Patagonia to Stretch by 2,000% Its Use of Recycled Material

Outdoor clothing producer Patagonia Inc. has met with such success introducing a fabric made with recycled plastic soda-pop bottles that the Ventura company plans to expand its use of the material by 2,000% in the coming year.

Patagonia will increase the number of products made with the material, PCR Synchilla, to 34 this fall from only two last year, reports Lisa Wade, director of the firm’s post-consumer recycling program.

The company expects to use 8 million recycled 2-liter bottles to produce some of the pricey sweaters, jackets and pants in this year’s fall catalogue, compared to 400,000 bottles last year, Wade added. Mailing of the catalogue is due to start Aug. 9.

Environmentally sensitive Patagonia says Synchilla is costlier than most other fabrics used in the company’s garments. The firm is developing the material in collaboration with several East Coast mills and recycling concerns, Wade said.

“We aren’t doing this for profit,” she declared. “Our goals are to produce high quality products that will last a long time and also to use millions of pounds of plastic that otherwise would end up in landfills.”

The PCR Synchilla sweaters introduced last year were well-received but “a bit coarse,” Wade conceded. The fabric in those garments was 80% recycled plastic and 20% so-called virgin polyester.

Several new versions of Synchilla have been developed, containing from 50% to 90% recycled plastic bottles. “They’re softer than the fabric we used last year,” Wade said. “We expect them to be very well received.”

One item in the forthcoming catalogue, a cable-knit sweater, is 65% PCR Synchilla and 35% washable wool. It sells for $112.

Other garments include a hooded fleece jacket that’s 90% recycled plastic and 10% virgin polyester ($125) and an unhooded jacket that’s half PCR Synchilla and half virgin polyester ($110).

Patagonia’s brightly colored clothes have attracted a loyal following among outdoor enthusiasts. In 1992, its most recently reported year, the privately held firm had sales of $112 million. The company contributes 1% of its gross sales or 10% of net profits, whichever is larger, to environmental causes.