Doing the Right Thing: Henri-Lloyd's commitment to sustainability and the environment

by Mark Jardine 6 May 2020 14:00 BST

When Henri-Lloyd relaunched at the end of 2018, the focus was the quality of the Fremantle range; the ultimate sailing apparel using the finest materials available. Behind the scenes there has been a steely focus on 'doing the right thing' for the environment.

Chairman Hans Eckerström is deeply passionate about his surroundings and determined that Henri-Lloyd play their part in sustainability, making it one of the four key pillars for the business. His philosophy is that we are the guests on this world, and we should treat our host with respect.

Social distancing has given us the chance to pause and reflect on our day-to-day lives and ask those questions we may not have given thought to before... are we doing the right thing for our environment?

For Henri-Lloyd, sourcing environmentally friendly materials is one of the ways sustainability can be achieved, and through exhaustive searching they found Pontetorto, an Italian fabric manufacturer who produce performance materials from recycled plastic bottles (PET).

The Mav HL Mid Layer range is an made exclusively from this high wicking, quick drying fabric and offers great thermal insulation. This crossover high performance, yet incredibly comfortable stretchy polyester fleece, is perfect for working at home, during your exercise or out on the water. The Mav HL Mid Crew for example is a great looking, sustainable, technical sweatshirt that you can literally live in, with the satisfaction of knowing that over thirteen 1.5 litre PET bottles found a new purpose in its manufacture.

When it comes to recycling, this soon results in numbers which make a real difference. In 2019 Henri-Lloyd clothing recycled the equivalent in plastic bottles stacked end-to-end of 116 Eiffel Towers. In lockdown adults and kids are taking part in various fitness challenges, such as counting the number of steps they are climbing in a day or week. The Eiffel Tower has 1665 steps, so this challenge would be an incredible 193,140 steps!

Henri-Lloyd aren't just paying lip-service to sustainability - they've done their research with their suppliers. Pontetorto have installed solar panels which equal approximately 95% of their total energy demand.

This approach to reducing energy and material usage is epitomised in the Consort Eco Spindye Jacket, based on the iconic 1965 Consort. Henri-Lloyd collaborated with the market leader in sustainable fabric production, We aRe SpinDye©, a Swedish fashion tech company, to produce this legendary jacket in a modern, more sustainable way.

We aRe SpinDye© are innovators in the practice of solution-dyeing, achieving more sustainable methods of colouring polyester yarns. Traditional dyeing means first producing the fibre and then dipping the fibre in dye to add the colour. This requires a lot of hot water and liquid chemicals. We aRe SpinDye's solution dyeing adds the colour pigment when the polyester is just pellets. Once these pellets are coloured, they are melted and turned into fibres, which are then spun into yarn. This process cut downs on chemical usage by 90% and water by 75%. Once again, these are numbers which make a real difference towards doing the right thing.

Ben Ainslie, Henri-Lloyd's Director and Chief Technical Advisor added: "By retaining the factory in Poland, keeping the skilled workforce, reducing the miles that product has to be transported during manufacture and sourcing fabric from innovative European manufacturers Henri-Lloyd are steadily building their environmental credentials. I'm proud to be a part of this innovative business."

Over the past two decades we have all become far more conscious of how our food is sourced, preferring to go local where we can and buy from suppliers who farm in a responsible manner. The clothing industry is now on that path, and Henri-Lloyd are right at the forefront with their drive for true sustainability.

Exclusive Offer to our readers: 10% OFF

Take a look at the Henri-Lloyd Bundle Deals such as the Mav Tech Polo 2-pack and the Mav HL Hood and Tee Bundle and enjoy 10% off using our exclusive coupon code YANDY10SW10 at the checkout on the Henri-Lloyd online shop.

Find out more about the full Henri-Lloyd range at www.henrilloyd.com