Arc’teryx is redesigning every product it makes to be fully recyclable

FastCompany: A decade ago, the best way to sell a product was to say it was sustainable. A new crop of startups promised a greener future through merino wool sneakers, dresses made from deadstock, and rain jackets without a trace of virgin plastic in them. Today, the fashion industry feels like a graveyard to these idealistic brands. Allbirds , once valued at more than $4 billion, was forced into a fire-sale acquisition. Amour Vert filed for bankruptcy. Everlane was acquired by an ultrafast fashion brand. It sometimes feels like sustainable clothing is a lost cause.

But behind the scenes a cohort of heritage brands are still pouring time and capital into curbing the environmental footprint of their clothes and supply chains. Arc’teryx is among them. The Vancouver-based brand that is grounded in mountaineering has spent the past three years developing an ambitious circularity program called System 0. Today, it announces this new program with the launch of a fully recyclable hard shell jacket called Sperro SV. It’s designed to be a proof of concept for the brand’s broader transformation, coupling technical performance with materials that can be fully recycled at the end of their lives.

In the years to come, the company will bring the same approach to all of its products. [Photo: Achille Mauri/courtesy Arc’teryx] “Every product we make starts with solving a problem for the mountain athlete,” says Stuart Haselden, Arc’teryx’s CEO. “If we can solve problems for people who don’t even care about circularity, and just want a great jacket, then we can disrupt the industry.” [Photo: Jeremy Lee/courtesy Arc’teryx] The frontlines of climate change The decision to embark on this ambitious journey stems from the brand’s relationship with mountain climbers.

The company’s mission statement is “Leave It Better,” which refers to the idea that climbers should carry their trash down with them, to leave the mountain as pristine as they found it. But in an age of man-made climate change, the motto has taken on a darker, more profound meaning. “In the past, we designed products that were highly durable and had built-in repair solutions,” says Alexandra Plante, VP of advanced concepts at Arc’teryx. “We knew that wasn’t enough.” The company’s commitment was reinforced by interactions with the mountaineering community and elite athletes who witness environmental degradation firsthand.

Plante recalls that on a recent trip to the French Alpine town of Chamonix for the Arc’teryx Academy, the company’s educational wing, she heard a glaciologist warn that permanent snow in the region could vanish within decades. A few days later, a nearby ice tunnel collapsed. Many Arc’teryx-sponsored athletes are also demanding accountability from the fashion industry. Ashima Shiraishi, a climber, refused new gear upon joining the team, requesting only preowned ReGear garments. Greg Hill, an extreme ski mountaineer, pledged to eliminate air travel to curb his personal carbon footprint, reshaping how the brand coordinates expedition logistics.

“These impacts are real, and our responsibility to stay on this problem and think of a business model transformation is more important than ever,” says Plante. [Photo: Jeremy Lee/courtesy Arc’teryx] The most complex jacket to engineer To prove that System 0 could work, Plante’s team deliberately picked a very difficult product to reengineer: the technical hard shell. To mountaineers, this is an essential piece of safety equipment in addition to a jacket.

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Arc'teryx's commitment to redesigning all its products for recyclability represents a significant shift in the outdoor apparel industry, making it highly impactful and relevant for brand strategy professionals focused on sustainability.