Hi everyone, Lauren here. I write most of the social media posts and blogs for Retribe, and I’m a co-founder alongside Ben. I wanted to take up a small corner of the world wide web to break down some of the baffling technical jargon we often encounter in the outdoor industry.
For the past 17 years of my professional life, I’ve been a technical product developer, working with suppliers overseas to create the perfect outdoor garment for your everyday pursuits—or sometimes, your not-so-everyday pursuits. Hell yeah, you climb that mountain!
Anyway, I’ve called this blog “The Shift” because, over the past five years, there’s been a huge shift in transparency and action within the supply chain of the outdoor industry, and I’m so happy to see it. Brands are doing amazing things for our planet, but sometimes it’s still baffling, and even I don’t understand everything that’s going on—even though I work with these terms day in and day out.
What I’m not going to do in this blog is start pointing fingers and slagging off brands for not doing enough or for alleged “greenwashing.” I’m not here for the blame game—life’s hard enough as it is, guys. Being in this line of work, it really is difficult to keep up with legislation, laws, and new policies because it’s a constant battle.
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been reading a lot of brands' sustainability manifestos—yes, guys, I’m the one person who reads them! And I can’t tell you how much work goes into them. The rise of the manifesto started about five years ago. It’s where a company collates all the good it does in its supply chain and tries to be as transparent as possible, showing trusted relationships with ethical suppliers and the actions the company is taking for both the planet and its people.
The sustainable manifesto has evolved over the past five years into a real beast of a document, and some companies make it a really easy and interesting read. Fjällräven’s 2023 manifesto, for example, is written as though the Kånken bag itself wrote it... clever. Usually, what’s covered in these manifestos are the company’s big sustainability goals, which typically include: circularity and repairability, better-sourced cotton, humane treatment of animals, and reducing their carbon footprint.
At this point, I wanted to highlight Alpkit's manifesto. They've gone into amazing detail around their carbon footprint, and that’s the whole point of these documents—lots of detail and transparency about what they’re doing now so they can improve in the future.
Five years isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things, but in this short period, much of the outdoor industry has come together to provide transparent data about their supply chains and operations, showing what can be improved for our planet. Rab and Lowe Alpine have taken it a step further by drilling down into every material they use, giving the consumer every bit of information about their garments. I can tell you from first-hand experience how time-consuming this data collection is—it’s a huge shift for the industry. Before this, you only shared the basic info, worried that competitors would copy your ideas. A huge leap forward from Rab, and a tremendous achievement by their team.
The most technical bit of information we receive from these manifestos concerns durable water repellent (DWR) finishes, or DWR coatings, as you’ll see. Over the last decade, several levels of coatings have been made illegal for use on clothing in the US and EU markets due to the carcinogenic chemicals involved. Some brands may refer to these chemicals as C8, C6, and C0. C8 was classified as toxic in 2017 and was banned in 2020, meaning clothing could no longer be made with this chemical finish because it was hazardous to the people applying the coating. The next coating the industry moved to was C6 (the main difference being it has fewer hazardous chemicals and a shorter molecule chain). However, the European Union has now decided to ban C6 starting in 2025, as it too is considered hazardous.
The outdoor industry has to act fast to make sure all their clothing that requires DWR coatings moves to C0, which is not harmful to people or the planet. However, C0 comes with its own challenges. Without chemicals, it loses its repellency, especially when it comes to repelling oil and dirt.
Some companies, such as Patagonia, Gore-Tex, and The North Face, are developing their own DWR finishes that are compliant and perform the same way the chemical finishes did, though this part is quite secretive—I couldn’t tell you exactly what they’re using to achieve the same effect. Other companies are working toward more natural wicking finishes, such as wax and oil.
All of this has marked a massive shift in how product developers and designers in the outdoor industry operate. We’re asking so many more questions, understanding what goes into making our garments down to the very last molecule. I love my job, and while this shift is hard work, it’s also exciting.
For once… maybe fashion brands could follow our lead?