We are always questioning how we can do better
Ternua Group, headquartered in Arrasate, Spain, is an international company dedicated to designing, developing, and marketing fashion and sports equipment with a strong commitment to sustainability. Renowned for combining functionality, sustainability, and design, the Group provides high-performance clothing and equipment for various sports and urban lifestyles while prioritising environmental care and innovation. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, the Group’s innovation and sustainability director Edu Uribesalgo speaks at length about sustainability, especially in the outdoor apparel industry.
How is the outdoor clothing and gear industry addressing the growing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly products, and what are the most promising developments in this area?
The main challenge for the textile industry, including the outdoor sector, is addressing the large amount of textile waste. The industry has introduced new recycled and environmentally friendly fabrics and treatments. However, the next crucial step is tackling textile waste through eco-design and circularity. This involves designing durable and versatile products that can be recycled at the end of their life cycle, keeping resources in use for longer. This approach has been a focus for several years and continues to evolve.
What are some of the most exciting technological advancements in the outdoor clothing and gear industry, and how are they enhancing product performance and user experience?
The outdoor clothing and gear industry is seeing numerous exciting technological advancements, including innovative fabrics and treatments that are sustainable, recycled, or biodegradable. These advancements focus on both performance and environmental responsibility.
These advancements enhance product performance and user experience by ensuring high functionality while being environmentally friendly. New fabrics guarantee technical performance and recyclability. Renewable solutions, such as mint for anti-odour, PFAS-free durable water-repellent treatments, and elasticity without elastane, improve functionality without harmful chemicals. These innovations ensure products meet consumer needs for optimal activity performance in a way that respects nature.
Can you discuss how Ternua began and evolved its focus on sustainability in outdoor apparel?
When we created the Ternua brand in 1994, we acquired a commitment to minimising the impact of our activity and since then we have been taking steps in this direction. Back then, there was no talk of sustainability, nor did we know what that meant, we just wanted the brand to be special and mean something to the person who used our products. We decided that in addition to the people, we were also going to protect the environment and the whales. So, at the end, we were talking about applying common sense in our activity. In our first collection, the entire fleece collection was made using 100 per cent recycled polyester in collaboration with Malden Mills (today better known as Polartec). We are always questioning how we can do better what we are doing today, and this has been our roadmap over these 30 years.
How does Ternua incorporate technical precision and innovation in the design of products aimed at intensive outdoor activities?
Ternua is a brand that has innovation in its DNA. Since its creation, innovation has been the key differentiating factor for the brand, with ‘technology’ and ‘sustainability’ being the main driving forces behind it. During these years, Ternua has and is developing functional and very technically demanding products. In addition to our ambassadors in the different disciplines, more than 5,000 athletes have participated in these developments, giving us a unique opportunity to understand in depth the needs and concerns of our users. These insights are then incorporated into our continuous innovation process, allowing us to create products that closely align with our customers’ needs while minimising environmental impact.
We work with leading companies, with which we have a close relationship that allows us to develop materials and products in the way we understand they should be made and so that they significantly influence the performance of the activity in all senses, functionality, lightness, resistance, compactness, comfort, freedom of movement, waterproofing, breathability, etc.
We can say that we involve athletes to understand their needs and we share them with our partners, with the aim of achieving the best solution in each case.
Could you elaborate on the decision-making process behind selecting sustainable materials like recycled down and organic cotton for your products?
We are always questioning how we can do better what we are doing today and constantly searching for healthier alternatives.
In 2006, we saw that the cotton we were using, used pesticides and herbicides and after investigating the problem that these substances caused for the farmer, the land and the environment, we began a process of searching for a healthier alternative. We involved our manufacturers in Portugal to change conventional cotton to organic cotton. It was a process that lasted 2 years. Since 2008 Ternua has only used organic or recycled cotton.
Until 2012 we had never used down in our products, and we understood that it was time to do so. Since we were not able to find a down source that we could guarantee came from an animal that had not been mistreated, we decided to look for another alternative. In 2013 we developed together with Navarpluma, an important down processing company, a recycled down that came from products that have reached the end of their life, is extracted, sterilised, separated and characterised to be able to use it as insulation in our products. Since 2013, our company has only used recycled down to produce down products.
What technical challenges arise in turning fishing nets into fabric, and how do you overcome them?
In 2015, we launched a project to recover fishing nets discarded by fishermen in the Basque country. The nets were 100 per cent polyamide, a material widely used in Ternua and without having clear about what the next steps were, but having clear that, if it was possible, we could do it, we decided to go ahead.
We had meetings with our fishing community (Basque institutions, fisherman associations and fishermen) to tell them what we wanted to do, and that their help and commitment was essential to advance the project. We collected 12,000 kg of fishing nets that, thanks to the company Aquafil, and its regeneration process, we managed to convert the nets into thread, with which we developed the fabric and then the garments.
The biggest challenge is the lack of infrastructure that allows managing these networks and therefore the involvement of Ternua in all the process—organising the collection, characterisation, washing, sending them to Aquafil, and finally development of the fabrics from the developed thread.
How has the adoption of natural dyes, like those derived from walnut and chestnut shells, impacted the overall production process and product performance?
A year after Redcycle, Ternua planted the seed of the Colorcycle project with Lurrekolore (“the colour of the earth” in Basque language), an initiative through which 600 kg of walnut shells were collected from four cider houses in Guipuzcoa. It must be taken into account that the dessert of these typical establishments in the Basque Country where cider is tasted includes cheese, quince and walnuts. Each season in Guipúzcoa, around 55,000 kilos of nuts are consumed, the shells of which are poured into the organic fraction. Ternua, knowing the possibility of converting this waste into natural dye for its garments, and in collaboration with our community (the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, the Gipuzkoa Cider Association) and Archroma, we transform these walnut shells into a final organic dye, with the same benefits as synthetic dyes, thus reducing the use of chemicals in the fabrics of its products.
Archroma’s EarthColors technology creates bio waste-based dyes derived from natural waste products of the agriculture and herbal industries, leaving the edible part still available for food consumption, giving natural shades for cellulosic based fibres such as cotton, viscose, linen, bamboo, kapok, etc.
This dyeing technology helps to reduce the negative impact on water footprint, natural resources, and climate change compared to conventional synthetic dyes. Furthermore, the fact that waste is upcycled from other industries contributes to a circular economy. Using natural waste based raw materials has no negative impact on any other steps of the dye manufacturing, such as water and energy consumption or waste generation. During the synthetisation of EarthColors, up to 100 per cent of the natural raw material is transformed to a new dyestuff, guaranteeing full waste management into own production.
The Wearcycle project is a fascinating initiative. Can you share more about the process of creating garments from discarded fabrics?
Ternua, with the collaboration of the Department of the Environment of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Alicante spinning company Belda Lloréns and the Basque social integration group Gureak, launched Wearcycle in 2022. This is a unique project through which we recycle textile waste from a local industrial laundry. Specifically, 2 tons of hotel cotton sheets, which Belda Lloréns later transformed into a very resistant and completely sustainable thread with which the brand currently manufactures T-shirts and sweatshirts.
Wearcycle is, therefore, an example of how collaboration between different agents can create a circular economy project. With it we avoid, on the one hand, the dumping of these textiles waste on a landfill, and on the other, by extending their life cycle, we can reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, going from linear to circular production. Thus, a hotel sheet can now become a T-shirt or sweatshirt. In a market where consumers are becoming more aware, this is a game changer.
How do partnerships with organisations like AZTI-Tecnalia and Aquafil contribute to Ternua’s innovative capabilities?
Over the years, we have established a broad ecosystem of partners and collaborated with various entities on different research projects. Ternua Group is a company that has innovation in its DNA. Since its inception, innovation has been the key differentiating factor for the company, with ‘technology’ and ‘sustainability’ being the main driving forces behind it. We have a clear innovation strategy, with ambitious objectives and a set of indicators to measure our progress. In the case of Aquafil, it is an incredible company and very innovative both in terms of functionality and sustainability and it makes our innovation projects possible. In the case of AZTI, it is a research institute very focused on everything related to marine, including marine litter. We have very good relationship with them; they are passionate researchers who are doing a great job to keep our seas clean. We have made several projects with them related in valorising marine litter collected in our sea. We can confirm that both AZTI and Aquafil are important and necessary collaborators to achieve the objectives we set for ourselves.
How do you measure the environmental impact of your sustainability projects? Are there any metrics or KPIs you can share?
Until now the objective of the singular projects has not been to measure the impact; it has been more to provide a solution to a problem and demonstrate that it is possible to make products from different wastes.
In our latest “loop your wear” project, we have developed a completely circular, recycled and recyclable product in which 100 per cent of the elements of the garment, such as fabrics, zipper, slider, puller, fabric labels, are made of the same monomer. We have measured the impact of the product and its circularity through the BCome tool. The garments will carry a QR with the information related with the traceability of the product. The garments will be presented in September so we cannot share more details as of now. This project will be an example of the way we should produce our products in the future.
What are the upcoming sustainable technologies or materials Ternua is exploring to further enhance the environmental friendliness of its products?
As mentioned earlier, we are always questioning how we can do better what we are doing today, and therefore we are always in constant search for healthier alternatives to the ones we have been using.
Las year, we have redefined our standard commitment and made it stricter:
In terms of product, 100 per cent of the collections of all our brands will comply with the group’s commitment. They will be designed, developed and manufactured under circular principles. That is, they will be recycled, recyclable or biodegradable.
In addition to the mono materiality of the products, we are currently working to replace, all organic cotton with regenerative organic cotton, to replace our PET bottle recycled polyester with post-consumer textile recycled polyester and to replace all our wool to RWS (Responsible Wool Standard).
In terms of company, at our own factory, with the waste we generate on the production of our Lorpen socks and our Ternua and Lorpen base layers, subproducts for other industries are created. By doing this, we avoid our waste ending in a landfill or incinerated. We have started doing the same with our other manufacturing partners. In short, we are always striving to do more with less, focusing on reducing resource usage and minimising waste throughout our production processes and at the end of a product’s life cycle.
As Ternua expands internationally, how do you ensure that your sustainability and ethical standards are maintained across different markets?
All the people who work for Ternua are committed to our way of doing things, regardless of their country. Our standards are also global, so ethics and sustainability are always guaranteed.
How are changing consumer preferences and behaviours influencing the design and marketing of outdoor clothing and gear?
We continuously listen to consumer needs and demands, adapting our product designs accordingly. There is an increasing demand for lighter, more versatile, sustainable, and aesthetically attractive products. Each collection addresses these factors from the very first design stage, ensuring that our offerings meet evolving consumer preferences.
What are the biggest challenges the industry faces in maintaining ethical and transparent supply chains, and what steps are companies taking to overcome these challenges?
One of the major challenges is addressing consumer concerns about where and how products are made. Transparency and traceability are crucial but difficult to achieve perfectly. Companies must also align quickly with upcoming legislation and ensure compliance across their supply chains.
For Ternua, we are focusing on advancing transparency and honesty in our processes. We have long-standing partnerships with committed suppliers to develop more responsible products. Efforts include improving transparency, ensuring traceability, and adapting to new legal requirements. While acknowledging imperfections, these companies strive to continuously improve their practices.
How is the outdoor clothing and gear industry adapting to the impacts of climate change, both in terms of product development and corporate strategy?
he industry recognises the need for a drastic and urgent change in how products are developed and manufactured. Traditional methods of extracting natural resources to create products that end up as waste are no longer sustainable. Companies are now focusing on designing products with their end-of-life in mind, creating mono-material garments for easier recycling, ensuring durability, and promoting repair.
Efforts include reducing water and energy usage throughout the supply chain to lower the carbon footprint. This approach is crucial for developing sustainable products.
At Ternua Group, we strive to minimise the impact of our activities and products. We have a defined reduction plan and targets across all aspects of the company, which we monitor to ensure compliance and advance towards carbon neutrality.
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