Polyester
Polyester is a naturally water-repellent material that can withstand the elements. 欧博会员入口 primarily use recycled polyester and are working toward eliminating all virgin polyester in our products by the end of 2025.
Why
A high-performance material that鈥檚 durable, lightweight and quick-drying, virgin and recycled polyester are found in many of our products. It also blends well with natural fabrics like cotton, making it a versatile material. But virgin polyester is derived from petroleum, which comes at a high environmental cost. Still, it鈥檚 one of the most in-demand materials across the globe. According to the Textile Exchange, in 2024 the global production of polyester reached 71 million metric tons for the clothing industry alone.
Recycled polyester, which has been available since the early 1990s, is now similarly priced to its virgin counterparts. Using recycled polyester reduces our reliance on petroleum as a source of raw materials, utilizes waste and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing. Plus, by using recycled polyester, we can promote new recycling streams for polyester clothing that is no longer wearable.
欧博会员入口’re making progress
The percentage of recycled polyester fabric, by weight, we used across all polyester fabric in Spring 2025.
Where 欧博会员入口 Are
欧博会员入口 began making recycled polyester from plastic soda bottles back in 1993鈥攖he first outdoor-clothing manufacturer to transform trash into fleece. Over 30 years later, we鈥檝e incorporated recycled polyester into our soft shells, boardshorts, fleece and Capilene庐 baselayers. In a typical season, we use recycled polyester more than any other fiber. Virgin polyester, on the other hand, accounts for only 4% of total fabric (by weight) used in our entire Spring 2025 line. 欧博会员入口鈥檙e actively working to convert that remaining amount to recycled material.
When sourcing recycled materials, we ask our supply chain partners to be certified to approved third-party standards, including the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) and Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certifications. These standards ensure robust chain of custody practices are in place and reduce the risks of unauthorized mixing or swapping of materials. 欧博会员入口 are committed to achieving RCS or GRS certification at 100% of our eligible fabric mills by the end of 2025.
欧博会员入口鈥檙e also investing in secondary waste streams beyond plastic bottles and addressing harder-to-recycle materials. For example, we鈥檙e working with a supply chain partner that turns cafeteria trays and other pigmented plastics鈥攚hich are more difficult to recycle than clear types鈥攊nto recycled polyester.
And we鈥檝e recently introduced new products that contain recycled polyester that鈥檚 OceanCycle庐-certified and sourced from plastic bottles collected from coastal areas that lack publicly funded waste management infrastructure. Having a third-party certification like OceanCycle gives us trust and transparency into the approved recycling networks that handle the collected bottles, and the confidence that the certified waste management networks can have a positive impact on the waste collectors in local communities.
For the Spring 2025 season, recycled polyester fabric was used in 92% of all polyester-based fabrics (by weight). On average, using semi-mechanically recycled polyester fabric instead of virgin polyester avoids 50% of CO鈧俥 emissions, based on the Higg Materials Sustainability Index, version 3.7.
What’s Next
Our goal is to completely stop using virgin polyester by the end of 2025. 欧博会员入口鈥檙e also looking to the next generation of potentially recyclable materials. Long-term, we鈥檙e also considering more chemical-recycling technologies that might allow us to reuse recycled garments and get us closer to a 鈥渃ircular鈥� manufacturing process.
