Napapijri has just launched Skidoo Infinity, a jacket designed to be 100% recycled and made with Econyl, a material created with Nylon 6, a fiber by Aquafil obtained from recycling nylon fishing nets and other leftover materials. As this fiber can be recycled numerous times, Napapijri has developed a digital program through which customers who buy this jacket can give it back to the company after at least two years. The old jackets will be transformed into new yarns and products.
Vicki Bohlbro, the brand’s senior marketing director, explained how this project will help circular economy play a more important role in the fashion industry.
Why did Napapijri develop and launch this jacket?
We are 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. The launch couldn't come at a more suitable time as earlier this month the Global Fashion Agenda demanded that global fashion brands "urgently accelerate their efforts" to meet the targets of its Circular Fashion System Commitment. One of the main challenges brands have encountered so far has been increasing their share of products made from recycled materials and creating solutions to collect used products through take-back schemes.
Where will it be sold?
Skidoo Infinity will be sold at selected stores across Europe including Selfridges (UK), Printemps (France), La Rinascente (Italy), Kadewe, Breuninger (Germany) and also at napapijri.it
The brand banned natural furs some years ago. What other environmentally friendly practices is the brand focused on?
Animal welfare is a key issue for us and has led us to switch to synthetic types of fibers which still allow products to perform to the highest technical level. From f/w ’17 onwards, our entire collection was made 100% fur and down free and the Superlight Skidoo is labeled as “animal free” by animal welfare organization LAV (anti-vivisection league). Napapijri’s three iconic products (Skidoo, Bering, Rainforest) are PFC free.
Together with our parent company, VF Corporation, a worldwide apparel and footwear company, we are working hard to source materials with the lowest impact to our planet, which is why we have committed to switching to 50% recycled nylon and recycled PET by 2025. Recycled polyester is recycled plastic from water bottles, plastic bottles and food jars. Applications of recycled polyester are mainly within the textile industry.
Is Skidoo Infinity certified by any eco-friendly organizations or institutes?
No, it is not.
What is the retail price of Skidoo Infinity?
Skidoo Infinity will retail for £525 (€599)
Is the final consumer ready to spend more for more sustainable apparel?
Our consumers’ insights studies show that sustainability is more and more considered as a must-have in our industry. Consumers are expecting companies to act sustainably at their core. In this way sustainability becomes part of the unique value proposition that the brand offers to its consumers. At VF we see sustainability as one of the elements that, together with design and innovation, makes our products unique. The launch of Skidoo Infinity is an example of our commitment to working towards a world where “fast fashion” is long gone, and people look to iconic investment instead, choosing products and brands than enhance and protect local land and global communities. This is why we are constantly developing new technologies to reuse, recycle and reduce our impact on the planet and its people.
Will Napapjiri launch any other eco-friendly initiatives and products?
We plan to enlarge our Infinity collection as we believe circular economy is one of the ways we can make our business more sustainable. It builds on a track record of innovation for sustainability including Z-Knit, which is our digitally knitted urbanwear collection. Together with our parent company VF we are also working to lead the industry towards a circular economy. In 2018 we partnered with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, becoming a member of Make Fashion Circular Initiative. In May 2017 VF also signed the 2020 Circular Fashion Commitment Letter during the Copenhagen Fashion Summit to become a leader in the transition to a circular system. Thanks to this commitment, all Napapijri designers will be trained on circular design principles by 2020.
Read also:
