Napapijri showcases fully recyclable jacket made from discarded fishing nets

Napapijri has also developed a digital take-back scheme to enable customers to return the jackets to be recycled 

The Skidoo Infinity jacket, which launches in October 2019, is made from recycled Econyl material from nylon manufacturers Aquafil. The jacket’s filling and trims are made from Nylon 6 fibres commonly used in the manufacture of carpets. For the exterior, “Regenerated Nylon” from discarded fishing nets and other waste materials has been used.

Aquafil has used life cycle assessment tools for more than three years to determine the environmental impacts of its products, which led to the incorporation of recycled waste products in favour of non-renewable virgin raw materials.

According to Napaijiri, the use of one nylon material creates an easer recycling process, meaning fibres can be upcycled without losing quality.

Napapijri’s senior marketing director, Vicki Bohlbro, said: “As a brand whose origins are firmly placed in the beautiful alpine landscape, the safeguard of nature has always been top of our agenda. Now more than ever, we are aware of the pressing issues we are collectively asked to address.

“We have chosen to do so by pioneering the future of fashion with Skidoo Infinity, a jacket that embodies our efforts to combine design, sustainability, and innovation to inspire a shift in the role our industry has to play in the preservation of the planet and its people through circularity”.

Napapijri has also developed a digital take-back scheme to enable customers to ensure that the jackets are collected for recycling. Once a customer purchases a Skidoo Infinity jacket, they can register online to receive the option of return the jacket after two years. If collected, the jacket will be processed into new yarn and products.

A sustainability leader

The Napapijri brand is owned by the VF Corporation, considered a sustainability leader in the fashion industry by many. Alongside science-based targets and targeting 100% renewable energy, the clothing giant is exploring rental and service-based business models to promote the circular economy to its consumers.

In 2017, VF Corporation signed the 2020 Circular Fashion Commitment, pledging to increase the quantity of second-hand garments and footwear collected by brands Timberland and The North Face shops in Europe by 10%. The company is also targeting 100% of its European product designers to be trained on circular economy principles by 2020.

The company will also become one of the first major apparel and footwear firms to use the Material Sustainability Index (MSI) publicly as a measurement tool. The MSI was convened through the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), a global alliance of retailers. The Index scores material use based on impact, covering cultivation, procurement, chemistry and processing.

The North Face has also utilised take-back schemes to promote reuse and recycling. The brand’s Renewed platform acts as an online hub for the brand to sell refurbished products that are sourced from returned, damaged or defective apparel. The North Face also successfully designed a “Climate Beneficial” wool beanie last year.

In January 2019, Aquafil’s brand and communications manager Maria Giovanna Sandrini featured alongside other sustainability experts from Sky, Cranswick and A Plastic Planet to discuss how sustainability professionals can lead a business transformation to phase-out single-use plastics.

You can watch the webinar on demand here.

Matt Mace

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