Arc'teryx's Groundbreaking Circular Jacket: The Sperro SV

Canadian outdoor clothing brand Arc'teryx set a high bar for its most circular product to date, refusing to compromise on performance for sustainability. According to Alexandra Plante, VP of Advanced Concepts, their aim was to create a product that didn't force consumers to accept lower performance in exchange for a reduced environmental impact.

Achieving this balance between performance, impact, durability, and recyclability proved to be a significant challenge. It took Arc'teryx four years to develop the Sperro SV, a technical hardshell jacket set to launch on September 4th. Plante believes the wait was justified: the Sperro SV is the first fashion product globally, from any brand, to receive the Testex Circularity label. This label, developed by the Swiss testing and certification institute Testex, provides a standardized framework for verifying circularity claims.

The Sperro SV also marks the debut of Arc'teryx's new circularity initiative, System 0. This comprehensive program integrates product design, preferred materials, repair services, manufacturing processes, consumer engagement, and responsible end-of-life solutions. CEO Stuart Haselden describes System 0 as a fundamental shift in how the company approaches and builds its business for the future.

Tackling the Toughest Challenges First

While many brands opt for simpler, more easily sustainable items like t-shirts, fleeces, or basic lightweight jackets, Arc'teryx took a different approach. Plante explained that the hardshell is their most iconic and technically complex product category. It's the gear trusted by their most demanding users, including mountain guides, professional athletes, and search and rescue teams. By choosing the hardshell, a notoriously difficult product to make sustainably, Arc'teryx aimed to prove that if they could succeed with it, they could achieve circularity across their entire product range.

Many brands, including Houdini and VF Corporation's Napapijri and The North Face, focus on a monomaterial design for their circular products. This approach uses a single fiber type, allowing garments to be chemically recycled as a whole without the costly and time-consuming process of disassembly. For everyday apparel, cotton is often the monomaterial of choice. However, in the outdoor industry, where synthetic materials are essential for properties like waterproofing and stretch, nylon 6 has become the industry standard. Its durability and single monomer structure make it more amenable to chemical recycling.

For Arc'teryx, a monomaterial design wasn't a viable option because the technical requirements of their garments necessitate more complex fabrication methods.

Instead, the Sperro SV jacket is constructed from a three-layer Gore-Tex fabric. The face fabric (inner textile layer) and the backer fabric (outer textile layer) are made from recycled econyl nylon 6. This choice aligns with current industry recycling capabilities, maximizing material recovery. At the end of its life, these components can be chemically recycled by Econyl's Italian manufacturer, Aquafil. Other components, such as the reflector, zips, sliders, cord locks, and the middle film-like membrane layer, are not currently recyclable, although pilot testing for membrane recycling has been conducted.