Description

Patagonia Hat

Patagonia Brodeo Beanie is a classic cuff beanie made with a recycled wool/nylon blend.

Recycled Nylon
Although Patagonia has been using recycled polyester in their garments for 20 years, for some reason locked deep in polymer chemistry, nylon is more difficult to recycle than polyester. After years of research, development, and testing, Patagonia is finally finding some recycled nylon fibers that are suitable for apparel.

Some of the recycled nylon we use comes from post-industrial waste fiber, yarn collected from a spinning factory, and waste from the weaving mills that can be processed into reusable nylon fiber.

Patagonia is diligently searching for a success story with recycled nylon. The challenge lies ahead of us, and they’re committed to discovering the best methods to recycle nylon fiber, but it appears this evolution will take many years.

Recycled Wool
One of the ways Patagonia can lessen the impact of wool production is to recycle used wool.

The practice of recycling wool dates back hundreds of years. After wool sweaters had been worn threadbare, they were collected and shredded into individual fibers and then converted into blankets.

Patagonia’s recycled wool comes from this same process. Aided by modern-day quality controls, the wool goes through a meticulous sorting of materials into color categories prior to shredding. By selecting and blending colors of dyed wool fabrics and garments, we can completely eliminate the dyeing process, saving water and chemicals and eliminating the resulting wastewater.

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The Footprint Chronicles®
Patagonia promotes fair labor practices, safe working conditions and environmental responsibility throughout the Patagonia supply chain.