People wear clothes. That’s not going to change. But what has to change is how we create them. 

The fabrics we use are created out of a need and a desire to transcend the traditional offerings of an unsustainable marketplace. They’re developed and chosen for their ability to move and perform, for their comfort and luxurious hand, their surprising beauty and unexpected utility, for their durability and drape, for their freedom and function. But most of all, they are created with the hope that maybe, just maybe, they’ll leave this world a little less fucked up.

Waxed Organic Cotton

We never stopped loving traditional waxed cotton. But let’s be honest: there’s nothing sustainable about applying an oil-based wax to conventionally grown cotton. However, there’s a reason why this fabric is still around—because it works. The paraffin wax coating allows a soft, natural fiber to become highly water resistant while still maintaining its warmth, resilience and breathability. 

But what if we could create a non-petroleum-based alternative? A natural fiber that is equally water-resistant but requires less chemicals to process? That’s the question we posed to the British Millerain Company, the oldest manufacturer of waxed cotton. Together, we collaborated and helped develop a water-based polyurethane coating that, when applied to organic cotton, not only created a water-resistant barrier, but allowed the cotton fibers to maintain their soft, breathable and pliant hand just like traditional waxed cotton. But unlike its conventional counterpart, this resilient fabric didn’t require constant upkeep. It simply required a slight shift in tradition.

Current styles using waxed organic cotton: Men’s Wax On Blazer, Wax Off Pant and Elimeno-pea coat.

Waterproof Wool

On its own, wool is incredibly versatile. As a natural fiber, it’s able to keep you dry, comfortable and warm across multiple environments. But add another layer, like a waterproof, breathable laminate, and suddenly you add another dimension to an already superior natural fiber.

That was our intention when creating this technical, two-layer fabric: to add weather-resistance to traditional wool. We worked directly with one of the oldest woolen mills in Prato, Italy to source both the fiber and the polyester laminate, as well as develop a process to create a dual-layer fabric. The result? A naturally insulating, breathable, and completely waterproof wool.

To learn more about the sustainability of our wool fabrics, visit our Working With Wool section.

Current styles using waterproof wool: Men’s and Women’s Highline Blazer and the men's Elimeno-pea coat. 

Cocona Insulation

We discovered Cocona insulation while looking for an alternative to goose down, and, so far, we’re impressed. This is how it works: activated carbon derived from coconut husks is blended with recycled polyester. This, in turn, increases the surface area of the insulation allowing it to dry faster and resist odors. (You can imagine a pool of water takes longer to evaporate than if you spread the same liquid across a counter). And carbon, being dark in color, is able to absorb more heat.

In the end, you have a garment that retains heat, dries faster, resists odors and provides a higher warmth-to-weight ratio than other synthetic insulations—and it’s created from a renewable resource. So what’s the problem? We haven’t found one yet. But the lingering question remains: Is Cocona insulation as effective as down? Is it more sustainable? Both are still up for discussion. But for now, you can find Cocona insulation in the following styles: men’s and women’s Insular Jacket.

Yak Fiber

Our love affair with yak fiber began with a t-shirt. It was 85% cotton, 15% cashmere and had a luxuriously soft hand, so soft that it ended up in research and development and dissected into a few dozen pieces. Our goal was to find a comparable fiber, one that would offer the same suppleness as cashmere, but without the environmental impact. A few years later, we discovered yak.

Often compared to cashmere, yak fiber—with its sinfully soft touch—is derived from the fine under hair of yaks found in Southern China and the Himalayas. Unlike cashmere goats which can destroy grasslands and contribute to desertification, yaks graze lightly, skimming leaves and grass rather than uprooting vegetation. The yak's minimal impact eases overgrazing, yet produces an equally soft, but more sustainable fiber than cashmere.

Current styles using yak fiber: women’s Supple Henley and Supple V-Neck,