Macpac Sustainability Actions

DESIGN FOR DURABILITY & PERFORMANCE

When surrounded by nature, having the confidence to extend yourself beyond your own personal boundaries comes not only from within, but also from the belief in the performance of your gear. Through the design and manufacture of durable, high-performance outdoors clothing and equipment, we play a valuable part in the safety, enjoyment and comfort of your outdoors experience. This commitment to durability not only meets your needs, but also fulfils an important role in the sustainability of our nature environment. Through creating products that have a long life, we limit waste and reduce our environmental footprint.

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PRODUCT CARE

All gear needs a little love from time to time. It's the way you care for your gear that has the greatest impact on the environment. We've put together some product care advice and videos to care for your gear.

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REPAIRS

Macpac offers a repairs service. We know that repairing before replacing is easier on the Earth. Besides, a patch on a ripped jacket is a badge of honour.

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RESPONSIBLE MATERIALS

Rethinking the materials we use, and also how we use them, has the greatest potential for lowering our environmental impact. Macpac Designers and Developers are working tirelessly to increase our use of more responsible materials from one season to the next. We hope you take some time to learn more about these fabrics and the technologies we use as we continue on our sustainability journey.

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FAIRTRADE COTTON

Since Winter 2020 all of our t-shirts are made from Fairtrade sourced organic cotton. We chose to partner with Fairtrade because under their auspices cotton growers are guaranteed a minimum price for what they farm, helping them establish financial security and making them less vulnerable to poverty.

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RESPONSIBLE DOWN

We feel good about feeling warm and we’re proud that 100% of our down products are certified by the Responsible Down Standard (RDS). Macpac is committed to using ethically sourced down - a by product from the food industry that is free from cruel practices such as live-plucking and force-feeding.

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BLUESIGN® FABRICS

We set goals to increase the use of bluesign® fabrics. The bluesign® System represents a holistic method for fabric and trims manufacturers to address the impact of their materials on our health and the environment. It involves a traceable commitment to more responsible and sustainable manufacturing methods. When a material has been manufactured to bluesign® criteria, that material was made with the responsible use of resources and the lowest possible impact on people and the environment.

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ORGANIC COTTON

Our certified organic cotton is more sustainably grown from non-genetically modified plants using methods and materials that have a much lower impact on the environment than traditional cotton production.

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RECYCLED FABRICS

The beauty of recycled materials is that it reduces our dependance on petroleum as the raw material input. Our recycled polyester is sourced from post-consumer waste, like PET drink bottles, that would have ended up in landfill. Our recycled Nylon is currently sourced from pre-consumer industrial waste.

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WOOL

One of nature’s most remarkable fibres, wool has extraordinary characteristics. It is a renewable fibre that biodegrades and is naturally odour resistant, which means you can wear it longer between washes. We are committed to using 100% non-mulesed wool.

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THE HIGG INDEX

Macpac officially adopted Higg in January 2019. Developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the Higg Index is a suite of tools that enables brands to accurately measure and score their company’s and product’s sustainability performance. The Brand & Retail Tool (BRM) allow us to benchmark our current performance against industry best practice. We then set future-facing goals that implement procedures to drive improved social and environmental practices in our operations.

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WOOL RECYCLING

Wool is one of Nature’s most extraordinary fibres, so we’re teaming up with Terra Lana in Ōtautahi Christchurch to repurpose your discarded Macpac merino garments into new wool blend products. Merino is often impractical to repair, so we’re excited to trial this initiative across our stores in New Zealand. Together, we have the potential to save our wool from the landfill and repurpose it for a new beginning.

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GIVING OLD GEAR NEW LIFE

We’ve been repairing and donating used Macpac gear to those in need for years. Recently, we’ve partnered with the 2nd Life Project in Australia, who will be repurposing our unusable gear into new products.

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DESIGN FOR CIRCULARITY

In 2019, Macpac collaborated with Brunos Originals to design six, one-off garments, made from damaged/discarded Macpac product. Proceeds from their sale went to the Macpac Fund for Good. The collaboration tapped into both brands’ core values of sustainable, durable designs that create minimal waste.

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