A group of material innovators including ALLIED Feather + Down, NetPlus, Resortecs, and PERTEX have partnered with Swedish outdoor apparel brand Peak Performance to introduce a new circular design concept for performance outerwear.
The collaboration has resulted in the R&D Helium Loop Anorak, a technical jacket designed to address one of the key challenges in apparel recycling—products made with multiple materials that are difficult to separate and process at the end of their lifecycle.
Performance garments typically include several components such as insulation, zippers, and elastic trims, which makes recycling complex. Through this project, the partners explored how thoughtful design and material selection can enable easier disassembly and recycling once the product reaches the end of its usable life.
According to Matthew Betcher, circularity in apparel requires garments to be designed with recycling in mind from the earliest development stages. He noted that the collaboration aims to demonstrate how ingredient partners and brands can work together to develop products that support circular manufacturing models.
Materials and Technologies Behind the Jacket
Each participating partner contributes a specific material or technology to the garment’s construction:
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ALLIED Feather + Down supplies 800-fill power natural down insulation, which is renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable.
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NetPlus, developed by Bureo, uses discarded fishing nets collected from coastal communities and transforms them into 100% post-consumer recycled nylon yarn.
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The yarn is woven by PERTEX to form the jacket’s shell and lining materials.
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Resortecs contributes Smart Stitch™, a heat-activated thread designed to simplify garment disassembly.
With Resortecs’ Smart Disassembly™ technology, the stitching can dissolve under controlled heat conditions at the end of the garment’s life, allowing different materials such as down insulation and fabric layers to be separated and recycled individually.
Circular Design in Technical Apparel
Marie Andersson explained that the project focuses on engineering garments that can be taken apart as efficiently as they are produced. By combining premium materials with design strategies focused on disassembly, the project aims to maintain the value of each component across multiple life cycles.
The initiative also highlights the environmental benefits of recycled materials. David Stover stated that using recycled fishing nets for textile production can help reduce ocean pollution and decrease reliance on fossil-fuel-based plastics often used in technical outerwear.
Toward Circular Apparel Systems
The Helium Loop Anorak forms part of Peak Performance’s broader sustainability strategy, which aims to transition its product range toward circular design models by 2030.
By integrating recycled materials, renewable insulation, and technologies that simplify end-of-life disassembly, the project illustrates how collaboration across the textile supply chain can support the development of more circular apparel systems.
