We all like jackets and generally clothes that are longer lasting and tough. But, there is a big downside to that as well since longer lasting fabrics full of PFCs means environment won’t be able to degrade them when they are part of trash eventually and keep lying there for probably millions of years and even more as chemicals because nature can’t break them down. The performance wear industry is especially guilty of using too many PFCs, but now Columbia has come up with a waterproof jacket that is environmentally much more desirable since it uses waste water bottles as part of its fabric.
Source : Colombia Outdry Extreme
Now the performance wear companies like Nike, Adidas and Puma have known about the detrimental effects of the PFCs on the environment and have since tried to shift away from them. They have researched hard and found alternative designs and compounds that lessen the effect of the non-biodegradable problem. But, none of them is a real, viable solution to the problem and this is a serious matter since plastic compounds are now known to be accumulating in the biosphere and causing the destruction of habitats as well as causing health problems.
Source : Colombia Outdry Extreme
Columbia has developed this new fabric technology called Outdry Extreme that replaces fabrics covered in PFCs. Instead of keeping water out, it has a lot of tiny holes through which raindrops and bigger water splashes are hard to penetrate, yet the small water vapor and humidity due to sweat can easily escape. Due to this technology, you can now wear jackets without the feeling of having put on a sauna and you feel much more natural. These jackets are made from 100 percent recycled fabrics including the plastic used in it which is recycled from 21 plastic bottles.
In addition to this positive impact, the company is only offering the jacket in white because each dyeing process uses up 12 gallons, so they just bleach it and leave it as it is. Now that would be a concern for some people since white color in the outdoors is not a good idea as it gets dirty so quickly. The jacket won’t be available for purchase until December, and the price is quoted to be around $199 which is a little expensive compared to similar products from other manufacturers. But, plastics are a major concern for environmental degradation and the sooner we shift from them the better!
Here is the video of the new jacket: