If you attended outdoor manufacturer shows this year you probably noticed that “eco materials” have reached saturation amongst manufacturers. And that’s a good thing! , many company’s are heavily vested into introducing or starting to use more “eco” in their future products.
I use the term “eco” to mean “environmentally conscious” or “sustainably minded”. For brands / manufacturers this can be achieved in the way things are made and what they are made from.
Sporting goods, due to their technicality and performance nature have always been at the balancing point of chemistry and nature, sometimes in conflict with each other to achieve a technical specification. That’s often the crux.
So what?
ShowersPass are no slackers and released their most “eco” jacket to date, the Ecolyte Elite. Three big steps.
1. The high-performance jacket features 100% recycled polyester face and lining fabrics, along with 100% recycled vent and pocket zippers.
What this means... less virgin synthetic material is produced. Recycled content removed the need to create from scratch. This is done by reclaiming textiles that would have normally gone to landfills, polluting water and soil.
2 The polypropylene waterproof-breathable membrane uses low-temperature production and solvent-free lamination, further reducing the environmental impact of the manufacturing process.
What this means… A change in the magic layer of your rain jacket that stops water coming in along with breathing ability so you are not sweaty. In the past, said magic layer has been made with plastics like PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene, which is very eco bad, but performs very well) and PU (ployurethane which is slightly more eco). Prior materials also needed many additional solvents to bond the chemicals together, the new polypropylene is not only a less impactful material, but uses less solvents in the production stages while gluing material layers together.
3. The Ecolyte Elite uses Clean Color Technology.
What this means… to achieve color in garments, the material has to be dyed in tanks of chemical solution that allows the color to attach to the fibers of the material. Synthetic materials are naturally a mucky white color. In the past these dyes were chemically nasty and often the waste released into rivers and streams. Obvious pollution. Because dying of materials is opften done by third party companies, it was difficult to track who was using more “Eco” processes. Now companies like BlueSign (a middle company) help companies like ShowersPass ensure that pollution is kept at a minimum while standards are kept high.
Product:
● Showers Pass EcoLyte Elite Jacket
○ MSRP: $299 – Men’s Colors: Harvest & Glacier
Men’s sizes; Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large
○ MSRP: $299 – Women’s Colors: Harvest & Glacier
Women’s sizes; X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large
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