Durability

THE RETURN OF DURABILITY?

Doubling the lifespan of a product reduces its impact by 50% – a sustainability silver bullet if there ever was one. Repair and re-commerce, sure, but why are so few talking about durability?

Perhaps no other North American outdoor company has managed to make its label as synonymous with durability as the Canadian brand Arc’teryx. Katie Wilson, Product Compliance and Sustainability Manager at Arc’teryx, explains how they’ve earned this reputation thanks to their focus on the user:

“At the heart of our designs is the desire to build products that our users can depend on – tough enough to endure relentless mountain environments and the rigors of the activities they pursue there. The construction and materials are specifically chosen to last, which means our users don’t need to go find a replacement every season or two.” Aside from user implications, product durability is also tantamount to product sustainability at Arc’teryx. Indeed, “durability” is the very first word on their CSR landing page titled Sustainability: Designed for the Long Run. Keep it in-house On the other side of the Atlantic, the Norwegian brand Norrøna has also placed product durability at the forefront for nearly a century to become somewhat of a national icon. Indeed, it’s not uncommon to see people sporting their grandmother’s Norrøna coat on the ski slopes and city streets.

Norrøna operates its own, fully-equipped in-house production facility at its headquarters just outside of Oslo. When Suston visits the company in December, Brad Boren, Director of Innovation and Sustainability, provides a tour of their production, testing and repair facilities.

When asked what part of the tour the average brand lacks that results in Norrøna’s superior durability, Brad Boren replied:

“Well…” he pauses briefly, “all of it.” He then continues to explain that while it used to be the industry norm, most brands no longer W hen it comes to product durability and potential for longevity, the outdoor industry starts at a pretty sweet spot. This is especially true when one compares to its embarrassing cousin, the apparel industry and its fast fashion.

“The outdoor industry is built on longevity and durability as a matter of course,” explains Katy Stevens, Head of CSR and Sustainability at the European Outdoor Group.

“Many outdoor brands were started by ‘users’, climbers, mountaineers who were not happy with the gear that was available and so decided to make their own. This user-centered design approach results in products that fit better, perform better and are innately more durable.”

Today, other product longevity efforts like repair and second-hand marketplaces are rampant in the outdoor industry. For either of these to work, the product must first be made to last. Yet Katy Stevens and other observers are concerned that durability is in decline and as a sustainability strategy, it is far eclipsed by a focus on production stage impacts. The same believe there’s a strong case for why this ought to be the other way around. The case for durability “We know that about 80% of the climate impact, and in principle 100% of the water and toxicity impacts of a garment is caused by the production,” explains Sandra Roos, apparel LCA researcher from Mistra Future Fashion, a research program by the The Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research in Sweden.

At first glance, these figures can be seen to justify why many industry actors are fixated on chipping off a percentage point here and a ton of carbon there during the production phase – this represents the vast majority of a product’s impact.

But Sandra Roos is quick to point out that there’s another way of looking at this: “use” only accounts for 2.9% of a product’s impact, making the sustainability implications of product longevity crystal clear:

“This means that a garment will have a lower ‘environmental cost per use’ per time it is used. Therefore, a doubled lifetime of garments would in theory mean that only half the amount of garments would need to be produced, and the impacts in the production phase would be reduced by half.” A strategic choice If this is the case, product longevity beats many other sustainability efforts in orders of magnitude. Two outdoor brands in particular, Arc’teryx and Norrøna, have banked their sustainability strategies on just this. PHOTO: ALEX WABER/ARC’TERYX

Left: Norrøna argues that extensive field testing of each product is critical to ensuring its durability in real-world conditions.

Below: As more and more brands choose to outsource product development, Arc’teryx believes having their own in-house production facilities enables them to create superior product durability.

Use-phase laundry, 2,9% End-of-life treatment, 2,8%

Distribution & retail, 3,1% Use-phase transports, 10,8% Fibre production, 16,3%

Confectoning, 15,6% Transports in production, 0,5% Yarn production, 10,4%

ments are overwhelmingly in favor of long-lived products. For the customer, that is:

“A garment that costs 100 euro and is used 10 times will have a cost per use of 10 euro, while the same garment if used 100 times will have a cost per use of 1 euro.”

And speaking of the customer: A product can be made to survive until the next ice age, but this has no sustainability gains if it isn’t used. As Sandra Roos explains:

“People discard clothes because they change size, they happen to stain the garments, they get tired of the design, they wash and dry the garment the wrong way… etc. So, the relation between lifetime and sustainability is 1:1, while the relation between durability and sustainability also depends on other factors.”

Wet treatment, 23,5% Fabric production, 14,1%

Source: G. Sandin et. al. (2019). “Environmental Assessment of Swedish Clothing Consumption”. Mistra Future Fashion.

have their own in-house production department for prototyping products, but instead outsource this to other, out of country facilities. Nor do they have long product development times or significant field testing. In his view, these were critical mistakes in terms of product durability:

“Without these steps, you don’t really know what’s going into your product and how it will do in real-world conditions.”

Supporting this explanation, Arc’teryx is also one of a shrinking number of brands that still has its own local production facilities, ARC’One in Vancouver, whose designers thoroughly test their creations in the rugged Coastal Mountains.

But if this type of product development and testing used to be the norm – what happened?

It’s the economy, stupid Katy Stevens believes part of the explanation lies in that as many small brands grew up from selling products to climbing buddies and stepped into a fiercely competitive global marketplace, the forces here incrementally changed the way many of them operated:

“Ultimately, business is about making money, and not many businesses are driven with a ‘buy less’ attitude.”

It’s axiomatic that the most sustainable product is the one never made – unfortunately, this is a complete non-starter in today’s business context. But Sandra Roos notes that the financial arguCan’t we have it all? So, while durability has great impact reduction potential, much of its potential rests on a factor – the consumer - that cannot be controlled. How then it ought to be prioritized amongst other sustainability efforts remains an open question. Arc’teryx is committed to improving the environmental performance along its production. But when it comes to sustainable materials, Katie Wilson says that they take a cautious approach, using them only if they strike a balance with durability requirements.

Back at Norrøna HQ, Brad Boren acknowledges how a bumpy start with sustainable materials also led them to put more resources into testing:

“We’ve had a few tough lessons along the way, and learned that when dealing with each new fiber…full testing is necessary to determine how it will hold up once it leaves the store. This has been especially true for sustainable fibers.”

To facilitate product development dilemmas, Norrøna requires all products meet four criteria – Quality (aka Durability), Function, Design and Sustainability – in that order. When Suston points out that not having a fifth criteria makes sustainability their last priority, Brad counters by explaining how this order actually makes logical sense from a sustainability perspective:

“Imagine we focused primarily on sustainability and reduced quality, functionality and attractiveness. This would result in a short-lived product. No matter how sustainably produced, the short use stage would negate any savings in the production phase. The way I see it, sustainable fibers only make sense if they meet these other criteria.” Despite its measured approach, today Norrøna’s collection is packed with preferred fibers. Brad Boren is convinced it’s possible to have both a durable product with a sustainable production, but his conviction comes with a caveat:

“This only works after you’ve done your research.”

Longevity in Action

Long-lasting products aside, getting consumers to actually keep their product in use requires support. Perhaps none go to such great lengths as Patagonia’s Worn Wear program.

“A s individual consumers, the single best thing we can do for the planet is to keep our stuff in use longer,” penned Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia, in a public letter titled Repair is a Radical Act.

“This simple act of extending the life of our garments through proper care and repair reduces the need to buy more over time—thereby avoiding the CO2 emissions, waste output and water usage required to build it.”

Patagonia’s longevity ethos assumed form in its Worn Wear programme back in 2013, with the task of encouraging people to take care of their gear and help keep it in circulation as long as possible BY JONATHAN FRAENKEL-EIDSE PHOTOS PATAGONIA

through education and special services. Worn Wear has since grown to encompass Patagonia’s repair, trade-in, and online re-commerce marketplace - repairing 100,000 products and putting a further 85,000 up for resale annually. Worn Wear also includes Patagonia’s recycling programme, whereby customers can either drop off or mail in their apparel that can no longer be repaired or resold. Since 2005, Patagonia has recycled over 82 tons of clothing.

Alpine tour 3.0 But sometimes it’s not enough to wait for the customer to come to you – people are busy out having fun, after all – so you have to bring the service to the customer. That’s the idea behind the Worn Wear Tour, anyway, a quirky repair service a-la Jack Kerouac that has previously made appearances across the US and Europe.

Going into its third winter season in Europe, the people at Worn Wear anticipated a fresh wave of tree-skiing tears and iced-up zippers, and decided to take their service directly to the customer at snow destinations throughout Europe in the 2019/20 Worn Wear Snow Tour. The repair team onboard will offer repairs on a first come, first serve basis.

And since they are just out to spread the longevity love, they won’t discriminate against other clothing brands, nor charge a single Eurocent for their time.

15.2. - 21.2. France 25.2. - 4.3. Switzerland 7.3. - 22.3. Austria & Germany 25.3. - 31.3. Italy All tour stops can be found at: eu.patagonia.com WORN WEAR SNOW TOUR

Durable Performance Counts

A key pillar of Gore’s sustainability strategy is the longevity of its GORE-TEX products. Through proper wash and care, consumers can take their share of responsibility in prolonging the useful life of their outdoor gear.

Outdoor enthusiasts value waterproof, windproof and breathable clothing, shoes and accessories made with GORE-TEX product technology and trust in Gore’s GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY™ promise. In addition to protecting people from harsh weather conditions, Gore has always been striving to protect the environment by reducing the impact that GORE-TEX garments may have on our nature – their “environmental footprints.”

As an innovative and technology driven company, Gore believes in sustainability as a journey. But this journey can only be successful if everyone – from manufacturers and retailers to the end users of outdoor apparel – is aware and takes responsibility to make it a success. In that context Gore’s Fabrics Division has set the goal of eliminating so-called “PFCs of Environmental Concern (PFC EC )” from the entire life cycle of its GORE-TEX products. One of the first achievements was the introduction of GORE-TEX products with a new high-performance durable water repellent (DWR) treatment that is free of PFC EC . Many GORE-TEX products are treated

with an ultra-thin durable water repellent (DWR), a polymer that’s applied to the outermost fabric layer of the garments. This DWR prevents the garment from picking up water, thus reducing the potential clammy or cold feeling that often comes with wet fabric.

Any of today’s DWR treatments are durable but it is not permanent, such that the treatment needs to be reactivated to keep it as effective as possible. Through proper care of their garments, consumers can take their share of responsibility for protecting the environment. In general, good routine care – in particular

20 minutes in the tumble dryer is often enough to reactivate a garment’s DWR.

of the DWR – will maintain excellent performance and thus can extend the useful life of GORE-TEX gear, which remains the most effective way to reduce its environmental footprint. This has been proven by scientific Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies that Gore and independent scientists have conducted to assess the entire lifespan of finished outerwear products from “cradle to grave.” In other words: well-maintained garments and gear will serve their purpose longer, which is good for the people, good for their budget, and also good for the environment.

GORE-TEX fabric care is easy More good news: GORE-TEX fabric care is easy. In general, users should follow the manufacturer’s wash instructions for their product to remove dirt and sweat from the garment, then dry the garment. Once it’s dry, it should be tumble dried for a further 20 minutes. Applying heat to the garment reactivates the DWR treatment and both water repellency and comfort are improved. The same procedure should be applied to any brand-new GORE-TEX jacket, or other outerwear to activate its DWR properly prior to being used for the first time.

To help users prolong the lifetime of their outdoor garments, Gore offers detailed advice on proper care – as well as on repair – of GORE-TEX gear via a variety of sources, such as Gore websites, videos on YouTube and ongoing activities on several social media platforms.

As part of its sustainability efforts, Gore wishes to reinforce the importance of proper garment cleaning and care, and seeks support with its brand partners and retailers to educate consumers on the recommended wash & care requirements of a GORE-TEX garment. The objective of this initiative is obviously not only to jointly help consumers optimize the performance and prolong the longevity of their gear, bu much more importantly, improve its sustainability – for the sake of today’s environment and future generations’ well-being.

GORE PILOT PROJECT OFFERING PROFESSIONAL WASH & CARE SERVICES

For outdoor enthusiast looking for professional services that help to prolong the useful life of their gear, Gore ran a “Wash & Care” pilot project in Germany and Austria. Services on offer included washing and drying as well as refreshing the durable water repellent (DWR) treatment. Consumers could register online, post their gear to the team, and have it returned in two working days – ready for new adventures. Having successfully finished the pilot phase, Gore is considering to establish its “Wash & Care” project permanently in Germany and Austria, and potentially expanding its reach to other key markets in Europe, and beyond.

Repairing is Caring

For our grandparents, it was just something they did on an everyday basis. Today, we need to rediscover how to take care of our favorite gear. Suston gives nine great tips to start with.

BY MATS NYMAN ILLUSTRATION NADIA NORBÖM

1Be prepared! It’s always a good idea to keep a repair kit with you in case the unexpected happens. A multi-tool, a needle and roll of extra strong thread, patches for clothes and sleeping pads and a small roll of silver tape can do wonders when misfortune occurs. Keep in mind that many manufacturers and retailers also offer both repair services and spare parts for their products. 2 Save the down Down jackets and sleeping bags often have thin and delicate outer shells. A glowing ember from a fire or a sharp twig can easily make a hole or rip where the down could find its way out. This can be temporarily repaired with a piece of silver tape. Be sure to push in the down that is sticking out before applying the tape. For a more permanent repair, there are ready-to-use patches available for purchase. Cut the patch to cover the hole leaving a slight overlap. Lay the jacket or sleeping bag as flat as possible, remove the protective film on the patch and attach it to the fabric. 3 Good for a night’s sleep When you’re out on a tour, a leak in your sleeping pad can be a nightmare. Make sure to always have a repair kit for your sleeping pad with you. The repair will depend on the sleeping pad material. There are self-adhesive repair patches available for certain ones while others require glue. If the leak is difficult to find: Inflate the sleeping pad, fold it in half to increase the pressure and immerse it in water and see where the bubbles are coming from. Carefully clean the area around the hole. Repair kits often come with a cleaning agent. Cut a decent-sized piece of the patch off and attach it carefully according to the instructions. 4 Keep moisture out Soft-shell pants and jackets that have gotten torn should be repaired quickly to keep the hole from getting larger. Silver tape often works well as a temporary fix, but it’s a good idea to make a more permanent repair later on. To ensure that the shell garment remains waterproof, it’s a good idea to fix it on both the inside and outside. Start with the inside and attach a patch that holds the rip together. Then attach a patch on the outside as well. Rounded corners ensure the patch sits better. 5 Zipper repair Zippers are a common headache. If the zipper doesn’t close properly, it’s likely that the slider is broken. Use a pair of pliers and cut off the zipper stop at the top. Thread on a new slider and gently attach a new stop using pliers. If the zipper has lost teeth, the entire zipper will need to be replaced. Those who are handy can do it themselves by removing the old zipper and sewing on a new one. Otherwise you can leave it with a tailor or repair service. 6 Patching boots Going on a hike in leaky boots is no fun. But rubber is often easy to fix. Which method is best depends on the kind of rubber that is used in the boot. Real rubber can be repaired with a bicycle tube patch. Make sure that the boot

is cleaned around the hole and rough up the surface using sandpaper before spreading a thin layer of solution on. Allow it to dry a little and then carefully attach the patch. If the boot is made of mixed materials, there are different types of rubber adhesives available such as Liquisole, Shoe Goo and Rubberfix. 7 Take care of your stove Gas and spirit stoves are relatively maintenance-free, but Multi-fuel stoves can get covered in soot. When you’re out in the field, it is easiest to clean the burner with a needle. At home, compressed air works great for cleaning. 8 Repairing the arch A cracked tent arch can be repaired by first bending back the damaged section to make it as straight as possible. Tent manufacturers often ship a piece of tubing that fits over the tent arch. Thread the pipe over the damaged part and secure it with silver tape. To replace the entire damaged section: Remove the plug at one end of the tent arch. This will allow you to loosen the elastic cord. Pull out the cord and replace the damaged section. Thread the cord back through all the sections and reattach the end plug. 9 Longer life for your backpack The plastic buckles on backpacks are often the first to go. New buckles can be purchased and are often easy to replace. Sometimes a little sewing is required to attach the buckles. If you don’t have a sewing machine that’s strong enough, leave the backpack with a tailor or shoemaker to get it repaired.

Unfashionable by Design

Many outdoor companies know how to create durable clothes and equipment. But how sustainable are these products if they feel outdated a year later and end up in the closet? Not so much, if you ask Christiane Dolva Törnberg, Head of Sustainability at Fjällräven.

Fjällräven has been proclaiming the same decree over and over since 1960: “We make functional, durable, timeless clothes and equipment that make great outdoor activities even better.” Functionality and durability are given traits, of course, and any company claiming to be an outdoor company will most definitely be using these words to describe their gear. But “timeless”? How is that relevant to us outdoor enthusiasts?

“It’s extremely relevant,” explains Christiane Dolva Törnberg, Head of Sustainability at Fjällräven.

“At least if you care about sustainability. When we develop clothing and equipment at Fjällräven, we don’t only focus on minimal environmental impact from our material choices and production process

es, we are also deliberately staying clear of design trends that happen to be fashionable at the moment. The definition of fashion is ‘a style that is popular during a particular time.’ In other words, the opposite of longevity,” says Christiane.

By longevity, Christiane doesn’t only mean durability in the ordinary sense, but presents us with a new perspective: emotional durability.

Christiane Dolva Törnberg, Head of Sustainability at Fjällräven, in her grandmother’s jacket.

The timeless Greenland Jacket from 1968 was Fjällräven’s first garment and is still in the collection today.

“What good is a garment made with the world’s most durable fabric, if it feels outdated a year after you buy it? The carbon footprint it took to produce it is in no way compensated for by the number of times it was used. It needs emotional durability to be a garment you want to keep and use for a long time, perhaps even pass on to the next generation.”

How to cut impact in half A recently published study by Mistra, The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, did some serious number crunching regarding the correlation between a garment’s lifecycle and the carbon footprint of its production. Among other things, it confirmed that a design policy with longevity at its core, something that Fjällräven has been applying since the early 1960’s, has a major effect when it comes to the sustainability of a garment.

“If you measure the carbon footprint of, say, an average jacket, and state that ok, the average jacket comes with a carbon footprint of approximately 20kg CO2 eq., you can divide that sum by the number of times that jacket is worn to get a measurement of how that carbon footprint came to good use. According to Mistra’s research, the average Swedish person uses an average jacket about 140 times. So that’s its lifecycle. But if that person uses the jacket twice as much, the carbon footprint is almost halved. This confirms the value of what we do at Fjällräven, and why we strive to create products that become long time favorites.”

A long-term investment Christiane believes that the outdoor industry as a whole has the possibility and the responsibility to educate their users about the complexities and broad scope of the S-word that everyone is so fond of using these days.

“There are so many companies, in so many different industries, that are in a hurry to gain competitive advantages by focusing on a message of sustainability. There’s a lot of good that comes from that and progress has been made, but sustainability needs to be so much more than simply a marketing tool. It needs to be a very real and all-encompassing thing that makes a difference and changes the way we think and live, like starting to regard every product we choose to buy as a long-term investment,” explains Christiane, who continues:

“The outdoor industry has a lot of credibility in this area, partly because of our genuine passion for and devotion to nature, but also because the industry is dependent on nature thriving and standing strong. So, instead of competing with the exaggerated rhetoric, we all need to take a really comprehensive and competent approach, and educate ourselves and our users about what makes products truly sustainable.”

not for those who buy new ALL THE TIME

”Sustainable” is the word of our time. Logically enough along with ”climate anxiety”. But in the contrary to what some say, buying new things all the time, and recycle them when the color is out of fashion, isn’t at all sustainable.

Our way of keeping up with Mother Earth is about making products that are really durable – items that doesn't become untrendy but are made to be maintained and repaired, again and again. It comes natural to us, and has always done.