For Fall 2019, Picture Organic Clothing gets set to introduce their first partially bio-based membrane. In a quest to end their dependence on fossil fuels, the brand turned to castor oil for waterproof membranes in their environmentally focused outerwear.
Called Pebax Renew, the 20k/20k membrane is made from castor oil. Castor seeds were used in textile manufacturing in the 1950s, but the process slowly disappeared with the rise of plastics.
“The technology has been around for a long time, but not used very much in modern-day textile manufacturing,” explains Jeremy Rochette, Picture Co-Founder and Head of Design. “We know that it is just as durable and waterproof/breathable as the petroleum-based membranes on the market.”
Picture Organic isn’t the first company to use castor oil in its waterproof outerwear. Back in 2011, The North Face greened-up the Venture Jacket with a 50-percent castor oil HyVent DT EC waterproof/breathable membrane.
To start with, Picture Organic will use the Pebax Renew membrane in their new Harvest Jacket and Bib for Fall 2019. The brand hopes to eventually roll the technology out into more pieces in the line.
Environmentally focused from day one, Picture was founded in 2008 with a baseline that every product developed must have a minimum of 50% recycled or bio-based materials. In the last 10 years they’ve achieved notable advancements in sustainable manufacturing, including several firsts: recycled + recyclable membranes, a 100% PFC-free collection, and a biodegradable fleece, to name a few. Pebax Renew takes Picture’s environmental commitment a step further, as their design team now focuses on reducing synthetic fibers in favor of bio-based materials.