Napapijri – the VF Corporation brand with the Finnish-sounding name and Norwegian flag as its logo which is actually based in Italy – decided to go the extra mile in working to secure stringent Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Gold certification for its Circular range of outdoor jackets.

Speaking at the recent Dornbirn Global Fibers Congress in Austria on September 15^th, Paolo Pezzin, VF Corporation senior manager of material innovation and sustainability, explained that having fully developed successful designs for its 100% monomaterial jackets, the brand opted to certify its entire supply chain, rather than just the products.

“We initially investigated 20 different types of jacket in order to establish which would be the easiest to disassemble and teamed up with Aquafil as our fibre partner,” he explained. “A first prototype did not pass the wash test and we later had to start again due to problems with metal complex dyestuffs. After a meeting involving all 47 of our component suppliers in Como, we established a full supply chain and  seven of our suppliers were selected to work together to achieve the certification.”

Napapijri Circular fillings and trims are made of nylon 6, while the fabric is made of Econyl regenerated nylon. The products are linked to a take-back programme that allows customers to return them to Napapijri after two years from purchase and to be transformed into new fabric through Aquafil’s Econyl regeneration system.

Cradle to Cradle Certified is a globally recognised measure of safer, more sustainable products made for the circular economy. To receive certification, products are assessed for environmental and social performance across five critical sustainability categories – material health, material reuse, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness.

The Napapijri Circular supply chain now has Platinum C2C certification for material health and Gold certification for material reutilisation, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness.

www.napapijri.com