By Lindsey Lapointe
The quest for sustainable clothing can take the conscious consumer down a rabbit hole of material sourcing, electrical grids, transportation impact, disposal of waste, and more. It is overwhelming.
There is, however, one straightforward place to start. Consumers can compare the distance a garment has traveled from start to finish. The fuel used and carbon released to transport items increases with every mile. The shorter distance almost always has a lower carbon footprint.
The Journeys
Everything we buy has been on a journey. For example, when looking at apples at a local New Hampshire supermarket, one can see different apples that have taken vastly different journeys. The Red Delicious reads “Washington”, a Granny Smith says “Chile”, the gala says “Maine”. You can choose the Granny Smith apple from over 5,000 miles away, the Red Delicious from across the continent (2500 miles), or one from just across the stateline (50 miles).
Which is better for the planet? What about other items we purchase that have more complicated stories? What about a hoodie?
A Tale of Two Hoodies
The Burgeon Flume Hoodie is a comfortable, lightweight, and high performance wicking hoodie with SPF sun protection and a four way stretch fabric. It’s perfect for a hike, casting for fish on the water, yoga, or simply a walk around town.
Fans of Burgeon know that their technical clothing is made in Lincoln and Gorham, New Hampshire. What about its journey before that - what about the fabric itself? And, how does it compare to a competitor - say a competitor focused on sustainability, such as Patagonia?
The Patagonia Tropic Comfort Hoody boasts its soft, stretchy, and sun protection properties. And like Burgeon’s Flume Hoodie - it is versatile and comfortable. These two garments even have the same price point. The Patagonia sun hoodie is made in Sri Lanka - a country over 8,000 miles from Burgeon, and even further from Patagonia’s headquarters in California.
Both of these hoodies perform similarly, with minor differences in style, weight, fits and material composition. They are basically equivalents. Which hoodie, however, is the better choice for the planet?
It Begins With The Fabric
In order to make a hoodie, you need fabric. Burgeon has been conscientious of their source material’s carbon footprint from the beginning. The Burgeon Flume Hoodie is milled at Texollini, a company in Long Beach, California.
Choosing a USA made fabric means that not only does Burgeon support USA workers and industry, but Burgeon also adheres to US environmental standards. While textile factories often conjure images of dirty smokestacks in faroff countries across oceans, fabrics produced in California have one of the lowest carbon footprints possible due to strict local pollution laws as well as a large renewable energy grid for electricity.
According to Patagonia, the Tropic Comfort Hoody’s fabric is milled by Austria-based manufacturer Lenzing. Currently, Austria matches California’s electric grid with over 50% from renewables. However, transporting that milled fabric over the long voyage outside the USA has an impact, and the next step for Patagonia is even further.
Cutting and Manufacturing
At Burgeon, the fabric cutting happens in New England - specifically Fall River, MA. The cut fabric is then brought to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to be sewn, branded, and labeled. The Patagonia Sun Tropic Hoody is stitched in Sri Lanka, approximately 4,700 miles from Austria.
While a cross country trip of 3175 miles might seem like quite the trek - it’s nothing compared to the 13,700 mile trip for the Sun Tropic Hoodie as it moves from Austria to Sri Lanka, and then to California.
Burgeon owner Rudy Glocker informs that this trip is even shorter for some other Burgeon products. He shares, “Our Highlander hoodie material is produced in Kentucky.” And while Patagonia manufacturing is done by contracted factories in 16 countries, Burgeon’s technical apparel is all made in either Lincoln or Gorham, NH. This keeps the garments' carbon footprint lower and the wages local.
As Glocker notes, “you can offset carbon emissions, but isn’t it better to just eliminate them?”
3,175 > 13,700?
Perusing the choice of high performance sun hoodies feels not that different from the local supermarket apple section. The products are very similar in performance and price - just like the apples.
One option supports local workers, strengthens our local communities and travels significantly less to source, create, and deliver a product. The other option is available in large supply worldwide, but that scaling comes at a significant environmental cost.
In order to mass produce a hoodie or an apple - an international supply chain and many thousands of miles of travel make the mass production feasible. Which is better, 3,175 miles or 13,700?
Which hoodie is better for the White Mountains of New Hampshire? Which hoodie is better for the planet? At Burgeon we think the choice is clear. We hope you do too.
You can shop the Flume Collection here.
N.B. Please note that this is not an effort to disparage Patagonia’s sustainability focus and impact. Patagonia is driving industry forward by increasing the demand for more sustainable materials - everything from organic cotton to the increased use of other natural fibers and recycled materials. We applaud them for these efforts (and benefit from them as well).
We believe, however, that the transportation of mass quantities of goods around the world has a significant environmental impact and that consumers should include this in their calculus. It is also important to note that we do not know how Patagonia ships their product around the world and that can also have a major impact on sustainability, for example air transportation has an extremely high carbon footprint, while ocean freight probably has the lowest impact.
Burgeon Outdoor was founded in 2019. Burgeon’s mission is to help mountain communities flourish. Burgeon proudly manufactures premium outdoor apparel in Lincoln and Gorham, NH. By manufacturing locally, Burgeon creates year-round jobs in the White Mountains. 5% of Burgeon’s sales support its community and environmental efforts. To learn more, please visit our studio at the Village Shops in Lincoln, our website burgeonoutdoor.com or call us at 603-745-7123.