Outdoorsy brand Patagonia has stepped its sustainability practices up a notch by using its $20 Million & Change venture fund to invest in Beyond Surface Technologies (BST), a Swiss company built on the premise that nontoxic textile treatments can offer high-performance protection.
The Ventura, California-based brand has for years tried to balance its bid to offer the best outdoor apparel and implement environmentally responsible business procedures.
Recently, it switched from using a long-chain (C8) fluorocarbon-based Durable Water Treatment finish — which beads up and disperses surface moisture from rainwear but with by-products that are toxic to the environment — to a shorter-chain C6 one in most of its outerwear. The solution, however, is temporary as C6 still gives off by-products that are toxic to humans, wildlife and fish.
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Now it’s hoping BST, founded in 2008 by scientists and marketing experts with more than 40 years of experience in the textile industry, can develop a high-quality alternative based on natural raw materials that will further decrease its environmental footprint.
“This is the tension we feel every day, making the best technical products for our core sports and working to fulfill our environmental commitments,” said Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario in a statement. “We look for better, cleaner, safer ways to do things; we apply our own R&D and look for brilliant companies to partner with. Beyond Surface Technologies has the potential to help Patagonia and our entire industry get to the next level of chemical safety without compromising performance and we’re very excited to invest in their success.”
According to Matthias Foessel, BST CEO, “Patagonia’s investment gives us the opportunity to accelerate testing and reduce time to market for our pipeline of groundbreaking new treatments for the entire apparel industry.”
Consistent with Patagonia’s prior environmental innovations, the company plans to share any breakthroughs BST may produce with the entire outdoor industry in order to amplify the environmental impact to the greatest extent possible.
