Snowbelle Beanie

An ever-growing number of our products are Fair Trade Certified™ for sewing, which means we pay a premium to the workers in the factories that make them. The Fair Trade program also helps to create better working conditions and safeguards against the use of child labor.

fairtradecertified.org

Wool is a natural fiber that insulates, breathes and lasts for a long time. Producing wool, however, is a resource-intensive job. It requires vast amounts of land for grazing sheep, water to clean the fiber, chemicals to treat the wool and dyes to color the finished product. We use recycled wool to extend the life span of fiber that has already been produced. As a result, we can make clothing with the same great qualities as virgin wool at a fraction of the environmental cost.

Nylon is one of the strongest plastics we use in our products. When we need a super-lightweight fabric, nylon is vital for its strength. But nylon is a petroleum-based material, and producing it has a high cost in energy and greenhouse gases. Incorporating as much recycled nylon as we can lessens our dependence on virgin petroleum as a raw material source, helps eliminate discarded material and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing.

An important fiber in Patagonia's line, polyester allows them to build lightweight materials that dry quickly and can be used in a variety of applications, including trail-running tops and yoga tights. Polyester also blends well with natural fabrics like cotton. But virgin polyester is derived from petroleum, which comes at a high environmental cost.