Arc'teryx: Sustainability Spotlight
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Arc'teryx: Sustainability Through Durability
Arc’teryx has long been known for its top-of-the-line apparel and equipment, built for the worst mountain weather. But in recent years, the British Columbia-based company has made a new name for itself as a sustainability leader. The Arc’teryx ethos is clear: Design gear that holds up to heavy and consistent use, gear that can be repaired, and gear that’s functional and timeless enough to be passed down from one user to the next. By extending the life of each piece, Arc’teryx is reducing waste and minimizing environmental impact, all while keeping adventurers equipped with sleek, functional, and high-performance gear.
Because of Arc’teryx’s company-wide, comprehensive approach to reducing its environmental impact and improving its overall sustainability practices, it’s making steady improvements across the board, with a particular focus on promoting a circular economy and sourcing responsible materials. Arc’teryx is a Bluesign system partner and working towards Fair Trade Certification in 80% of its product line. On top of that, it uses the Responsible Wool and Responsible Down Standard for all its apparel products.
Product-Level Analysis
In 2013, Arc’teryx became a Bluesign System Partner, one of its earliest moves towards further integrating sustainability practices into its product manufacturing. Being a System Partner with Bluesign is a step above simply having Bluesign-approved products—it indicates a commitment to sustainability on a corporate level (we've written more about Bluesign here). It also means Arc’teryx agreed to an onsite assessment and reassessments every two to three years. The partnership was driven by a company-wide goal to find safer textile chemistries and adapt Arc’teryx’s manufacturing practices to use 50% less water, 30% less energy, and 15% fewer chemicals (as compared to its usage rates at the start of the Bluesign partnership). Additionally, Bluesign is boosting Arc’teryx’s sustainability efforts by ensuring that safer materials are used at every step of the supply chain. The brand works with its material suppliers to confirm they abide by Bluesign’s Restricted Substances List, helping to improve consumer safety, occupational health and safety, and resource productivity.
Product Highlight: Cerium and Thorium Down Jackets
If you’re looking for a light, packable down jacket made with sustainability in mind, the Cerium (reviewed here) passes the test. Better Trail Certified with a 4.5 out of 5 sustainability rating, the Bluesign-approved jacket is made with responsible down, recycled materials, and a PFAS-free durable water-repellent coating. If you’re less concerned about packability, another great sustainable option is the Thorium Jacket (designed to be a standalone jacket as opposed to a midlayer, it has a little more bulk).
Arc’teryx promotes circularity through its ReBird program (the brand’s initiatives in care, repair, reuse, and upcycling) and actively develops insulation and fabric that utilizes recycled polyester and nylon, including post-consumer waste such as discarded plastic bottles and old fishing nets. Its Coreloft synthetic insulation uses 100% recycled polyester that provides the warmth and lightweight performance the brand is known for while reducing environmental impact. Arc’teryx’s goal is for 100% of the brand’s nylon and polyester weight volume to be recycled by 2030. You can learn more about recycled materials by visiting our comprehensive guide here.
While Arc'teryx is committed to safer materials, it is equally focused on ensuring fair practices for the people behind the products. In response to the global garment workers’ crisis, which significantly worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, Arc’teryx took a decisive step toward fair labor practices by becoming Fair Trade Certified (FTC) in 2020. By 2021, it had converted three manufacturing facilities into FTC facilities. The transition in 2021 resulted in 20% of Arc’teryx’s total product line (about 60 different products) being produced in FTC facilities, and the company intends to make 80% of its products in FTC facilities by 2025. Fair Trade certification ensures that Arc’teryx’s workers are treated appropriately (there should be safe working conditions, no exploitation or discriminatory employment practices, and the ability for workers to organize) and that environmental protection standards are met at each of the brand’s manufacturing facilities.
Arc’teryx takes a cohesive approach to sourcing environmentally responsible and sustainable materials, only accepting down and wool that meets the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and Responsible Wool Standard (RWS). Arc’teryx apparel and footwear also require Leather Working Group certificates, which strictly prohibit exotic leather. Sourcing materials that fulfill these requirements ensures that Arc’teryx does not support the mistreatment of animals and receives materials sourced with sustainability in mind. The brand has been requiring these certificates since 2016.
Arc’teryx isn’t leading the way in shifting away from PFAS chemicals in its products. Still, it made a notable move by releasing the Beta Jacket in February 2024, which is PFAS-free in both its durable water-repellent (DWR) coating and its waterproof membrane (Gore-Tex’s new expanded polyethylene membrane). Currently, many brands are only transitioning to PFAS-free DWR, so it’s notable that Arc’teryx has produced an entirely PFAS-free, high-performing jacket.
Product Highlight: The Beta Jacket
The Beta Jacket is one of Arc’teryx’s most popular styles. Both the original Beta Jacket and the Beta Lightweight are available with a PFAS-free waterproof membrane and DWR treatment—a major win for rainwear.
Brand-Level Analysis
Arc'teryx’s signature ReBird program is a holistic approach to keep gear in circulation, and it has grown significantly since its launch in 2021. Whether it's through ReGear (Arc’teryx’s pre-loved gear program) or ReCare (for those inevitable rips and zippers gone wild), ReBird offers plentiful resources to keep your jacket climbing, skiing, or just surviving another season in the backcountry. In 2023, over 25,000 repairs were done across the eight global ReBird service centers. Arc’teryx even developed its own detergents and DWR treatments to help maintain product breathability and water repellency. While you can use these product care solutions (dubbed Nu) to quickly refresh your gear at home, you can also take your gear to an Arc’teryx store and have it cleaned by the pros—ensuring proper care with environmentally-friendly solutions.
If your Arc’teryx gear is sitting in your closet going unused, you can likely trade it to be refurbished and returned to the wild for future use. You’ll get rewarded with an Arc’teryx gift card, and the pre-loved gear becomes available online for purchase. Eligible items must be in good condition, and currently the program only pertains to packs and a selection of apparel, but it’s still a positive move toward elongating the life of Arc’teryx products and encouraging consumers to shop secondhand. If a product brought into a ReBird repair shop is truly beyond repair, Arc’teryx repair technicians can still upcycle many old products, using the old material to make or repair other products.
Arc’teryx’s 2023 Climate Report noted that the brand has been prioritizing changes to systems that emit larger amounts of emissions than packaging. With that work now underway, they noted that they plan to address lower-emission areas, such as packaging. We reached out to Arc’teryx to learn about its current packaging materials and its plans for the future, but have not heard back. At this point, Arc’teryx is not using recycled packaging that we are aware of, but we will be sure to make updates if we receive more information from the company.
It’s a lot easier to reach a summit when you’re working with a solid toolkit, and Arc’teryx is using some of the best tools to reach the sustainability peak on a corporate level. In 2014, Arc’teryx began utilizing Higg Index tools to measure the environmental impact of its supply chain. The Higg Index is a voluntary tool managed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) that helps companies measure and track their progress toward sustainability efforts. With programs such as the Facility Environmental Module (FEM), which assesses environmentally impactful variables such as water use, waste management, and energy use, product manufacturing facilities can identify weak areas and find ways to evolve their practices to be more sustainable.
Arc’teryx completed its first FEM and Brand Environmental Module at its Vancouver facility in 2014. By 2017, 95% of Arc’teryx’s finished goods facilities were using Higg Index tools and completing their own environmental assessments. Today, 100% of Arc’teryx’s finished goods manufacturing partners and 75% of its strategic materials suppliers are actively utilizing FEM. Arc’teryx also works with some supply chain partners to implement energy efficiency and renewable energy measures. In 2023, 100% of the electricity Arc’teryx purchased could be traced back to renewable sources through Energy Attribute Certificates.
Arc'teryx has aligned its emissions reduction targets with the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a collaboration between the Carbon Disclosure Project, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Wildlife Fund, and the World Resources Institute. Arc’teryx aims to slash Scope 1 & 2 emissions (HQ and retail operations) by 65% by 2030 compared to 2018. The real heavy lifting comes with Scope 3: reducing emissions from its entire supply chain by 65% per unit of value added by 2030. That means every step of the process—materials, factories, mills, shipping—will get greener, ensuring that Arc’teryx’s carbon footprint shrinks even as production grows. SBTi has verified Arc’teryx’s targets, meaning that its greenhouse gas emissions tracking and related sustainability efforts have been rigorously audited and approved by SBTi itself.
Arc'teryx walks the walk with its annual Climate Report, keeping its footprint in check and giving customers insight into how the brand is reducing its environmental impact. The brand has set ambitious goals for the future, with targets for 2025, 2030, and 2050. They're not just gearing up for another season—they’re thinking about the next 30 years of exploration and how to get there sustainably. As mentioned above, by 2025, 80% of the company’s manufacturing facilities will be Fair Trade Certified, and over half of their polyester and nylon materials will be recycled. Arc’teryx’s 2030 goals primarily focus on increasing its recycled materials usage (100% of nylon and polyester will be recycled) and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These goals serve as checkpoints in the brand’s efforts to achieve entirely net-zero carbon emissions by 2050—which would indeed be a fully sustainable business model.
In addition to environmental programs within their facilities, Arc'teryx encourages environmentalism through a grants and donations program. The company donates repaired products to youth camps and environmental programs like the Starfish Environmental Society, a charity centered around cultivating a national community of diverse youth changemakers, ensuring its impact goes beyond just selling jackets. Organizations can also apply for grants to receive funding for programs geared toward community impact and encouraging outdoor participation.
Transparency Rating: Excellent
Arc’teryx receives an “excellent” transparency score. In-store, its consumer-facing efforts include gear-repair centers and informational displays; online, it offers easy-to-navigate dropdown menus detailing product-specific sustainability features (some brand-level details require intentional effort to find on their website, but they came up readily in a web search). Arc’teryx’s data-rich annual sustainability report provides comprehensive details and easy-to-understand data figures about the brand’s emissions-reduction efforts, recycled materials targets, and community involvement. While the brand’s transparency isn’t perfect—for example, it’s not always 100% clear about specific materials in a given product—it’s still on the leading edge. Overall, Arc'teryx's approach to sustainability underscores a serious commitment to balancing environmental responsibility alongside offering the top-of-the-line equipment for which the brand is known.
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