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Outdoor Explained
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TRENDS & ANALYSIS ON TEXTILE DESIGN AND INNOVATION
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JULY/AUGUST 2011 • A FORMULA4 MEDIA PUBLICATION
TRENDS ECO | EMILY WALZER
Sustainability Takes Root in a Variety of New and Somewhat Unexpected Places.
Fresh Start
Taking Green to School: SustainU apparel is gaining fans on campuses nationwide with good-looking garments made from recycled materials produced in the USA.
T
he outdoor industry has done a great job of leading the
green charge for the past decade. Companies like Polartec,
for example, project that 40 percent of what the company
produces will be Repreve recycled polyester by end of this year.
Now, however, as sustainability matures, patches of eco are showing
up on landscapes traditionally known to be more brown than green.
From textile finishes to fan apparel, and from markets ranging from the
military to college campuses, eco is broadening its scope and audience.
“New business models are emerging built on sustainability,” says
Nicole Bassett, a leading player in the green movement who has held
positions at PrAna and Patagonia.
“The conventional business model, in place for most companies, is
preventing forward motion. Sustainability can’t just be ‘fit in,’” says
Bassett, who recently founded the consulting firm Sustainability in
Review. “New, nimble companies built on a sustainability business
model are triggering green growth.”
Bassett’s company, like sustainability itself, deals with diverse issues.
“I wear a lot of hats,” says Bassett, describing her work at Sustainability
in Review as creating strategies and managing sustainability for
companies in all sorts of industries. She focuses on everything from
materials to corporate operations to changes in behavior.
“The challenge is that companies don’t want to stop (what they are
doing) but would rather try to fit sustainability into what is already in
place,” explains Bassett.
“People are very attune to the social responsibility side of
sustainability and human rights issues and even awareness is high
among suppliers looking to source recycled materials,” Bassett states.
“But we need to break down assumptions that consumers won’t buy
green because it is more expensive.”
Steven Lermer, VP-consumer products at Brookwood, concurs. He
describes companies as “true green” and “green.” “Company executives
will say they want to be green, but when they find out the cost, they
quickly change their position,” comments Lermer. “These are not the
28 • Textile Insight ~ July/August 2011
true green companies.” He feels costs are still a big factor slowing
growth percentage in green efforts.
On the other hand, Lermer suggests that companies now have
so many ways to go green, that sustainability doesn’t have to be a
physical end-use fabric. “It can be in the packaging, the shipping,
the compliance, or using less harsh chemicals, or getting Okeo-Tex
certified,” Lermer says. “Green isn’t necessarily the textile.”
Brookwood does a big military business and, according to
Barbara Young, product development director at Brookwood, the
military puts green in every solicitation now. “We’d love to have
a green product that meets the criteria in terms of performance
and cost. But it has to be ‘equal to or better than’ virgin materials
currently available,” explains Young. Brookwood does have a
selection of about half dozen green products, but currently these
target the outdoor/active consumer sector.
Bassett applauds all eco-efforts textile companies are making and
she is also aware of the challenges. “There needs to be political will
to push things ahead,” says Bassett. “We need to send the message
down the supply chain.”
Go Green!
Increasingly, sustainability is the foundation of a new business. Such
is the case with SustainU. Founded two years ago, CEO Chris Yura not
only built his business on a green model but focuses on converting
a non-traditional eco market. He creates apparel for colleges and
universities using 100 percent recycled materials and local labor.
“My idea was to create a transparent alternative for the collegiate
market that is built on the idea of not wanting the shirts to just be a
collection within a company but rather to be the company,” says Yura,
who brings a unique perspective to the business with his background as
a stand-out football player at Notre Dame University and a post-college
career as a successful fashion model in New York City.
Observing that more universities were hiring sustainability
textileinsight.com
GREEN
SPORTS
A handful of professional sports teams and their related venues have recently launched the Green
Sports Alliance (GSA) to promote renewable energy, water conservation, recycling and other ecofriendly measures. Organizers say it’s the first time that teams from Major League Baseball (MLB),
the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Basketball
Association (NBA), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Major League Soccer (MLS) have collaborated on a common environmental agenda. Teams’ green initiatives will
be recorded like stats to see how they’re doing in environmentally conscious practices. Alliance
members will submit quarterly reports, and the GSA will report annually on collective progress.
The group will develop best practices in consultation with the NRDC, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and other environmentalists. Based in Portland, Ore., it will hold its first Green
Sports Summit there in August.
Founding members include MLB’s Seattle Mariners, NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, NBA’s Portland
Trail Blazers, NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, WNBA’s Seattle Storm and MLS’ Seattle Sounders
FC. Members that represent sporting facilities include Safeco Field (Seattle), Qwest Field and
Qwest Field Event Center (Seattle), KeyArena at Seattle Center (Seattle), the Rose Garden
(Portland) and Rogers Arena (Vancouver).
directors, Yura felt the timing was right to launch his fan apparel. “I
felt that if students could see something in material form, like a T-shirt,
then they would get it, and use it, and embrace the concept of it,” says
Yura, using “it” to refer to sustainability.
And students have. According to Yura, sales have doubled in the
last six months, and grown about 300 percent since SustainU started.
The company now has a staff of nine, produces about 250,000 shirts
annually, all either 100 percent recycled poly or reclaimed cotton made
in factories located in North Carolina and Tennessee, and has secured
licensing rights to 150 universities, though Yura is not yet working
with all those schools.
In addition, SustainU recently announced a partnership with
Unifi for a new Boy Scout of America (BSA) program that includes
manufacturing Americana, Varsity Performance and Hiker jerseys using
Repreve.
“By using Repreve in the BSA apparel, we’re delivering a
comfortable, high performance shirt that is helping to minimize the
environmental impact of apparel production,” comments Yura.
Green Finish
“Everything we do is with sustainability in mind. That’s where the
innovation is,” says Scott Brix, global marketing director, industrial
bio-solutions, Genencor. “We constantly work with the R&D people
to design conditions that are eco-friendly. We are not innovating for
fashion, but innovating for sustainable reasons.”
Genencor enzymes improve the efficiency in the pre-treatment
processes and biofinishing of fabrics.
“Enzymes were green before green was cool,” says Brix. “Enzymes
offer the chance to work under friendly conditions compared with
other processes that are not so eco-friendly.”
According to Brix, recently Genencor has stepped this up a notch.
For example, Genencor has a product range called PrimaGreen that
includes enzymatic bleaching, with benefits such as significant
savings of water and energy. One of the newest products, PrimaGreen
EcoScour, offers sustainability advantages for eco-scouring in cotton
pretreatment, including 30 percent water savings and 60 percent
energy savings compared to standard processing. In addition, the mild
processing conditions result in improved fabric quality and enhanced
color brightness after dyeing.
“As population and consumption increase we see resources on
our crowded planet decreasing. Environmental awareness is not an
option,” Brix states. “Any innovation to help us use fewer resources
30 • Textile Insight ~ July/August 2011
and move us to renewable resources will sooner or later be cost
effective in my view. Further, we see a trend, even in developing
countries, where large brands and retailers are migrating to innovative
and ethical suppliers in the textile and garment industries.”
Green Multi-Function
GreenShield, an environmentally friendly, stain-resistant fabric finish,
was established and making inroads in the automotive and upholstery
markets two years ago when Cathy Fleischer bought the business.
“But a multi-finish was the original concept,” says Fleischer, PhD,
managing partner with Big Sky Technologies, based in Rochester, NY.
That has now become a reality with a recently announced
partnership with Sciessent, makers of Agion and Agion Active silver
ion technology.
According to the company, GreenShield offers six to 10 times
less harmful fluorocarbons than alternatives. Fleischer, a material
scientist, explains that GreenShield is a nano-particle finish with a
basis in biomimicry that allows for fewer chemicals. “It is less than
1000 parts per million which qualifies
CHRIS YURA, SUSTAINU as significantly lower than other
finishes that are 10,000 or 8000 parts
per million,” Fleischer says. “We are
the only finish that has a low fluoro
rating from SCS (Scientific Certification
Services),”
The new product, GreenShield with
Agion Textile Finish, repels water
and stains and provides antimicrobial
protection. GreenShield will now extend
its reach into outdoor/active, while
Agion will attract green interest and expand further beyond footwear
and apparel applications.
“We look at this as the perfect marriage,” says Cyndy Hunter,
VP-marketing at Sciessent, Wakefield, MA. “We initially came together
on the upholstery side. However, now together, we can look for the
best fit for this combined technology,” Hunter continues. “This gives
us the opportunity to explore other applications such as camping
equipment, backpacks, cots, etc., where users want stain, oil and
water resistance along with antimicrobial features.”
GreenShield with Agion is non-leaching and specifically formulated
to be effective for the useful life of the treated fabric. Both technologies
are Cradle to Cradle CertifiedCM at the silver level by MBDC. !
“My idea was
to create a
transparent
alternative for
the collegiate
market.”
textileinsight.com