From the Sector

ALLIED Feather + Down (AF+D), global experts in high performance, ethically sourced, and recycled down, will be supplying their high performance ExpeDRY ultra dry down to Montane for their fall 2025 down apparel line.

ExpeDRY represents the evolution of performance down for use in extreme situations, replacing chemical treatments with gold particles permanently bonded to down clusters. ExpeDRY keeps water vapor from condensing into droplets, providing better real-world performance than all other treatments. The ExpeDRY filled products will also dry significantly faster in-home laundry making care easier and utilizing much less energy through the life of the products.

Montane will offer ExpeDRY in 100% of their down jackets, being the first to adopt the technology over all down jackets.

“ALLIED introduced the world’s first water resistant down back in 2015, and we’ve learned a lot since then,” said Matthew Betcher, Creative Director with ALLIED. “Traditional WR down works great when in direct contact with water, but that is not what’s happening inside down insulation chambers. Water vapor is the biggest issue and ExpeDRY helps keep this vapor from condensing, allowing it to evaporate though the shell more effectively, keeping the down drier for longer, and helping it to dry out faster if it does get wet.

“It is also equally important that even in performance technologies, we continue to strive to reduce our environmental impact,” added Betcher. “So, removing another unnecessary chemical from our supply chain will help significantly with that. It’s only a matter of time before we all realize that the C0 chemicals we are using might not be so great for the planet after all.”

“At Montane, we are really excited to introduce such a new and disruptive technology from our long-term partners Allied Feather & Down,” said Liam Steinbeck, Materials Manager with Montane. “ExpeDRY is fully aligned with our philosophy as a brand to be one of the first to market with the latest most innovative technologies, bringing unparalleled performance and comfort in the most demanding environments.”

Poised to render current, chemical-intensive treatments obsolete, ExpeDRY down insulation is cleaner and better performing than all current water-resistant down technologies. Created in partnership with FUZE Technologies and relying on gold particles permanently bonded to down plumes, ExpeDRY is permanent and since it is completely chemical free, there are no PFAS or other concerns. In all real-world simulations, ExpeDRY is far better at keeping insulated jackets dry and warm in any environment, and at a significantly lower impact than the WR treatment alternatives.

ALLIED Feather + Down (AF+D), a leader in high performance, ethically sourced, and recycled down, supplies down to NEMO Equipment’s GOOD DESIGN Sustainability Award-winning, fully recyclable Endless Promise® down sleeping bag collection.

AF+D is supplying down for NEMO’s Disco and Riff down sleeping bags. When these bags reach the end of their lifespan, they will be returned to ALLIED. After removing, cleaning, and reviving the down, ALLIED will incorporate the insulation into its RENU:TRACE offering, the world’s first and only fully traceable recycled down.

“Recyclable and naturally biodegradable, down is one of the most sustainable insulations on the planet and plays an important role in a circular economy,” said Daniel Uretsky, President with ALLIED. “We launched our RENU:TRACE recycled down program in 2022 as a way to recycle down in a closed loop, the only way to ensure this recycled material is 100% traceable and ethically sourced. We are proud to partner with NEMO on this award-winning collection.”

All ALLIED down is 100% ethically sourced and traceable back to the region where it was produced, and unless traceable down is both sourced and recycled in a closed loop, it is virtually impossible to ensure that any recycled down comes from purely ethical sources. Before RENU:TRACE, brands had to make a decision to either focus on post-consumer recycled material OR ethically treated animals.
 
While NEMO is the first to participate, the RENU:TRACE program is available to all of ALLIED’s partner brands.

Quickly becoming the benchmark for sustainability, circularity presents a simple solution for many of the world’s complex waste issues. However, in a quickly changing textile marketplace with increasing regulatory pressures, designing circular products can be anything but simple.

To help demystify this accelerating paradigm shift, the Designing for Circularity panel is coming to Portland’s Functional Fabric Fair, where expert panelists will inform and inspire the next generation of product designers and developers.

Scheduled for Wednesday, April 17th at 2:00pm and hosted by textile industry communications agency Formidable Media, the Designing for Circularity panel will bring together experts in materials sourcing, textile finishes, trims, sustainability, recycling, natural materials, and more, to help designers, product developers, and brand representatives make the choices needed to become leaders in the future of sustainable products.

“Fashion is regularly listed among the top five largest polluting industries in the world and our panel of experts hope to  help shape future design and sustainability decisions to mitigate fashion’s outsized impact on the environment,” said Scott Kaier, Founder and President of Formidable Media. “Informed and innovative design is the first step in creating circular products, so today’s designers will be instrumental in creating a cleaner, more sustainable future.”

Hand-picked from across the outdoor, fashion, lifestyle, and footwear industries, the Designing for Circularity panelists include:

• Daniel Uretsky, President, ALLIED Feather + Down
• Martin Flora, VP of Business Development, Green Theme Technologies
• Sarah Schlinger, R&D Commercialization Manager, Woolmark
• Sharon Perez, Senior Business Development Manager, Lenzing Group
• Brian La Plante, Senior Manager of Sustainability, YKK
• Theresa McKenney Director of Sustainability, NEMO Equipment