Raised in America: Voormi Fall 2013 Collection

While backcountry wool wear from Voormi’s fall 2013 line is made in America, we’d also like to point out that the wool was also sourced in America. Voormi worked with Rocky Mountain Highcountry Merino exclusively to source the wool for its line of Precision Blended baselayers and midlayers. Continue reading Raised in America: Voormi Fall 2013 Collection

Patagonia Offers Transparency with Supply Chain Map

Patagonia is one of those companies that’s ahead of the competitor pack. Many of the clothes and other merchandise it produces is made from recycled and sustainable materials. And now Patagonia is revealing details about where its garments and other merchandise is manufactured. The Footprint Chronicles is a Google Maps listing of the company’s supply chain including textile mills and factories. You can see how many people work at each location, what languages they speak on the job, and what merchandise, such as baselayer or accessories, is produced at each location.

Nike recently put together a sustainability site with a similar goal of providing information for customers and investors.

Patagonia Official Website
Patagonia The Footprint Chronicles
[via TriplePundit: Patagonia Maps Out Its Supply Chain For Even More Transparency]

Columbia Thinks Corn is so Cool

Corn is a summer favorite. Recommended servings include grilled, steamed and cooked in the microwave as long as there’s a dollop of butter to melt over the kernels. But would you think about wearing corn? The Omni-Freeze Ice Baselayer from Columbia Sportswear coming out next year is made from a corn or maize-based fiber.

The shirt does well to keep the wearer cool in hot weather. Tiny crystals in the fiber undergo a change from solid to gel when they become wet. Sweat causes this reaction. The result is that the gel cools the skin, or “sucks heat from the surrounding environment,” Columbia claims.

This is called a baselayer, however even with the cooling functions it’s going to be the only layer.

Columbia Sportswear Official Website
[Via GearJunkie: ‘Maize-Based’ Compound Adds Cooling Effect to Columbia T-Shirt]