Ventile, the brand known for its performance textiles worn by explorers such as Ranulph Finnes and Sir Edmund Hillary, owned by Stotz & Co. and based in Zurich, Switzerland, has just launched two new fabrics as part of its growing Eco range.

The Ventile Eco 420 and Ventile Eco 430 are machine washable 100% recycled cotton fabrics that challenge what is possible with coarse recycled yarns. The higher-weight, contrasting weaves used in the textiles are markedly different from anything produced by the brand before.

Set to launch this summer, the brand wanted to challenge what is possible with coarse recycled yarns. The results are woven, textured fabrics made from a contrasting weave and weft. They utilise strands that are pre-dyed before weaving and are five times heavier than those used in previous fabrications. Combining a coarse, heavier-weight recycled yarn with Twill and Panama weaving techniques gives the fabrics their rigid properties as well as making them suitable for machine washing.

Unlike many recycled fabrics on the market, both the 420 and 430 are made from 100% recycled cotton. The fabrics are sourced from pre-consumer off-cuts which are then stripped and re-purposed into the finished product. In addition, as you would expect from a brand that made its name from weather-proof breathable fabrics, both have been tested to 300 mm pressure under a hydrostatic head test.

With a weight of 420g and 430g respectively, these are the heaviest weight fabrics available from Ventile and offer designers a great ecological option for shoes, bags, and mid-weight jackets.

“When we go through the process of developing a new fabric, we are always guided by our heritage,” said Ventile marketing manager Daniel Odermatt. “The inspiration behind the 420 and 430 fabrics is the drive to innovate, just like the scientists that developed Ventile back in 1943. For these new products we wanted to add a different dimension to our Eco range and play with how we use colour and coarse yarns, and we are thrilled with the results.”

Ventile fabric was first developed by scientists at the Shirley Institute in Manchester, UK, in 1943.  Originally created to help save the lives of Air Force pilots flying over the Atlantic during wartime, the fabric was designed to be cool and comfortable on land, yet warm and impenetrable if it came into contact with water. This technology helped Ventile to carve out a reputation as the world’s most effective, natural, all-weather cotton textile.

www.ventile.co.uk