Polartec and Norrøna turn Norwegian bottles into recycled fleece

Polartec and Norrøna developed the /29 warm4 up-cycled Jacket using 100% recycled material. Offered in men’s and women’s versions, its Polartec Wind Pro fleece was made entirely from REPREVE 100 yarn. In 2012, Polartec reported using Unifi’s fully recycled REPREVE 100 in more than half of its US production.

For the Norrøna collaboration, the yarn came entirely from PET bottles collected in Norway in partnership with Tomra and Norsk Resirk. Around 40 bottles went into each jacket.

Using bottles instead of crude oil was intended to reduce the jacket’s carbon footprint. The original announcement estimated that conventional production required 2 kg of crude oil for every kilogram of raw material.

The recycled Polartec Wind Pro fabric had a high-loft inner surface whose fibers trapped air and retained body heat, providing warmth without additional weight. Polartec described it as four times more wind-resistant than conventional fleece, highly breathable and water-repellent, making the jacket versatile across seasons.

“We are launching our first garment made entirely from PET bottles,” said Norrøna owner and CEO Jørgen Jørgensen. The aim was to improve the value and performance of recycled material by turning bottles into functional sportswear.

“For a long time, we used a very small proportion of recycled material, as little as 10%,” said Polartec’s Chuck Haryslak. “But we gradually increased the share, and now we make a material without adding virgin polyester or compromising quality.”

“When Norrøna presented this idea, we were very enthusiastic about the opportunity to demonstrate our approach to providing customers with customized recycled-material solutions,” said Mark McNeill, Unifi’s vice president of product development. “With the capabilities of the REPREVE Recycling Center, we could offer Norrøna a REPREVE-based product made from bottles collected in its home country, with performance equivalent to virgin polyester.”

www.norrona.no