Why Responsibility Is About Longevity At Arc’teryx

Outdoor apparel and equipment maker Arc’teryx has obsessions. Some of those obsessions fall in line with what you might expect, such as a focus on authentic functionality. The North Vancouver-based brand also has a singular aesthetic in the industry, rooted in materials, construction and design. But the Arc’teryx look is about more than what the brand considers beautiful, it’s also about a key component of sustainable responsibility: durability.

“We are constantly working on durability, it is what the brand has been founded on,” Katie Becker, chief creative officer, tells me. “On all our pieces, will it last 20 years? We look at laminates, bonding, how it erodes over time and how we can repair it.”

As brands across sportswear select materials based on sustainability goals, Arc’teryx adds another dimension to the conversation. “A lot of people focus on sustainability, and we don’t call it sustainability, the idea of being responsible to us is rooted in durability,” Becker says. “If something is super durable, it is going to last a really long time. Is it authentic, functional, beautiful and responsible? Every time we design new product it goes through those filters.”

Recent initiatives at Arc’teryx have further promoted that effort. The 5-year-old ReBird program that focuses on product repair has continued to grow—including a 30% increase in the last year—placing repair centers in Arc’teryx retail locations and allowing customers to send product back to the factory and headquarters in Canada for repair. The launch of the resale program dubbed ReGear allows the brand to refurbish product and sell it, with sales increasing over 50% and trade-in jumping 127% in the last year.

“If we can minimize the amount of product that goes out into the world and improve on extending the life of product, we reduce the impact,” Dominique Showers, vice president of ReBird and circular programming at Arc’teryx, tells me. “We create gear for some of the harshest environments and we want product to withstand the test of time. We want to have really strong durable garments in our portfolio and want to come up with solutions that offer sustainable repair so you can keep an item in the field a lot longer.”

Materials and construction are the two main tenants to get Arc’teryx on its durability path. The clean look of Arc’teryx products come with a purpose beyond aesthetics. By stripping away excess seems, stitches and cut lines it removes points of failure. These patterns, singular in the industry, come designed for mountain movements and failure point reduction.

Then comes the focus on materials. Arc’teryx works in concert with a variety of materials makers, including Gore, and within their own labs to create proprietary materials that may spend four years in lab and field testing before reaching a product. The Hadron material developed with Gore is an example, arguably the lightest and most durable in the industry. But that’s not all. Designers are focused on stitch patterns, thread weight and micro-seams to put durability at the forefront.

“It was founded in beauty, but shows up in durability,” Becker says about the brand. “Every single cut line and stitch line, as we are building, can we take it off, can we remove it? Is it pretty or does it serve a function? As you strip away, the durability goes up.”

As Arc’teryx moves toward a 365-day-per-year outdoor company by bolstering its run lines and spring and summer offerings, Becker says the same philosophy threads through the most rugged jackets to the lightest tanks and Ts. For example, when creating a new hiking pant, Becker says they instead built a pant that could handle rock climbing, crafting it for the movement needs and rigors of the rocks, knowing it would translate into hike and other areas. The same is true for running gear, designed to meet the needs of outdoor adventure.

Becker says the best example of durability is when products remain in use, 10, 15 and 20-plus years after it was first created. “It is really cool to see all this product produced in the past still living its best life,” she says. “That is what we are building to.”

From old Alpha fleeces to Gamma jackets, Becker says products get used heavily and retains a timeless, not trendy, look while holding up to the elements. “My husband has a Veilance Field Jacket from 2009 that he wears all the time and gets compliments on all the time,” she says as an example. “Not a lot of brands can say they have a piece from that long ago that looks that amazing and is used.”

But even with the focus on durability, the outdoors offers a rough environment and failures happen, especially as tree collisions remain an unfortunate reality causing holes and abrasion marks. Arc’teryx wants to learn from that. As product comes into the main ARC’One factory near company headquarters in British Columbia, designers can mine the information to see fail points of zippers or laminates, using that information to better understand how to design new product and how to better repair it.

The repair service also keeps products in use. In 2022 Arc’teryx saw a 25% increase in the amount of product waste diverted away from landfills.

“It is pretty exciting to see the old stuff coming back through,” Showers says.

By increasing the focus on care, Arc’teryx is seeing an ability to attract new consumers through its ReGear program and give them an introduction to the brand (about 12% of all ReGear users are completely new to the brand).

The addition of repair facilities in retail locations also ups the ability of the brand to fix small issues on the spot, with 71% of all requests handled on-site. “We can repair things on site in under five minutes,” Showers says. As customers bring in product heavily used for over 15 years, sometimes a new zipper is all it takes to keep the product moving forward. And interestingly, the most popular items on the ReGear site are those with an obvious repair, showing a desire consumers have to keep old gear in use.

Showers says the biggest issues they see in care education is the need to properly maintain products and mitigate oil contamination. The number-one tip she gives is to simply wash your gear. When you sweat it causes a negative reaction and using the Arc’teryx advice on how to wash it—which includes a cold wash without heavy oils or scents—and a run in the dryer, will freshen the product. If there’s any issues with wet spots, a new coat of self-applied DWR can often do the trick. Cure it properly by a cycle in the dyer “and it will repel water like it was the day it was born.”

Showers says that proper washing and maintenance will extend the lifespan of a garment 45%.

This focus on care and repair now permeates throughout all lines, including in the design of new products, as designers incorporate a repair plan for the product during the creation phase.

The lasting nature of Arc’teryx product is made possible by the durability of the design. “It is the idea of a thoughtful investment in product,” Becker says. “It is timeless. There is that beauty. Once you buy one and invest in it, you are going to want to invest in other areas. The durability and beauty of the product makes it timeless.”