Our design solutions are creative, sometimes unexpected
Pertex has been weaving high-performance fabrics for outdoor people since 1979. Pertex fabrics are created out of ongoing partnerships and shaped by the company’s concern for the wellbeing of the planet. They are weaved in collaboration and with responsibility, to be rewoven over many lifetimes. In a conversation with Fibre2Fashion, Brand Director Andy Laycock discusses innovation, collaboration, sustainability and more.
How do you see the role of advanced fabric technologies evolving in the outdoor apparel industry in the next decade, considering factors like sustainability, performance, and consumer preferences?
Particularly in the area of durability, there is a lot of space for advanced fabric technologies to provide long-lasting performance with an overall reduced environmental impact. By keeping products in use for longer, before they need to be repaired or replaced, we can reduce our resource requirements. This is even more so a challenge in light of the elimination of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), as fabrics cannot rely on such chemical finishes to provide oil and stain resistance. In this case, we require not only advanced fabric technologies, but we must also educate consumers that they need to care for their garments in a way in which they may not have done in the past.
As consumer awareness of sustainability grows, how do you think the industry will address challenges such as reducing environmental impact throughout the supply chain and improving end-of-life product solutions?
The key point here is that no single fabric manufacturer or brand is going to be able to address such large and multifactorial problems on their own. The only way in which we can look to find those solutions is to work together as an industry, pooling resource and knowledge for the benefit of all.
Collaboration between brands and fabric manufacturers has become increasingly common. How do you envision these partnerships evolving to drive innovation and address industry-wide challenges such as climate change adaptation and mitigation?
For Pertex, collaborating with brands allows us to get a deeper understanding of the needs of the consumer. Innovation for innovations sake does not benefit anyone. If we are going to develop a new fabric or technology, it must solve a problem which the consumer is experiencing or may experience, and it must do so at a price level that consumer will recognise the value in. By working closely with brands, we are able to match up new emerging technologies and innovation, with the needs of the consumer.
Pertex has been known for its innovative fabric technologies. What inspired the company’s focus on high-performance fabrics, and how does Pertex continue to push the boundaries in this field?
Since the birth of Pertex fabrics in 1979, we have focused on using innovation to solve problems faced by people in the outdoors. Our design solutions are creative, sometimes unexpected. We combine and build on highly specialist knowledge sets, coordinating expertise from diverse domains unconstrained by industry norms. This way, we create qualitatively new solutions, exclusive technologies, and unique end user benefits.
Can you elaborate on the company’s approach to sustainability throughout its supply chain and product lifecycle?
As an outdoor brand, we gain significant benefit from the natural environment. It is a resource that we rely on and as such we have an increased responsibility to protect the environment for the benefit of all. Our approach to sustainability revolves around taking considered and meaningful steps to reduce our impact. We actively avoid following the latest sustainability trends and gimmicks, instead focus on the areas where our action makes a tangible difference. An example being our work with Bureo and their NetPlus material, made from 100 per cent post-consumer recycled fishing nets. Pertex fabrics woven from this material can directly replace fabrics made from virgin material, with no loss in performance, providing measurable reductions in GHG emissions, fossil-fuel use and water use.
Collaboration seems to be a key aspect of Pertex’s approach. Could you share some examples of successful collaborations and how they have contributed to Pertex’s brand identity and product development?
Yes, collaboration is and has always been fundamental to our business. Our relationships are deep and long-lasting, allowing a greater level of collaboration between ourselves and the brand. We have brand partners that we have worked with for over 35 years, and consumers recognise that partnership and the associated quality and dependability.
For example, our brand partner Rab has been using Pertex fabrics in their sleeping bags almost since we began producing downproof fabrics. From this we have learnt much about what is required of sleeping bags fabrics from a design and user perspective and this has guided many of our developments, including our Pertex Quantum Pro fabrics.
The outdoor industry is constantly evolving. How does Pertex stay ahead of trends and adapt to changing consumer demands while maintaining its brand integrity?
We work with a wide range of diverse brands. This allows us to get early insight into the emerging or changing consumer needs and can inform development and innovation. But we also have a very clear strategy and understanding of what a Pertex fabric is, and we do not look to develop fabrics which consumers would not recognise as being Pertex. This bounds or guides to our developments and helps reinforce consumer awareness and recognition of the Pertex brand.
Innovation is a core value at Pertex. Can you share any upcoming projects or technologies that the company is particularly excited about?
Our collaboration with Bureo to integrate their NetPlus material into our fabrics is a key part of our sustainable innovation strategy. Initially introduced as Pertex Quantum made from NetPlus, launched with Patagonia in their Micro Puff Collection, NetPlus material is going to be utilised across a number of our fabric sub-brands in the coming seasons.
Another key innovation is a recycled version of our Diamond Fuse technology. This is one of our shaped filament technologies, whereby instead of conventional round cross-sectional filaments, we use yarns made of diamond shaped filaments. This allows the filaments to closely align and form a very stable yarn structure, providing fabrics with twice the abrasion resistance of conventional filament yarns. We have now developed a recycled nylon version of this technology, which is used by a number of our brand partners including Mammut and Mountain Hardwear, in their most technical, high-performance garments.
Looking ahead, what are Pertex’s goals and aspirations for the future, both in terms of product development and corporate responsibility?
Our most pressing goals are to move away from the use of virgin fossil fuel based inputs and towards a more circular model. The collaboration with NetPlus is one of the key routes towards this goal, as it allows us to replace virgin nylon with like for like post-consumer recycled nylon from fishing nets. On the polyester side, we are working with the chemical recycling company Ambercycle, looking at ways to develop fabrics using their fibre-to-fibre recycling technology.
Interviewer: Shilpi Panjabi
Published on: 05/06/2024
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
