Down with sustainability: eco puffers have never been hotter

From new dads to fashion students, It-girls to MPs, there are few items of clothing to hold the same democratic appeal as the puffer jacket.

Certainly, it’s not hard to see the merits of a wearable duvet, whether for style or substance — or in most cases both. Though as far as social consciousness is concerned, reports of inhumane practices surrounding the way in which down is harvested means that the ethical implications of a coat filled with feathers is still capable of leaving morally motivated consumers cold.

But in these increasingly sustainability-minded times, when the topic of where our clothes are made and what they’re made from are just as important as how they look, the call for down without a downside has reached fever pitch.

In answer, a new generation of cladded coats are flocking to the capital that are not only cruelty-free but stuffed with green credentials.

Last month, Arket launched its new Upcycled Down collection of lightweight outerwear and accessories for men, women and kids, spanning short quilted vests to padded parkas and even down-filled bucket hats and slippers. Crucially, the collection’s cosy credentials come exclusively from reclaimed natural materials. The stuffing is sourced from Re:Down, which specialises in salvaging pre-used down and feathers, which are then washed for reuse in naturally hot thermal water without any chemicals.

Everlane — champions of sustainable fashion in the States — also uses Re:Down in all its cushioned cover-ups. Among its most covetable options include a super-snug, supersized hooded puffer jacket, known affectionately as the Puffy Puff, and a longer-length version, temptingly called The Sleeping Bag. Both are lined with recycled fill from down duvets and pillows collected from donation points across Europe. The water-resistant outer shells are also 100 per cent recycled polyester, with each jacket made from up to 18 old plastic bottles. In fact, since Everlane launched its commitment last year to eliminate virgin plastic from its entire supply chain by 2021, it has turned six million discarded bottles into fabric for outerwear. But it’s not just the high street seeking to cuddle up to eco-friendly alternatives.

Puffer pioneers The North Face has introduced a greener iteration of its award-winning down-alternative jacket this season. The Thermoball Eco styles are completely feather- and down-free, insulated instead with 100 per cent recycled polyester sourced from consumer plastic diverted from landfill by the brand’s fabric partner PrimaLoft.

This collection alone has given the equivalent of 3.6 million plastic bottles new life. It’s also super-light, weighing just 390g, and can be packed into the hand pocket for easy transportation, while the water-repellent finish will keep you warm even when it’s wet.

Fellow mountaineering expert Patagonia’s Recycled Down collection of coats features 600- or 700-fill-power goose and duck down plucked from bedding bound for landfill — not from livestock — while its Micro Puff range boasts a featherlight synthetic insulation PlumaFill, which promises all the warmth of natural down. Then there is Ecoalf — a trailblazer of sustainable fashion, creating fabrics out of everything from old carpets to used tyres — which has invented its own unique formula for perfect padding, made up of 40 per cent PrimaLoft ultra-fine fibres and 60 per cent water-repellent down, which comes with a certified no-cruelty guarantee.

More recently still, the brand has turned its attention towards perfecting a Peta-approved vegan alternative, made entirely from recycled fabrics, including ocean waste plastic to fishing nets, which will provide excellent insulation as well as peace of mind.