icelandic waste management company, SORPA, moderated and speakers included; Hrefna Sigurðardóttir, designer at Studio Fléttu; designers Valdís Steinarsdóttir and Arnar Ingi Viðarssson; Kristín Vala Ragnarsdóttir, environmental engineer and professor at the University of Iceland; Bjarney Harðardóttir, co-owner of 66° North; Þorgerður María Þorbjarnardóttir from Landvernd and Elva Rakel Jónsdóttir, manager of Festa. All emphasised similar priorities: that the circular economy must be activated in the textile industry
and solutions must be sought to reduce its environmental footprint.
In her talk, Kristín Vala Ragnarsdóttir, a Geologist and Professor at the University of Iceland who spent 30 years living overseas with time spent in the UK, USA, Germany, Norway and France, before returning to Iceland, observed that she has never seen a society as driven to follow trends as Iceland, leading to a high level of disposability. Directly addressing Icelandic consumption patterns she shared a Phd Student’s thesis that if the whole world consumed as Icelanders consume, fourteen planets would be needed to accommodate humanity. The context of this was the recent EU study documenting that emissions from the production of fashion clothing will increase by 50% by 2030 if production remains constant compared to 2022.
The final discussion of the day focused on the importance of domestic production, the importance of educating people with the skills necessary for textile jobs, including repairing garments and how technology could be used to produce garments from start to finish in Iceland.
T-shirt making workshop
On the 21st October 2023 Arts & culture centre, Höfuðstöðin, located in Reykjavik, and 66°North joined forces to deliver a fun t-shirt workshop for kids & adults focusing on recycling materials.
66°North provided deadstock tee-shirts that had minor faults in them and so could not be sold along with leftover bits of fabric from production which could be used, for example, to create patchwork designs on the shirts.
Led by artist Sigrún Hrófsdóttir, the workshop explored the idea of what is possible when making something new out of unwanted waste material. Everyone who attended would then take their design home with them.
For 66°North organising workshops like this supports the brand’s ethos of building strong links with families in the community, a vital part of the brand’s DNA, as it has always been so intertwined with the daily lives of Icelanders throughout its history.
Supply chain & people
Ownership of production: Latvia
Unusually for the apparel industry, and almost unique in the outdoors sector specifically, 66°North owns two factories that account for just over half of our annual production - around 51% in 2023. Located in Latvia, we have owned these facilities since 1999.
This privileged position ensures that we have been able to develop and retain serious ‘know how’, ensuring outstanding quality, that enables us to uphold our ‘made to last’ values. More than that, we have the great advantage of knowing each step of our production processes - from material inputs, to product management and traceability. Both factories are visited every 12 weeks by our production team as well as visits from our design and development teams throughout the year.
Where factories and production typically sit within most apparel brands tier 3 scope emissions, our two facilities sit within our tier 1 reporting meaning we have higher levels of responsibility alongside more control over emissions and waste.
Employing a total of 174 people, our facilities are run in accordance to EU regulations relating to labour laws and workplace health and safety. All factory employees also have labour insurance and are given the option to buy health insurance with 66°North contributing 60% of the cost of this.
, who has worked for 66°North for 22 years says that the company is a good place to start from bottom and work up. “It’s easy to communicate with co-workers in Latvia and Iceland and a good way to develop language,IT and communication skills. Employment at the factory also feels ‘socially secure – salaries in time, taxes strictly according to legislation, health insurance available, work time accessible for employees with small children. Also at age 50 plus its nice to feel in a safe in position.”
Anna Elizabete Zīverte says, “As an employee who has been working at 66°North’s factory for almost three years, commented, ’it must be said that the employer thinks about the working conditions in which the employee worksprovides everything necessary to improve its quality. Both existing knowledge is valued and helps to grow and develop, there are opportunities for growth. When I came to work for this company, working hours were important. It was important not to have to work on weekends and holidays. In general, I am satisfied, I like my job, working conditions and colleagues.”
In the words of Agnese Grīsle , “After 16 years with the company, I can say that 66°North is the place to work:
- With a good reputation
- With good working conditions
- With a friendly team
- With opportunities for growth - there is an opportunity to always learn something new and educate yourself (courses on the latest current actualities)
- With flexible and employee-friendly working hours
- With guaranteed holidays as needed, considering the working period
- With a stable salary, which is always paid
Supply chain overview
Alongside our own factories in Latvia we have built a long standing network of trusted suppliers with whom we have worked for a decade or more in many in cases. We only work with partners that ensure employee well-being and follow regulations about labor, health and safety of their country.
Each year our suppliers are sent a detailed questionnaire and we use their responses to monitor adherence to internationally accepted environmental and social standards and compliance. This includes a safe and healthy work environment as well as environmental and social responsibility. The purpose of these questionnaires is to establish a measurable path within the company’s supply chain, identify gaps and offer education and share best practice.
“In selecting suppliers, we place equal priority on quality, sustainability, and ethical manufacturing practices, ensuring our partners reflect our brand’s commitment to excellence and responsibility.”
Eva Lillý Bjarndal Einarsdóttir, Head of Production, 66°North
ICELAND 0.5%
SPECIAL PROJECTS
DOWN PARKAS T-SHIRTS SWEATS
WORKWEAR FISHERMAN CLOTHING SHELLL JACKETS PANTS/BIBS SOFTSHELL JACKETS AND PANTS MID LAYER/BASE LAYER BOTH IN FLLEECE AND OTHER FARBICS
ACCESSORIES KNITTED SWEATERS
DOWN PARKAS COATS
SHELL JACKETS PPANTS ACCESS. KNITTED (CLOTHING+ ACCESS.)
SHELL JACKETS COATS
Operations reporting
Carbon reporting 2023
66°North continues to use Klappir Sustainability Management Reporting Software to gather and track our carbon data. This is then verified by Nasdaq’s ESG Reporting Guide in alignment with the principles of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Standards.
During 2023 our data resulted in documented increases of 3.4% and 6.4% in our Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions respectively.
Meanwhile, for the same period, we are pleased to report that we were able to reduce our Scope 2 emissions by 17.6%
The increase to our Scope 1 emissions is primarily attributable to an increase in the use of gas to heat our Latvian facilities due to weather changes - a more intense, and longer cold period. through the winter months. With no green renewable energy infrastructure in Latvia we unfortunately have no current alternative than to rely on gas as our heating source.
The increase to our Scope 3 emissions has been driven by increased international business travel as 66°North seeks to expand operations overseas mainly in the UK and Denmark but also, towards the end of 2023, the United States.
A proportion of the Scope 3 increases is also attributed to an increase in unsorted waste in Iceland. Unsorted waste is waste that cannot be extracted for recycling.
Meanwhile, the decrease we were able to record in our Scope 2 emissions was due to a reduction in the use of electricity within in Iceland. This is thanks to switching the majority of our lighting sources to LED.
The graph shows three consecutive years of data starting with our baseline recorded in 2021.
2021
SCOPE 1, 2, 3
TOTAL 746,3
2022
SCOPE 1, 2, 3
TOTAL 746,3
2023
SCOPE 1, 2, 3
TOTAL 881,3
Waste
During 2023 we continued to build on the work we initiated with waste management consultancy, Pure North in 2022 when we conducted a comprehensive waste audit and establish a waste action plan. While developing circular solutions remains a top priority for the business, we acknowledge that responsible waste management runs alongside this and we are working hard to improve recycling rates and eliminate waste-tolandfill at our stores and offices.
In 2022 the scope of the audit encompassed our headquarters in Garðabær and 4 stores: Hafnarstæti, Skipagata, Faxafen and Miðhraun. During 2023 we asked Pure North to conduct a review of our Latvian facilities.
In 2022 we achieved a classification rate of 75%, and mixed waste (that cannot be recycled) was 22% - this is below average. In 2023 while we reduced our overall total waste by 5718 kg (a 15% reduction), we did not meet our 15% reduction target for unsortable waste instead finishing the year with a total of 32% mixed wasteovershooting our target by 17%.
11010 KG
MIXED WASTE
10262 KG MIXED RECYCLABLES
6204 KG RECYCLABLE PAPER
1680 KG ORGANIC WASTE
2189 KG RECYCLABLE PLASTIC 152 KG RECYCLABLE APPLIANCES
31579 KG TOTAL WASTE
KG HAZARDOUS WASTE
In our continuous pursuit of sustainability and environmental responsibility, we embarked on a collaborative venture with Pure North to conduct a factory visit in Latvia. The objective was to closely examine the waste management practices at the 66°North facility, with a special focus on enhancing efficiency and discovering viable avenues for repurposing fabric remnants, thereby preventing them from contributing to landfill accumulation.
A significant portion of the waste generated at the 66°North factory comprised textile scraps, a bi-product of the garment manufacturing process. This discovery underscored the need for innovative waste management strategies tailored to the unique challenges of textile waste.
One of the primary challenges encountered was the complex task of material separation. The diversity of fabrics used in 66°North’s production line necessitates a sophisticated sorting system to effectively segregate different types of textile waste. This complexity is compounded by the limited infrastructure for waste management in Latvia, characterized by a dearth of comprehensive data on waste streams and an absence of standardized measures for waste quantification.
The current state of waste management not only poses environmental concerns but also presents significant financial implications. The cost of waste disposal, coupled with the inefficiencies in existing waste reduction methodologies, highlights an urgent need for costeffective solutions that can minimize waste volume and facilitate its diversion from landfills.
In light of these findings, a critical decision point arises: whether to invest further in the refinement of waste sorting processes. This decision hinges on a careful evaluation of potential cost savings and environmental benefits, aiming to strike a balance between economic viability and ecological stewardship.
Our visit to the 66°North facility in Latvia has been instrumental in shedding light on the pressing issues surrounding textile waste management. It has catalyzed a dialogue on the importance of adopting more sustainable practices and has set the stage for exploring innovative solutions that align with our commitment to environmental sustainability.
Packaging
As in 2022, during 2023 66°North continued to source all its packaging through circular packaging specialists - Embacollage
Since 2020, all our paper based e-commerce packaging has been made out of FSC® paper. FSC-certification on any paper packaging ensures that it has been made using wood from responsibly managed forests. Our plastic shopping bags and packaging have transitioned from virgin plastic to 100% recycled plastic and we have additionally worked to optimise packaging to reduce sizes in an effort to use less raw materials to do the same job.
In our 2022 report we stated by that by 2024 it was our goal that all packaging would be 100% reusable, recyclable and or compostable.
During 2023 sought advice from our waste management partner Sorpa (Iceland’s largest waste management company), regarding the possibility of using of compostable packaging including white compostable ziplock bags.
Unfortunately Sorpa advised that such materials cause disruptions in their processing system. On this basis, we are continuing to focus on recyclable plastics in some instances, as the most workable option aligned to our sustainability goals, available to us at this time.
People
66°North endeavours to walk the walk not just talk the talk with regard to upholding Icelandic values. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our people policy.
As a business operating within one of the world’s most gender equal countries, we place strong emphasis on providing equal opportunities within the workplace regardless of gender. We do this by ensuring that the gender ratio in management positions, departments, and stores is as equal as possible. We also offer flexibility in relation to working hours so that our people between work and personal life, especially when it comes to balancing work and parenting responsibilities.
Equality isn’t limited to gender, however, Our policies exist for the benefit of all working within the company, regardless of national origin, religion, age, place of residence, sexual orientation, race, or other.
Our company management and ethos is referential of Iceland’s world leading gender and human rights laws, and is reflected in the joint ownership of 66°North by husband and wife team Helgi Oskarrson and Bjarney Harðardóttir.
Add in stats around gender split and pay data / number of women in management. Same as last year
Our policy is prepared in accordance with Act No. 150/2020. The Equal Rights Committee, which operates within the company, supports management and ensures that the policy is followed.
We conduct an annual employee satisfaction survey provided by VR, the largest union in Iceland, with the aim to improve our employee satisfaction from year to year.
66°North stats:
- 63% of management positions currently held by women
- 80% of workforce are women
