Recognition of The North Face
As the world population soars and demand for exquisite synthetic outfits and comforts of single use plastics goes up the downsides are also staggering. As we adorn fabrics made of PETE or Polyethylene terephthalate, particularly polyesters they also need to be washed well and dried.
In the process, they release microfibers into waterways around us as well as in the soil and inside households. These microplastics of polyesters are minute and hardly visible to the naked human eye. Yet they take eons to degrade naturally thus becoming a major health and environmental emergency.
In relation to this, The North Face has been awarded 5 stars in recognition of its participation in the testing of new recyclable, sustainable and biodegradable polyester.
While it’s not fully possible to prevent polyester outfits from shedding microplastics in totality, The North Face in conjunction with BOTTLE (Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and Environment) consortium and others have teamed up in an attempt to address this.
The idea is to replace the polyester available today with a biodegradable PHAs (Polyhydroxyalkanoates) alternative not toxic to human life, water or hazardous to the environment.
Why PHAs?
Their compatibility with human tissues has been found to be therapeutic and comfortable apart from the obvious fact that they can be broken down naturally unlike synthetic polyesters that may require highly technical, expensive and controlled composting.
BOTTLE is also being done in collaboration with scientists from Colorado State University and NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), an effort that has allowed them to create a PHAs portfolio with diverse characteristics, such as some that can be recycled smoothly, biodegradable and bio-based.
With The North Face in the picture, the collaboration seeks to display the sustainable nature of the materials in the world of apparels and fashion.
Why The North Face?
The North Face is a recreational products company that has been around since 1966 building its name in the provision of high outdoor performance gear and apparel for diverse uses such as camping, skiing, jogging and running among other outdoor adventures.
After the review of the initial results provided by BOTTLE, The North Face has already been testing the prototype fibers across its long list of suppliers in evaluation of more sustainable apparel materials and products. The American outdoor recreation goods company ticks all the right boxes for a 5 star award for various reasons, including:
Circularity-The North Face seeks to ensure old gear also receives a new lease of life by being proactive and ingenious in transforming the way the products you need are made and ensuring their disposal is also not insensitive to the surroundings. In circularity, their materials are revolutionary including their supply chain and other processes.
Materials-The North Face offers non-compromise badges to the products they use across their long supply chain once they meet certain criteria. This includes materials with a 75 percent ability to be recycled, renewed and responsibly sourced. In line with the BOTTLE project, the company has ensured all the top materials they use from Polyester, Nylon to Cotton can be 100 percent recycled, regenerative in terms of being grown, renewable and sourced responsibly, an accomplishment expected by 2025 while its equipment and footwear side is projected to accomplish this by 2030.
Suppliers-The North Face also seeks to ensure its greenhouse gas releases across its supply chain are reduced. This is accomplished through partnerships with major supplies to cut its current emissions by half in the next six years.
Packaging-From the onset, packaging has been an area the outdoor recreational company has always re-imagined. The North Face seeks to end reliance on packaging from single-use plastic while reducing the dependence on both paper and plastic packaging and largely making the most of recyclable materials.
With the huge effect of the testing of nontoxic, recyclable and renewable polyester by BOTTLE project and The North Face, the American outdoor apparel company receives 5 stars for its effort that have the greater good of waterways, soils, human and animal life and the planet in general.
