Helly Hansen developed and designed their latest shell jacket and pant alongside professional mountain rescue workers who wanted more sustainable gear.

 

 

In your closet right now (and in ours too) there’s probably a jacket or pant coated with DWR (Durable Water Repellent). Many DWR coatings contain perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, which are good at repelling water, dirt, and oil. We don’t yet fully understand the health effects of PFCs but we know they will stay in the environment much longer than the life of your jacket. And there is limited evidence that one variety of PFC could be a human carcinogen.

No one is saying that contact with a DWR coating is proven to be bad for your health—but it’s high time for an alternative. Luckily for us, Helly Hansen just set the standard for sustainably made outerwear with the invention of LIFA Infinity Pro technology.

 

 

This 3-layer outerwear with top-level waterproofing and breathability uses no chemicals, topical coatings or solvents.

Hello LIFA Infinity Pro—See Ya, DWR

LIFA was already one of Helly Hansen’s longstanding proprietary fibers. The face fabric of the new LIFA Infinity Pro is 100% LIFA fibers for a highly durable and infinitely hydrophobic quality that will never need to be reinvigorated or re-treated with a coating. In addition, LIFA requires solution-dyeing which uses 75% less water in the process, resulting in less harmful wastewater overall and superior colour-fastness over time.

 

LIFA is also used to create a highly breathable and waterproof membrane. As with the face fabric, this microporous membrane is created without the use of chemicals or solvents. The membrane is heated and stretched, folded over and then repeated until it reaches the desired porosity. This 100% polypropylene membrane not only provides premium breathability, it also offers pro-level waterproofing. So you can be comfortable in the wettest conditions, as well as during high-output activities.

 

 

Odin 9 Worlds Infinity 3L Jacket

New for SS21, Helly Hansen brings LIFA Infinity Pro to the outdoor market with the new Odin 9 Worlds Infinity 3L Jacket and Odin 9 Worlds Infinity Shell Pant, both available for men and women. In the short time we’ve been able to test these garments, we’ve tried to soak them through—it didn’t happen.

 

 

The Odin 9 Worlds Infinity demonstrated just as much rain and wind protection (and breathability) as GORE-TEX. We were not able to definitively say that one outperformed the other. But the LIFA Infinity Pro fabric is so clearly the way forward to a world where the best outdoor gear is not dependent on “forever chemicals” for production.

And as Earth Day approaches, Helly Hansen will be donating 5 per cent of all North American e-commerce sales during Earth Week (4/21 – 4/27) to The Conservation Alliance — an organization focused on the protection of North America’s wild spaces.

More about Helly Hansen’s sustainability here.