Helly Hansen's solution-dyed Odin 9 Worlds Infinity jacket and pants are the first pieces of technical outdoorwear not to use chemicals to keep them waterproof.Eric Gachet/Supplied
If you had to choose between colour and sustainability, which has the most sway? You might be tempted by must-have seasonal shades or the cheerfulness of bright fabrics, but lately, some of the most sustainable pieces aren’t so flashy. In fact, you might think they’re somewhat colour-free.
More and more outdoor gear companies are improving their sustainability stats by turning to solution-dyeing, a synthetic fabric-dyeing process that uses, depending on who you ask, up to 90 per cent less water and even more significant C02 emissions. It also produces a crisp, longer-lasting colour. The technology has been around since the 1950s and is being rediscovered – particularly by outdoor gear companies – for its environmental benefits.
“It’s a really smart concept,” says Katie Wilson, Arc’teryx’s senior manager of social and environmental sustainability. “We love it because there’s this trifecta of … higher durability, better colour fastness and environmental reductions. It’s better on water, better on chemicals and better on energy.”
The downside? The intensive dyeing process requires enormous fabric orders of a single colour, which means clothiers can’t afford to offer as much variety. For example, instead of multiple colour selections for a jacket it might only be offered in dull but dependable shades of black or grey or dark blue. And sometimes orange – for those search and rescue crews.
“We use this technology at premium price points,” Philip Tavell, Helly Hansen’s category managing director, mountain, says. “Consumers don’t buy a new shell jacket for $700 every season. … It makes sense to invest in more traditional and safe colours because we know there will be consumer demand for it season after season.”
The Arc'teryx Beta AR backcountry jacket.Supplied
Note the solid dark sustainability of Arc’teryx backcountry Beta AR jackets or Burton’s two-colour line of solution-dyed duds or the paler than pale shade of Helly Hansen’s Odin 9 Worlds Infinity jacket. Even tents are fading into the background: Colorado outdoors company Big Agnes is the first to sell solution-dyed tents in a colour you might call “greige.”
Right on trend, this spring, Icebreaker added nature-based dyes to a line of its merino wool T-shirts. Instead of chemicals, colour is drawn from roots, leaves and nuts in shades of blue, orange and grey, which the website warns won’t last long in these $165 tees: “Like nature, the color of this garment is imperfect and will fade naturally.”
It appears that taking the colour out of our gear so the planet stays bright is an initiative worth exploring. There’s a balance companies have to find – what consumers will pay for and what’s actually important to them. Icebreaker, which also plans to eliminate synthetics in its products (the company’s goal is to be “plastic free by 2023”), considers such challenges important, if delicate. “It’s a priority for us to figure out both components – making sure that the colours we are offering are also things that people [are looking for] from a sustainability standpoint,” says Cameron Walker, Icebreaker’s general manager for North America.
To up their sustainability street cred, a number of outdoorsy brands use solution-dyed fabric in product linings, where dark colours are preferred. That’s a no-brainer, Wilson says, but Arc’teryx is proceeding cautiously with the pricey sustainable fabric rollout. The line of Beta AR backcountry jackets (around $750) is offered in one or two dark solution-dyed options, with brighter shades using other methods. “Sentiment is high around environmental choices with clothing purchases, but we’re learning how that translates into actual purchases.”
What’s more important, she says, is to make durable gear: “One of the most impactful things you can do is to make product that lasts.”
Solution-dyed tents from Big Agnes blend into the landscape.MEC/Supplied
Educating consumers on how to look after their expensive sustainable pieces (and replace them less often) is part of the challenge. “Few people wash their technical garments enough. They wash their car way more often, but they don’t sweat in their car!” Tavell says.
Helly Hansen’s Odin 9 Worlds Infinity jacket ($725) may only be sold in a colour called “Grey fog” but it’s worth caring for – the waterproof/breathable face fabric is not coated in chemicals or solvents, a first in the industry. With sustainable bragging rights like that, outdoorsy types are less concerned about the shortage of colour options.
“We will always have a seasonal colour but we will not be that playful … If we can put less on the market, and what we put on the market lasts longer – that’s the best sustainable initiative you can do as a company,” Tavell says.
Outdoor clothiers and retailers work together on implementing sustainable practices because, frankly, it’s good for business. “Our industry is based on the outdoors,” says Mountain Equipment Company’s Mark Knight, manager of product concept design. “It’s not an abstract concept to move forward and protect it.”
There’s a brighter spot on the horizon, too. Knight notes that as the benefits of solution dyeing are understood, more mills are stocking more colours instead of requiring a special order. Customers, he says “want choice of colour, that’s where their money is pointing us so it’s up to us to work with the mills to have that colour selection available with the lowest impact.”
Good gear guide
It’s easy to get bogged down in a lot of sustainability jargon when trying to do the right thing. Reading the fine print can require a background in chemical engineering. Experts suggest looking for “Bluesign” approved fabric, a sustainable vetting process for mills, the inclusion of recycled materials and looking for wording that signals workers are taken care of, too.
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The Forest Stewardship Council gives the nod to one line of Hunter’s rainboots, ensuring the rubber trees used in these olive green boots are sustainably farmed and the local community and plant workers are well looked after. FSC boots from $170; hunterboots.com
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Serengeti launches a sporty line of plant-based nylon frames, where the crude oil usually used to make the plastic has been replaced with castor oil. The Rolla and Oatman eco-frames feature polarized lenses that adapt to changing light conditions. $210; serengeti-eyewear.com
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Helly Hansen found a good use for old coffee grounds – grinding them into powder to infuse into fabric for 50+ UPF protection that won’t wash off. You can’t smell the beans in their Solen line of breathable, sun-savvy T-shirts, hoodies and tanks but coffee shops around its Norwegian plant were asked to supply their used grounds. Hoodies, $80; hellyhansen.com
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Why not skip the dye completely? Mountain Hardwear’s Alpine Light pack has all the straps and handles and space you’d need in a hiking daypack in undyed rip-stop nylon that (sustainability bonus!) is waterproofed with a PFC-free coating, which is much less harmful to the environment. 28L size $285; mountainhardwear.ca