The Best Sustainability Initiatives we saw at the Outdoor Market Alliance 2023
Published March 17, 2023
recycled fabric, circular cycle take-back programs, eco-friendly dyes and waterproofing
Treeline writer Chris Meehan at the Outdoor Market Alliance Denver Media Show recycling socks as part of the Smartwool Second Cut Project, which upcycles hard-to-recycle socks into new products. Photo by Phillip Lucas.
In the past, the outdoor industry harbored a dirty secret. The processes and techniques used to produce outdoor gear used a lot of polluting techniques, chemicals, and fossil-fuel-based products. Companies are aware of this and trying to remedy that, which was evident at the recent Outdoor Market Alliance’s Denver Media Show 2023. We wrote about some of the innovations we saw at the show but found the sustainability initiatives coming out later this year and beyond worthy of their own article.
We’re seeing more bluesign-approved materials and companies are introducing more transparency into manufacturing processes and plants. They’re accounting for their pollution and looking for ways to reduce it.
Some of what we see in the outdoor industry is greenwashing, but more companies are making earnest headway into making better, more sustainable products. Still, their overarching goal is to sell you products that will make you happy in any environment or weather and last a long time.
At the recent OMA show we saw that more synthetic clothing and insulation is being made with recycled plastic, for instance. But, beyond that, here are some things really stood out and hopefully prove to be where the industry it headed in the future.
Helly Hansen’s Mono Material shells are meant to be fully recycled at the end of the product’s life.
Helly Hansen and Jack Wolfskin Mono Material
For instance, Helly Hansen and Jack Wolfskin are using mono materials in some of their latest pieces. These garments use a single material, like polyester, and are designed to be 100% recycled into new polyester garments at their end of life in a circular cycle.
Helly Hansen says of its Mono Material line: “When recycled into new materials, mono materials maintain a higher quality than mixed fibers, and for consumers, these singular material garments are resilient and easier to care for, delivering longer-lasting performance and protection.”
Smartwool’s Second Cut Project recycles old socks into new ones.
Smartwool Second Cut Initiative
Similarly, Smartwool was recycling old socks at the show as part of their Second Cut Project Take Back Mail In initiative. Through that initiative, the company collected all types of socks—cotton, polyester, wool, etc.—and recycled them into dog beds. Partnering with Material Return™ circularity platform, they’ve collect and deconstructed hard-to-recycle socks from all manufacturers—not just their own.
This year they’re taking those old socks, breaking them down, and making them into new socks. We’re looking forward to seeing what they’re like later this year.
Pressio’s Renew INsulation Jacket uses 100% recycled fabrics.
Pressio Renew INsulation
We also saw a new, British running clothing company called Pressio. The company was created by Jamie Hunt, who previously created 2XU. With Pressio, he’s working on developing less environmentally impactful products. That includes currently using primarily recycled materials, mono materials, and solution-dyed clothing. In 2025 the company plans to use bio-based materials that it claims are “biodegradable in land and sea in months, not centuries.” For its anti-odor/bacterial treatments, it uses a mint-based product and a seed-oil-based product for its wicking treatments rather than materials like nanosilver particles.
