Columbia has been busy. In recent months we’ve seen the PNW outdoor outfitter team with New York sneaker mogul KITH for a streetwear-inspired collection, and on the more cringe-worthy side of the collaboration spectrum, introduce a range of videos starring Macklemore. The latter is oddly more relevant to today’s topic though—the OutDry Ex ECO line. Currently in shops, the forward-thinking line features the most environmentally responsible high-performance rain jackets ever made without PFCs.
What’s a PFC? It’s the synthetic DWR compound that has made the surface of traditional fabrics waterproof for the past few decades. It works great. But it also is extremely resistant to breaking down, and as such PFCs have been found to bio-accumulate in animals, humans, and the outdoor environment in general, leading to the chemical becoming a target for many environmental advocacy groups. Columbia’s OutDry Ex ECO line does away with PFCs, and synthetic dyes—hence the white color—saving 13 gallons of water per jacket in the process.
And for fall 2017, Columbia will introduce two new insulated iterations, containing the equivalent of 27 plastic water bottles in recycled material (up from 21 in current models). And on top of that, every “accessory” on the new silhouettes is recycled too—zippers, pull tabs, labels, etc. With a style for men and women, the waterproof down jackets feature responsibly sourced 700-fill goose down and heat-sealed construction to eliminate cold spots and keep all the feathers where they need to be.
