From diverse wildlife and breathtaking panoramas to cold water immersion and backcountry bonding on remote trails, we’re grateful for this adventurous province we’re privy to call our home. For such rich landscapes teeming with life, there’s one trade-off we can cope with but keep front-of-mind when it comes to fulfilling our kit list: the temperamental PNW weather. Rain and wind that can rock up at a moment’s notice, lending itself to story-worthy Type 2 fun.
Adventurist Attire
Lucky for us (and our Anorak Jacket), some innovative textile makers in Manchester, England rose to a unique challenge in WWII: creating an outer shell for fighter pilots that would withstand both the cockpit conditions and a potential bail out into cold waters around the world. Ventile® as it went on to be known has become one of the world’s most hard wearing, durable, and reliable fabrics. An eco-friendly water, wind, and weatherproof fabric of choice for adventurists in a multitude of challenging environments, from Sir Ranulph Fiennes’s Arctic crossing to being used in the first Everest summit. As good a recommendation as we can imagine for what to wear when it comes to harsh conditions and getting out into the wild outdoors.
In fact, many of our natural, sustainable fabrics come with an intriguing historic story to tell, whether it’s wool’s initiation into clothing back in the Stone Age or the use of organic cotton as currency by the Aztecs. They’ve all lasted the distance of human history; a true testament to their covetable technical performance qualities and durability.
Eco-Conscious Commitments
Choosing Ventile® means you’re making the eco-conscious choice of opting for 100% organic cotton over conventional. A commitment that saved an enormous 218 billion litres of water during production in 2015 alone. Organic cotton also uses 62% less energy than conventional cotton practices and doesn’t use toxic chemicals and pesticides that are detrimental to the health of our waterways, workers and environment.
At ecologyst, we’re dedicated to harnessing the bounty of nature in all of our products. You’ll find plenty of biodegradable, renewable merino wool gear and solely certified organic when it comes to our cotton. Our focus is on alleviating the contribution to plastic pollution, environmental damage, and landfill that comes from conventional, synthetic, petroleum-based fibres. Only 2% of our fibres currently come from plastic and we’re working on that becoming 0%.
Weatherproof Wonder
Ventile® is naturally hydrophobic, coated in a weatherproof wax, so you’re kept cozy and dry whether you’re spending a night in the mountains or enjoying an early bird walk along the beach. As the most breathable weather-proof fabric there is, combined with its balanced climate control qualities, it’s an easy choice to have at the ready year-round. Plus it’s made from double the yarn that keeps our wooly friends warm, leading to increased durability that’s ready to withstand whatever the weekend’s adventure throws your way. Brought to life from 100% organic cotton, it’s as soft as your favourite cotton tee, prioritizing optimum comfort as well as practicality in your go-to gear. At the end of production, Ventile® is even reviewed under some of the strictest testing in the textile industry, ensuring it meets the highest quality standards and will last the test of time.
Ready to soak up some vital vitamin D traversing our home turf trails or enjoying a road trip pitstop picnic? Wherever you’re getting out into it, we’d suggest pulling on some trusty protection against those rays and spontaneous spring showers with our waterproof, 100% organic cotton Ventile® Bucket Hat. And when it comes to a sustainable lightweight weatherproof outer layer you can rely on, we suggest checking out our stylish Ventile® Anorak Jacket, made with love at the ecologyst factory right in the heart of Victoria, BC.
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