Napapijri Receives a Distinguished Sustainability Certification

Napapijri® is gaining worldwide recognition for its Circular Series, a first ever collection of 100% recyclable jackets.

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute granted Napapijri its Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Gold recognition, the world’s most advanced standard for use of safe, circular, and responsible materials.

“Napapijri sits within VF’s family of brands as an incubator of new ideas, processes and approaches to fashion-making,” said Anna Maria Rugarli, Sustainability and Responsibility Senior Director EMEA, VF International. “Its dedication to sustainable practices is reflected in the positive choices the brand has been making in the last few years – from developing an alternative to down and phasing out all animal fur, to pioneering a series of jackets designed, created and brought to market in keeping with the golden standards of circular economy.”

Launching this fall, the Circular Series will include three jackets – Circular Anorak, Circular Rainforest, and Circular Puffer – all constructed using ECONYL® Regenerated Nylon, made from waste materials including discarded fishing nets. The jackets will be filled and trimmed with Nylon 6 and can enter a recycling machine whole, allowing the fibers to be upcycled without losing any of their original characteristics or quality, meaning the fabric may be recycled again and again.

The Circular Series will also be subject to a take-back program that allows consumers to return the jackets after two years. The jackets will then be recycled into new fabric for use on other products.

Napapijri first introduced a 100% sustainable jacket in late 2019 with the launch of the Infinity jacket, a remake of Napapijri’s iconic Skidoo jacket, which debuted in 1987. Developed and tested over the course of three years, the latest iteration of Infinity also uses ECONYL Regenerated Nylon and Nylon 6.

Napapijri anticipates a full line of circular products in coming seasons.

“Since 2012, we have been working to develop policies and technical solutions aimed at reducing the fashion industry’s environmental impact,” said Timo Schmidt-Eisenhart, Global President, Napapijri. “Now, more than ever, we are aware of the pressing issues we are collectively asked to address. We have chosen to play our part by pioneering the future of fashion with Circular Series, a range of products that embodies our efforts to combine design, sustainability and innovation to inspire a shift in the role our industry has to play in the preservation of the planet and its people through circularity.”

Napapijri worked for more than a year with EPEA Switzerland assessors and VF’s extensive supply chain network to meet the exacting standards of the Institute to achieve Cradle to Cradle’s highest level of certification.

“Achieving Cradle to Cradle certification for Napapijri Circular Series at the Gold level is a demonstration of how material choices and deep collaboration with supply chain partners can holistically drive systems-level circularity from product to business model,” said Christina Raab, Vice President Strategy and Development for the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. “Napapijri’s use of Cradle to Cradle Certified to fast-track the implementation of a fully circular clothing system pinpoints the way the Cradle to Cradle framework can be used as an innovation lever for future-proofing the fashion industry.”