REWEAR AND REPAIR
The fashion industry, including ski apparel, makes more than 100-billion pieces of clothing a year. Within a year, almost 60 per cent of them will be in a landfill, while 65 per cent of the lifetime impact of a piece of clothing happens before it arrives in a store. Add it all up and there’s a clear message: the longer a piece is worn, the better for the planet. To that end, brands are stepping up to extend the life of your ski and outdoor clothing.
ARC’TERYX
Backed with a fix-it guarantee, Arc’teryx has always put longevity first. Now it’s upping the game with two streams. The brand will buy back weathered gear and resell it through a dedicated portal. This year the ReBird program was launched that builds apparel out of scraps and waste instead of pristine fabric. arcteryx.com
GOGGLESOC
Whistler’s unique instanton-and-off goggle protector sews up the green initiative nicely using rPET fabric made of recycled plastic bottles, almost half a million of them so far, to keep our goggles and glasses scratchfree whether we’re just in the lodge for lunch or packing for the Alps. A simple necessity. gogglesoc.com
PATAGONIA
Pioneering the use of recycled plastic and recycled down and wool, Patagonia has a dedicated web portal, Worn Wear, where it buys and sells used, recrafted and repaired gear. workwear.patagonia.com
NOSO PATCHES
These handy, stick-on patches are as technically proficient as Gore-Tex. Use them to fix holes in jackets, sleeping bags, pants, bags, even sleeping pads, or just to add style. Noso brags that its patches have fixed more than a million garments. nosopatches.com
MEC
Long before Facebook Marketplace there was MEC’s Gear Swap, a place on the store’s website to buy used gear from other members. You’ll find everything from mitts to skis. mec.ca/en/ gearswap
FRANKIE COLLECTIVE
Leading the “rework” trend, Frankie takes vintage clothing from Nike, The North Face, Patagonia and other brand names and reassembles it into fashionforward tops, bottoms and even bathing suits. From collection to pattern making, sewing and distribution, it’s all done in Vancouver. frankiecollective.com