Come out west to Utah, Colorado, or the broader U.S. West Coast, and you’ll notice one thing in common: the prevalence of outdoor clothing in everyday wear. It’s common for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to wear long sturdy pants, moisture-wicking tops, and rain jackets. They also wear hiking boots and high-performance running shoes for additional comfort and protection. Beanies add the final touch. Geography and outdoor culture play a significant part in establishing this region’s wardrobe. Patagonia, The North Face, and Cotopaxi are among the most common outerwear apparel in this part of the country.

However, the popularity of outerwear extends far beyond the mountains of the western U.S. The increasing popularity of outdoor and adventure clothing worldwide manifested into “Gorpcore” after the pandemic, a fashion trend that brings functional outdoor wear to urban style.[1] According to a report by Global Market Insights, the global outdoor market size in 2023 was estimated at USD 35 Billion, and the market is expected to grow to USD 62 Billion by 2032.[2] Given the popularity of outdoor apparel, any sustainability-focused moves by the sector’s two largest players – Patagonia and The North Face – are likely to make waves.

Before Circularity became the go-to sustainability buzzword in fashion and retail, Patagonia made circularity a part of its core business strategy. In 2005, the company started its Common Threads Garment Recycling Program for its Capilene® baselayers to recycle used products and create new polyester.[3] Patagonia was ahead of the times but shifted away from its Capilene® after struggling to get participation from its consumer base and changes with its recycling partner.[4] In 2011 Patagonia became one of the first outdoor apparel brands to launch an apparel resale program, in partnership with eBay, where U.S. and UK customers could buy and sell used Patagonia products through eBay.[5] Patagonia’s partnership with eBay was a catalyst for the brand’s flagship WornWear program, which was successfully launched in select stores in 2013. In 2017, Patagonia expanded WornWear to its own online platform. Over the years, Patagonia has continued to grow WornWear and keep more than 130,000 items in circulation.[6]

WornWear allows Patagonia to circumvent clothes that otherwise would have been headed to the landfill by prompting customers to trade in their Patagonia gear. Once traded in, items are repaired and resold back on WornWear with Patagonia’s Ironclad Guarantee of quality. Depending on the quality and selection of items traded in, customers are eligible for store credit up to $100.[7] Alongside the items Patagonia collects, they also sell Patagonia ReCrafted apparel on WornWear. ReCrafted represents a smaller selection of items upcycled from scraps of used Patagonia garments. Old or damaged clothes sent back through WornWear that no longer can be repaired are deconstructed and remade into original pieces. Over the years, a sewing shop Suay, in partnership with Patagonia’s designers, has created over 10,000 “individual pieces of clothing specifically for the ReCrafted line.”[8] While Patagonia spends “more on the labor for these garments…the fabric is free.”[9] They’re primarily paying for the labor. While WornWear still makes up a fraction of Patagonia’s global annual revenue, Patagonia’s program prompted competitors The North Face and Arc'teryx to follow suit with their own takeback and resale programs.[10]

The North Face launched its Renewed take-back program in 2018 to keep North Face gear out of landfills. Like Patagonia, The North Face customers can return their used gear to retail or outlet stores or ship them to The North Face Renewed. Products are sorted and selected for renewal, with those too damaged or at risk to end up in the landfill upcycled through their REMADE Collection, while others are donated or recycled.[11] Unlike the Patagonia WornWear program, The North Face will offer XPLR Pass™ Members a $10 shopping credit with The North Face when customers sell directly to The North Face.[12]

In its recent REMADE drop, The North Face focused on the brand’s iconic Nuptse jackets, piecing material together in Frankenstein fashion. One example includes a brown puffer jacket with shearling-like sleeves. Several others featured Nuptse puffer jackets pieced together with various color pieces in a quilt-like patchwork design. The REMADE collection promises products that are different from the brand’s original line. Released in limited quantities, these products are usually cheaper than the brand’s Nuptse jackets but offer fresh, innovative designs.

Even The North Face’s Japan-only Purple Label collaboration with Nanamica featured a limited capsule of upcycled clothes. This line takes “left-over fabrics from previous production processes” and remakes them into distinct styles.[13] The collection features puffer and fleece jackets, pants, and scarves.

The North Face ultimately aims to create a peer-to-peer network where customers can sell their products directly. The North Face is already experimenting with this peer-to-peer platform for Canadian customers. Customers can list their products through the Renewed Marketplace, and once an item is sold, The North Face will send the lister a prepaid shipping label. Once the item is shipped, the lister can redeem their earnings as cash by receiving 70% of the sale price or get The North Face store credit for 100% of the final sale price.[14] As a consumer, the marketplace site lists products as preowned, describes their condition, and includes photos submitted by the product lister.

Renewing and reselling clothes is a key part of any circular business model, but fashion brands face unique challenges in scaling these new revenue schemes. Success is predicated on a streamlined process for identifying eligible products, employing skilled designers who mix and match garments and materials, capable manufacturers who can create on par with the incoming supply, and convincing consumers to purchase upcycled or renewed garments instead of new apparel. Patagonia and its competitors also need to convince consumers to participate in their take-back programs rather than other resale sites such as Depop, ThredUp, and others. $10 or $20 in-store credit won’t cut it if a customer can grab a higher amount on resale through other platforms. Not to mention other resale platforms allow consumers to sell a wider selection of brands.

Apparel and accessory lines like ReCrafted and REMADE provide a new source of revenue for brands, but the challenge remains in scaling this circular sector. Brands need to balance their environmental goals with the business realities of these programs, even if the goal is to break even on these lines. The good news is that consumers today are more conscious of the fashion industry’s environmental impact, and brands with existing take-back programs are ahead of brands without similar programs. Even 5% utilization of takeback programs is better than none from competitors. Quality products that consumers feel confident about adding to their wardrobes will sell. Renew and resale models are still in their early stages, but the outerwear apparel industry is leading experiments that will make fashion circular.

[1] https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-gorpcore

[2] https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/outdoor-apparel-market

[3] https://www.patagonia.com/stories/our-quest-for-circularity/story-96496.html

[4] https://www.patagonia.com/stories/our-quest-for-circularity/story-96496.html

[5] https://www.patagonia.com/stories/our-quest-for-circularity/story-96496.html

[6] https://www.patagonia.com/stories/our-quest-for-circularity/story-96496.html

[7] https://wornwear.patagonia.com/pages/faq

[8] https://www.patagonia.com/stories/second-stories/story-74520.html

[9] https://www.fastcompany.com/90592541/patagonia-has-had-enormous-success-with-upcycled-clothing-could-other-brands-follow

[10] https://www.mensjournal.com/pursuits/out-of-the-office/upcycling-outdoor-gear

[11] https://www.thenorthfacerenewed.com/about

[12] https://www.thenorthfacerenewed.com/faq

[13] https://hypebeast.com/2023/11/the-north-face-purple-label-upcycled-collection-release-info

[14] https://renewed.thenorthface.ca/sell

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