The mountain brand’s most ambitious project yet tackles repairability, recyclability and product recovery to bring circularity to tech outerwear.
Solving Circularity
A circle is easy to draw. But it’s considerably harder to build into the life cycle of a GORE-TEX hardshell. That’s the challenge Arc’teryx has set itself with System 0, a new framework that reimagines how a product is designed, manufactured, used, repaired and eventually regenerated.
And for its first attempt, Arc’teryx didn’t exactly choose the easy route. The Sperro SV is a multisport mountain-grade hardshell and the first product developed under System 0. Arc’teryx Chief Creative Officer Katie Becker calls it “the most complex product we make. If we can solve circularity here, we believe we can apply what we learn across our entire system.”
The circle begins with the materials. The Sperro’s main construction is GORE-TEX Pro fabric featuring an ePE membrane, while its nylon face and backer are designed for recyclability in partnership with Aquafil, the manufacturer of ECONYL regenerated nylon.
“If we can solve circularity here, we believe we can apply what we learn across our entire system.”
Use It. Fix It. Use It More. Regenerate It.
Then comes what could be the longest part of the process: actually using the thing. Alpine professionals, including Vancouver’s North Shore Rescue, have already tested the Sperro, which is reinforced at common failure points. For example, it features Arc’teryx’s first easily replaceable zipper slider—one of the most common failures, as anyone who’s worn a jacket for more than 10 years will know. And the Sperro comes with three years of unlimited out-of-warranty repairs through ReBIRD.
The objective is to keep the jacket in use for as long as possible. Only when it can no longer be repaired does System 0 complete the circle. Arc’teryx takes back the jacket, disassembles it and applies a chemical recycling process to separate the nylon material from the GORE-TEX membrane. The recovered material is then returned to Aquafil to be regenerated into virgin-grade ECONYL yarn.
Only when the jacket can no longer be repaired does System 0 complete the circle.
Circularity in Action
The Sperro is also the first product certified under TESTEX Circularity (a standard Arc’teryx helped develop with Swiss testing and certification institute TESTEX) to address what it describes as a gap in circular product standards. This new certification scrutinizes the jacket’s real-world capacity for long-term wear, repair and recycling.
But designing a circle and seeing it work in the real world are two different things, of course.
System 0 incorporates not just design and manufacturing, but the customer experience, repair and eventual end-of-life recovery. For the system to work as intended, the Sperro SV needs to remain in use, be repaired when needed and ultimately make its way back when it can no longer be repaired. So the consumer has an active role to play here.
The launch of the Sperro marks the beginning of the experiment, not the conclusion. Arc’teryx has designed a hardshell with its eventual return in mind. Whether System 0 can close that loop at scale is a question that may take years (and hopefully a lot of mountain days) to answer.
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