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'Louisa Albanese'
国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal

Trend Report, Part 1: Tough Is the New Green

If you鈥檙e serious about sustainability, nothing is more eco-friendly than products that don鈥檛 need replacing

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Strictly speaking, you don鈥檛 need to justify making durable products for the outdoors. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just the right thing to do, to make equipment that isn鈥檛 going to fail in the field,鈥 said Mystery Ranch project manager Luke Buckingham, speaking of the brand鈥檚 legacy of producing long-lasting packs.

That design ethic drove the early evolution of the outdoor industry, and while it鈥檚 still embraced by many brands, we鈥檝e also seen a trend toward flimsier fast-and-light gear, as well as influence by the broader consumer culture that favors everything new. But as more outdoor brands鈥攁nd their customers鈥攃hase a sustainable future, they鈥檙e embracing product longevity in a new way. In a movement that鈥檚 gathering momentum, brands are recognizing and communicat- ing that durability should be the first rule of reducing environmental impact.

Of course, that doesn鈥檛 mean no impact. 鈥淣othing any company in this industry does is sustainable. Everything we do is environmentally negative鈥攊t鈥檚 largely oil-based products,鈥 said Joe Vernachio, president of Mountain Hardwear, which has pledged that 80 percent of all materials used in its products will be recycled by 2024. 鈥淭he best thing we can do to keep our impact in check is make really good things that people fall in love with and use over and over.鈥

Making the connection between durability and sustainability will be a key part of achieving that goal. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in the process of starting to put [that message] out in front,鈥 he said. 鈥淔or us, it鈥檚 going to be 鈥榣ove the jacket you have, repair it, use it, instead of just buying the latest, newest thing.鈥欌

That鈥檚 not an entirely new message, of course. Patagonia famously said as much in its 2011 鈥淒on鈥檛 Buy This Jacket鈥 ad. But what鈥檚 new is the number of brands that are embracing the imperative and communicating it to consumers. Arc鈥檛eryx, for example, is making it a brand priority. 鈥淲hile durability has always been part of our brand messaging and what our customers value about our product, we have increasingly articulated the connection between durability and sustainability,鈥 said Katie Wilson, senior manager for social and environmental sustainability. She points to last year鈥檚 launch of Arc鈥檛eryx Used Gear, which has a clear message for consumers: 鈥淭his program helps get the most use, and聽reuse, out of each Arc鈥檛eryx item, keeping Arc鈥檛eryx products in action and out of the landfill.鈥 Patagonia鈥檚 Worn Wear program does the same, and REI is testing a pilot program that allows customers to sell used gear back to REI.

Measuring Durability

The renewed emphasis on durability and its sustainability promise begs a question: How long should gear last?

That鈥檚 not an easy question to answer. The amount of use鈥攁nd abuse鈥攁 product endures varies. And while brands test and measure the durability of materials and construction methods, there鈥檚 no standardized testing for finished products. Plus, there鈥檚 the matter of intended use. A just-in-case ultralight jacket isn鈥檛 as bombproof as an all-weather shell, but it can still last for years when used as intended.

While many brand representatives express skepticism about creating a durability standard similar to, say, the EN standard for rating the warmth of sleeping bags, Christiane Dolva, head of sustainability at Fja虉llra虉ven, says they鈥檙e involved in a project with the Textile University in Sweden researching how to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to create exactly that: a standard for measuring durability.

In the meantime, should brands quantify their durability goals? Several months ago, Mystery Ranch began creating a two-pronged sustainability plan headed up by Buckingham, examining both sustainability鈥攊n materials, supply chains, and such鈥and durability. Mystery Ranch employs methods like doubling the fabric on pack bottoms and using heavy-duty zippers to ensure progress on the latter. Buckingham estimates a pack lifespan of 鈥渆ight to ten years as a good benchmark for regular use.鈥 He says many of the packs that come in for warranty are that old.鈥

As designers attempt to navigate these two tracks鈥攕ustainable materials and durability鈥攖hey sometimes have to walk an awkward tightrope. Dolva says Fja虉llra虉ven has found that recycled wool nearly matches virgin wool, but often needs some mixing with synthetic (read: oil-based) material for reinforcement. High-tenacity and chemically recycled polyesters nearly match the durability of virgin polyester, but with mechanically recycled polyester, durability drops off by 10 to 15 percent.

And then there are DWRs, or durable water-repellent treatments. The most effective DWRs are made with highly toxic chemicals, notes Vernachio. Eco-friendly versions don鈥檛 perform as well, and even though they can be reapplied, most consumers don鈥檛 go to the trouble. 鈥淧eople will only use a jacket [with an inferior DWR] for a year or two and then it will end up in a landfill,鈥 he said.

Growing Demand

How much do outdoor consumers care about鈥攐r even understand鈥攄urability鈥檚 connection to sustainability?

鈥淭here is a growing consumer aware- ness around taking care of and making re- pairs to products to prolong their lifespan,鈥 Dolva said. 鈥淭he connection to sustainability is perhaps not always clear, but that鈥檚 okay. If the motivation behind a consumer purchase is the desire to own a product they will wear and love for a long time, the sustainability factors are an added bonus.鈥

REI, which is a driving force for most industry trends, is also seeing consumers make the connection. 鈥淲e鈥檙e continuously hearing from our customers that they want high-quality gear that鈥檚 built to last, all while minimizing our impact on the environment,鈥 said Greg Gausewitz, REI鈥檚 product sustainability manager. 鈥淓very product has a footprint, but in turn every product is an opportunity to fuel a movement for good.鈥

The media has a role to play in this movement as well. Eli Bernstein, gear editor at Backpacker, notes that while his team has spotlighted many green products in recent years and testers have critiqued product durability since the magazine鈥檚 first gear reviews were published, the connection between the two is a concept writers and editors should be promoting as well.

Bernstein cites a recent Backpacker review of Osprey鈥檚 new Archeon pack as an example. The review lauds its green materials, such as 100 percent recycled industrial scraps and a PFC-free DWR. But it also praises the 1,880-denier nylon canvas which 鈥渕eans this might just be the last daypack you ever buy (nothing鈥檚 greener than gear that doesn鈥檛 need replacing).鈥

And it鈥檚 not just consumers who matter. Vernachio makes the point that Mountain Hardwear 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 be able to attract an employee under the age of 35 if we didn鈥檛 have a point of view on our impact on the environment. It鈥檚 one of the first questions people ask in an interview, regardless of the job.鈥

Getting the Message Right

It鈥檚 hard to make the case that any outdoor company has made sustainability central to its mission and brand marketing more consistently and effectively than Patagonia. As Corey Simpson, Patagonia鈥檚 communications manager, said, 鈥淭his is what we鈥檝e been doing for a really, really long time. We want it to be a social contract. We want you to take responsibility and we鈥檒l take responsibility, too.鈥

But that message has required decades of cultivation. Simpson acknowledges it won鈥檛 be easy for some brands to sell the concept that durability equals sustainability to their customers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 talk to other brands and offer positive advice, but a lot of time a pivot like this feels foreign, it鈥檚 expensive, it鈥檚 not a language they can speak easily to their customer base. But those who stay committed are going to see success. For brands who just see it as a bullet point describing the company, it鈥檚 not going to work and it doesn鈥檛 stick around.鈥

In an era when so many consumer goods鈥攍ike electronics and fashion鈥攇et constantly updated and replaced, can the outdoor industry succeed by going in the opposite direction and selling products that discourage consumerism?

If history is any guide, the answer should be clear. The industry鈥檚 past revolved around making gear that lasts, and its future will, too.

This story originally ran in the Summer 2020 issue of The Voice.听

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