A BRIEF HISTORY OF PÁRAMO
1984 An expert in waterproofing, having founded Nikwax in 1977, Nick Brown begins development of the Analogy fabric system. It works in combination with a water-repellent outer layer by transporting moisture along a humidity gradient.
1989 Páramo is founded. The name is a generic word for a high, treeless plateau in South America – in this case Colombia, where Páramo’s factory is based. The company’s first items of clothing were tested in the Páramo foothills of the Colombian Andes.
1992 Páramo’s factory in Miquelina, Colombia begins production, giving employment to vulnerable women.
1997 The Alta jacket is launched. It will go on to become one of Páramo’s most iconic garments.
2007 Work with the World Land Trust sees Páramo offset all its primary carbon emissions. The Velez Adventure Smock is launched.
2012 The Páramo recycling scheme is launched. It rewards Páramo users for trading their gear up for newer models, and recycles the old.
2014 Páramo ensures all fabrics used in its products are sourced free of PFCs.
2015 Climber David Bacci goes to Patagonia and tests the Enduro – a PFC-free mountaineering jacket. He successfully summits Cerro Torre via the Ragni route in a demanding ascent involving an ice tunnel and multiple nights out.
2016 Páramo wins the Guardian Sustainable Business Award in the Bold Move category, recognising it as the first to sign up to the Greenpeace Detox scheme – which aims to ensure hazardous and persistent pollutants are excluded from textile production.