Circular Economy

'The North Face Renewed' Gives Refurbished Clothes Second Life

Today at SB’18 Vancouver, The North Face will announce the launch of The North Face Renewed — a collection of refurbished products for consumers who want to access affordable gear and reduce their environmental impact. All “Renewed” items — which are sourced from returned, defective or damaged apparel — have been thoroughly inspected, cleaned and refurbished to The North Face quality and performance standards.

By Sustainable Brands | Published 6 years ago | About a 2 minute read

Today at SB’18 Vancouver, The North Face will announce the launch of The North Face Renewed — a collection of refurbished products for consumers who want to access affordable gear and reduce their environmental impact. All “Renewed” items — which are sourced from returned, defective or damaged apparel — have been thoroughly inspected, cleaned and refurbished to The North Face quality and performance standards. This program furthers the retailer’s mission to inspire more people to live a life of exploration, helping them to take an active role in choosing a high-quality product that also reduces our overall footprint.

According to recent estimates, each year the world consumes 80 billion new pieces of clothing, and 26 billion pounds of clothing, shoes and textiles go into landfills — 95 percent of which could be reused or recycled. The North Face Renewed is evolving a traditional, linear business model into a circular model where clothing can be resold, repaired and recycled to keep it out of landfills and in the value chain.

“At The North Face, we take a holistic approach to sustainability,” said James Rogers, Director of Sustainability at The North Face. “As we address the impacts of our products over their entire lifecycle, re-commerce is an important next step in opening new markets and minimizing our impact on the planet. We are furthering our sustainability goals without sacrificing durability or technical standards. Ultimately, as we work to scale Renewed, we will be proving a larger, circular model for the industry.”

With Renewed, The North Face joins retailers such as Patagonia and H&M in making refurbished and recycled items available for resale. Currently in its pilot phase, The North Face Renewed, which will include items from The North Face’s Summit Series and Denali jackets and other popular collections, will only be offered online at this time.

The North Face is committed to continuously improving the environmental performance of products, from the award-winning Cali Wool Beanie made from Climate Beneficial Wool, to the recently announced Bottle Source Collection that turns plastic bottles from the waste streams of National Parks into t-shirts with a purpose. The North Face also uses recycled materials in many core products, including the Reaxion and Surgent lines, as well as the Denali Jacket.