Eco-Shell
Waterproof, breathable and sustainable
Every outdoor brand needs a functioning shell garment. But when we created Eco-Shell we didn’t just want to create a tough, breathable material that resisted wind and rain; we wanted to create a material that did all that without unnecessarily harming nature.
We started by using recycled polyester. This means less raw resources used today, and hopefully easier recycling in the future. We decided to climate compensate all Eco-Shell garments too. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, we chose to use PFC-free impregnation.
Perfluorocarbons, or PFCs for short, are used a lot by the outdoor industry because of their ability to make materials water repellent. But they don’t break down in nature. In fact they stay there and spread. They can be stored in living organisms for several years and can gradually work their way up the food chain. Find out more about our switch to PFC-free impregnation here.
HOW DOES ECO-SHELL WORK?
Eco-Shell offers both breathability and protection from rain, sleet and snow. It’s the combination of the PFC-free durable water repellency (DWR) treatment on the outer layer and the hydrophilic membrane underneath, that ensures sweat escapes but water from the outside doesn’t get in.
When you sweat the concentration of vapour inside your Eco-Shell garment increases. Once the ratio of moisture is higher on the inside of the membrane than on the outside, the moisture will be absorbed by the membrane and transported to the outer layer, from where it evaporates.
The DWR on the outer layer then helps prevent water from getting into the membrane and through to your skin or other clothes. The DWR’s ability to resist water also helps with Eco-Shell’s breathability: if there is too much water on the outside of jacket, i.e. rain saturating the surface, your sweat won’t travel from the inside to the outside of the membrane.
A: The outer fabric repels rain, water, sleet and snow from the face fabric.
B: The hydrophilic membrane gives the jacket its breathability. As soon as there’s more moisture inside than outside the membrane, sweat passes through and escapes into the air.
C: With our 3-layer Eco-Shell garments, a thin lining on the inside protects the membrane from wear and tear and helps initiate the transport of moisture.
D: The windproof outer fabric together with the membrane stops cold winds from getting through the fabric and cooling you down.
E: With our 2.5-layer Eco-Shell garments, a print on the inside protects the membrane from wear and tear and helps initiate the transport of moisture.
