GoLite ReGreen Windshell
It used to be a bunch of plastic bottles. Now, it's one of the most eco-friendly windshells on the market.
Here’s a depressing thought: All those green plastic bottles you’ve been dutifully recycling for years? Turns out pretty much no one wants them—the green dye makes them undesirable for reuse because it means they can only be turned into other green things. So they get dumped in the landfill, or worse, the ocean. GoLite takes aim at this problem with the ReGreen. Approximately 20 green plastic bottles go into each jacket, which is made from 100 percent recycled polyester.
How’d they do it? GoLite partnered with DA.AI, a recycling nonprofit in Taiwan, to target green bottles. (The actual recycling process is no different.) Making fabric from recycled bottles results in 50 percent energy savings per jacket, and the ReGreen’s eco cred gets even better: Designs are printed on rather than dyed, which reduces water consumption in the process by 80 percent. The DWR is both PFC-free and biodegradable, and still sheds light rain.
In other respects, the ReGreen is a basic windshell: It blocked 30-mph gusts in the Pyrenees and breathed adequately in moderate conditions, and it squishes down to apple size. It’s not the lightest or most weatherproof option, but if you’re looking for a packable jacket from a brand that’s on the forefront of sustainable manufacturing, this is it.