Technical clothing:how to make it last longer

How to wash, dry and maintain the water repellency of the garments to use our technical clothing for longer.

• Due to its performance characteristics, technical clothing has a particularly impact from an environmental point of view, which is why it is important to ensure that it lasts as long as possible.
• Washing and drying are delicate operations when it comes to waterproof fabrics, but just observing a few precautions is enough to extend the life of jackets and trekking shoes or for the mountains in general.
• The outdoor industry is the most sensitive to environmental issues and the initiatives implemented by brands to encourage their customers to repair technical clothing before buying new ones are increasingly frequent.

We produce too much, in particular we produce too many clothes, more than we can use.To deal with the problem of overproduction in the textile sector there is only one solution, buy less.This axiom is valid in any situation, but there are some types of products, such as thetechnical outdoor clothing, in which we inevitably come up against a crucial factor, namely the performance of the leaders.

When dealing with clothing that we need to protect ourselves from the cold it is crucial that they maintain their characteristics in terms waterproofness, breathability, ability to isolate and protect from external elements.It is therefore important to make the necessary considerations when purchasing and invest in quality, but it is also advisable to make... maintenance to ensure that they last as long as possible, both in terms of repairs and washing or interventions to keep the technical properties intact.

In the case of technical clothing everything is in fact amplified because, in the vast majority of cases, these are premium materials and very often of synthetic origin which entail a higher expenditure of resources and emissions. Even though research in this sense has made giant strides and there are many recycled synthetic fabrics that are more than valid, a large part of outdoor equipment involves the massive use of polyester, petroleum derivative.Polyester is in fact a derivative of Pet plastic which, through a fusion process, is then transformed into yarn.So it becomes even more important to limit the damage from the point of view of overproduction, taking care of your outdoor garments in the right way and repairing them when possible.

Life cycle assessment:the importance of durability

The analysis of the life cycle of a product, abbreviated to the English acronym Lca (Life cycle assessment) is an analytical tool that allows you to evaluate and make predictions aboutimpact of a product in all phases of its life, from the procurement of raw materials to eventual disposal.“From the cradle to the grave” as the English say, from the cradle to the grave.It is a complete global indicator because, while the evaluation of carbon emissions, for example, takes into account only one factor, the LCA examines everything that has an external impact on a product, from water consumption to the impact on the ecosystem up to ability to be disposed of more or less easily.A particularly useful tool when it comes to sustainable fashion.

The longer the life cycle of a product, the lower its impact in terms of emissions will be.American society Gore-Tex, producer of the fabric of the same name patented in 1976 and indispensable thanks to its waterproof and breathable qualities, has released the Lca data of a normal Gore-tex jacket that is used for five years.Well, it has been highlighted how the production and distribution phases affect the 65 percent on the total CO2 emissions produced, while the use phase stops at 35 percent in such a long period of time.But how do you make a waterproof jacket last five years or more?

Maintenance of a Gore-Tex jacket

Clearly the more or less long life of a technical jacket, or a pair of shoes or gloves, depends on how it is used, how much we expose it to the elements and how often we wash it, but there are some general considerations that it's worth doing and, above all, gods practical advice which is worth following.For example, to ensure that Gore-Tex garments are more efficient for longer, it is essential that they are always kept very clean, but during the washing and drying phases it is necessary to maintain certain precautions and, where necessary, take care of renew the water-repellent treatment before buying a new product with the exact same function.

As for washing, it is essential close all zips before putting the jacket in the washing machine and, in the case of stains, it is absolutely a must avoid a stain removing product. However, it is advisable before the actual washing, remove stains from the affected part with del neutral liquid detergent, the same one that is then used for the washing machine.It is the manufacturing company itself that recommends using a liquid detergent, because it is more effective than the powder one, and do not use fabric softener, because it could damage the head.If you have ever washed technical clothing with fabric softener it will probably have shrunk or lost elasticity.

As for the program to use, a medium one will be fine, to be set at the temperature of 40 degrees to which add a second rinse, decreasing the spin speed.This is because it is important that no soap residue remains and no creases form in the garment.

The drying process is particularly important because it is also functional to reactivate the water-repellent treatment of the jacket.The waterproofing treatment consists of applying a polymer to the outermost layer of fabric, which reduces the tension of the material so that the water slides away.To be as respectful of the environment as possible, the jacket should be dried in the open air and, once dry, ironed by placing a cloth between the fabric and the iron without using steam and touching every corner of the jacket.

To then understand whether the water-repellent treatment should be reapplied or not, simply pour some water on the garment.If the drops remain well formed on the surface, then it is still effective, if they spread and penetrate the fabric then it is worth reapplying the treatment (there are various on the market that can also be purchased separately) and, once done, reactivate it with the hot iron and cloth.

How to clean and keep your trekking shoes water-repellent

As for the trekking shoes one thing is important to keep in mind:they go wash by hand.Whether you want to clean only externally or internally.A basin and some will be enough liquid soap and possibly a cloth to dry them and remove excess water inside.This is clearly after removing both the strings and external dirt of various kinds, such as dirt residues.

Once dried, turned upside down and in the open air, you can proceed with the water repellency test.If they are no longer resistant to water penetration, use a product to waterproof them again, being careful to use a water-based one and not a grease or silicone, because these elements affect the breathability of the shoe.

Repair technical outdoor clothing

But what to do in case of tears, holes, or other types of damage to our equipment?First of all, it is of primary importance to understand whether or not these damages can be repaired in a way that Not impairs the ordinary performance of the garment or accessory in question.If everyone used their own clothing or equipment for one or two more seasons would make up for it considerably the ecological footprint necessary to produce a new garment from scratch.

Given that the outdoor industry, by its very nature, is the one closest to environmental issues, many of the brands in this sector are increasingly organizing themselves to invest in durability.As in the case of the brand Patagonia that thanks to initiatives like the Worn wear tour, repairs any type of outdoor product, even those of other brands.

This project, active above all during the winter events, sees the presence of real trucks in the area where it is possible to bring one's clothes to be refurbished.One will be inaugurated on Friday 23 November repair station permanent in the Milan store, where Patagonia garments can be taken for repairs at any time.

In the lack of highly qualified personnel to make available, more and more brands are organizing themselves to provide their customers with the repair instructions own clothing through specific and detailed guides on their sites.We start from the most banal action, such as that of put a button back, to the less immediate one of replace a zip.If that wasn't enough, there are more and more websites dedicated to the world of reuse, such as Repair Café or iFixit, where you can find directions to fix just about anything.