PrimaLoft Inc. is rethinking the way it manufactures its products.
For years, PrimaLoft, a specialist in the development of high-performance insulation and fabrics, has been reducing the impact of its products by using recycled material, designing for circularity and developing technology that combats microplastic pollution.
Now, PrimaLoft has announced developments to its PrimaLoft P.U.R.E. manufacturing platform. P.U.R.E., which stands for “Produced Using Reduced Emissions,” is a proprietary, renewable manufacturing technology. PrimaLoft P.U.R.E. now achieves up to a 70 percent reduction in carbon emissions.
“The challenge with P.U.R.E. was to look at a manufacturing process that has been used globally and reinvent the way that we are producing a product,” Tara Maurer-Mackay, senior vice president–product strategy at PrimaLoft, said. “So, we looked at the whole manufacturing process and focused on where all the dirty emissions are coming from.”
PrimaLoft completed a comprehensive environmental assessment of the insulation manufacturing processes and identified the most impactful opportunities to reduce carbon emissions. From there, PrimaLoft engineers focused on increasing energy efficiency by making changes around the fiber recipe, introducing new thermal equipment, and optimizing the source of energy to drastically reduce carbon emissions.
The fiber maintains the same basic structure as its existing batted insulations, with special attention paid to the recipe for the binder fibers that provide the insulation with its structural integrity and durability.
“We’re not just looking at the products we make,” said Mike Joyce, PrimaLoft president and CEO. “We’re looking at how we make them and relentlessly pursuing the optimal processes for drastically reducing our environmental impact. This significant shift in our manufacturing technique is not the only factor in reducing our carbon emissions.”
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“Since 1997, we’ve used post-consumer recycled material in place of virgin polyester to make PrimaLoft products, wherever possible, without compromising our world-class performance,” Joyce added. “Independent of PrimaLoft P.U.R.E., this contributes significantly to reducing our emissions. We’ve determined that we have saved approximately 16,000 tons of CO2 in this way, since 2015. We expect our overall impact to be significantly reduced as we continue to incorporate more recycled material and expand our P.U.R.E.™ technology across our footprint and product line.”
In 2019, PrimaLoft launched PrimaLoft P.U.R.E. manufacturing to produce a version of its PrimaLoft Gold Insulation, which is also made from 100 percent recycled material. Beginning in 2022, PrimaLoft will incorporate its P.U.R.E. manufacturing technology for PrimaLoft Silver Insulation and PrimaLoft Black Insulation, both made of 100 percent recycled PET, to serve different customer needs. PrimaLoft is working toward incorporating this technique throughout its product series and ultimately scaling it further across its entire manufacturing footprint.
“Our goal is to set a standard for the industry to follow, ultimately working together to co-exist with the environment in perfect harmony,” Joyce said.
Brands using the PrimaLoft P.U.R.E. manufacturing platform include early adopter Patagonia in 2019, as well as Alpkit, Bergans of Norway, Kodiak and Viking introducing styles this Fall, with additional brands following in Fall 2022.
PrimaLoft is based in Latham, N.Y., with an office in Xiamen, China. The PrimaLoft brand delivers products that are used by more than 900 global brands in outdoor and fashion, home furnishings, workwear, hunting and military applications.
PrimaLoft is active in sustainable textile production through partnerships with the Bluesign system, the International Oeko-Tex Association, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Index and the Global Recycled Standard.