Finnish company Spinnova partners with outdoor brand The North Face

Finnish sustainable textile material company, Spinnova is teaming up with The North Face, the American outdoor apparel giant to collaborate on the development of innovative, sustainable, high-performance fabrics for the outdoor apparel category. This will begin with a “journey toward the commercialization of sustainable products” utilizing SPINNOVA® materials.

The North Face will also get access to the first commercial quantities of Spinnova fiber, which is made without hazardous chemicals, with minimal water usage, and emits minimal CO2. It does not contain any microplastics and is 100% circular.

With this collaboration, Spinnova hopes to target the outdoor market, a growing part of the garment business, by collaborating with The North Face to give a sustainable alternative to conventional textile materials without compromises in technical quality.

Janne Poranen, chief executive and co-founder of Spinnova, said that the North Face is a leader in sustainable outdoor apparel. This is a great opportunity for them to work with The North Face to continue pushing the boundaries of their material. Their goal is to create a new industry benchmark for sustainability and high performance.

Oliver Lang, global vice president, product development at The North Face, said that it’s their overarching objective to design more circular goods, continually develop innovative materials, and further decrease the environmental consequences of their products. Spinnova is an excellent companion on this journey.

According to Spinnova, the global textile material consumption is growing at a “rapid pace,” and is expected to reach 146 million tonnes yearly by 2030.

Spinnova said in a statement that it expects the deal with The North Face to be a “major contributor to its market entrance,” but that it does not expect it to have a meaningful impact on Spinnova’s financial performance in 2021-2022.

Spinnova’s long-term commercial goals include reaching a manufacturing capacity of one million tonnes of SPINNOVA® fiber per year in the next 10-12 years. Spinnova announced plans to establish its first commercial facility in Finland in February, in response to the rising demand for sustainable materials from major textile companies.