Born in New Zealand in 1987, Kathmandu is a brand that brings back fond memories from my younger years. I loved getting out hiking or camping. Having Kathmandu gear made it all the more enjoyable.
Their motto, “Outside is where we live our best lives”, has stayed with them through their 30 odd years in business.
Sustainability is at the core of Kathmandu as much as travel and adventure are. They are working hard to minimize their impact in every way possible, from installing solar panels in their stores to partnering with soft plastic recycling companies to reduce their waste and increase recycling rates.
Their recycled product range is growing too. At the moment, their recycled products include jackets and other outerwear that are made using recycled polyester or recycled nylon. Some of their bags are also made with recycled polyester.
In 2020 they used 9.3 million plastic bottles in their gear, and they’ve used over 30 million since they started counting in 2015.
Kathmandu: Recycled Materials
Kathmandu uses recycled polyester, mostly made using Repreve®, in their products and is increasing their use. They also use a recycled polyester synthetic down called Thermore Ecodown. Plus they have recycled nylon and recycled spandex.
Recycolor is also a part of their products. This is recycled cotton made from scraps from factory cuttings sorted by color and then stripped back down to their fibers. These are then mixed with virgin cotton to increase the strength and made into new yarn.
Other Good Fabrics
- Sustainable Cotton, in fact, they now uses 100% sustainable cotton in their products, this is which is a mix of organic, fair trade, recycled cotton and cotton sources from the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI).
- Products that are not using Thermor Ecodown use prodcuts certified by the Responsible Down Standard.
Certifications and Memberships
Kathmandu is a certified B-Corporation.
They are also a member of the following:
- Sustainable Apparel Coalition
- Fair Labor Association
- Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation
- Better Cotton Initiative
- Bluesign Standard for the responsible and sustainable manufacturing of textile consumer products.
- Kathmandu are part of an industry group delivering the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) protecting animal welfare and land health.
Other Kudos
- Kathmandu have a repair service for products under warranty and charge a fair price to repair products no longer under warranty. They repair what they can and recycle what is remaining.
- By partnering with the following organizations Kathmandu are involved in some great work
- Beyond Blue – they are an official partner of #teambeyondblue challenges where they help teach people about the benefits of the outdoors to support mental health.
- The Graeme Dingle Foundation – working with the foundation they support a series of Wilderness Adventure Camps or days for hundreds of young people.
- In February 2019, Kathmandu and National Geographic launched a content series called Eco Traveller. The series explores the importance of eco-friendly travel and sustainable tourism.
- They have a number of goals inluding 100% of their products will be designed, developed and manufactured using circular economy principles.
- Their aspirational goal for 2025 is to have zero environmental harm from their business operations. That means becoming carbon zero, operating zero-waste facilities and looking at how they can remove waste from their supply chains. They offset 1058 tonnes of carbon from their 2019 air travel emissions through the Bierbank and Lanherne Regeneration Project in Queensland, Australia.
- They are transparent and provide a detailed sustainability report, you can find it here.
Recycled Products
