How stuff works
There was a time when we all walked through life having no clue or care of how things actually worked. At some point in my life, at a very young age, I began asking A LOT of questions. Like how does a car run, who invented words, and where exactly does steel come from?
It was a bit obsessive probably.
We go to school, we are taught to think critically and most of all, if we learn anything, it’s to never stop asking questions. But like many things from childhood, we just stop doing things. We don’t walk through every puddle, we don’t run full-speed everywhere and we subconsciously begin to compartmentalize the priorities in our lives. And this is a good thing, in the end. We have to understand what sustains us, what is dangerous and what questions are most important to answer in order to move through a productive life. And at some level, you have to figure out a way to say to yourself, “things just work”. Or else it will drive you crazy.
The origins of some questions sometimes reveal an evolution of technology while others point to significant breakthroughs that changed the way we do things forever. Take the $800 Billion outdoor industry. Mountains, rivers and forests have always been here, but it hasn’t been until recently that these adventures have become so mainstream (for some). Why? One reason, I portend, is the significant advances in the gear and clothing often required to “unlock” these opportunities. Of course, marketing has something to do with it but nevertheless, once unheard of technologies, only reserved for the military or highly specialized applications are now available for widespread use. And most of them owe their qualities of strength, weight, breath-ability and durability to an innovation in materials science. A small, sometimes microscopic strand of chemicals and compounds unbeknownst to most who use them.
It is THIS that keeps me asking questions.
As Mark Miodownik so eloquently lays out in the introduction to his book, “Stuff Matters”:
“[This book] is for those who want to decipher the material world we have constructed and find out where those materials came from, how they work, and what they say about us. These materials themselves are often surprisingly obscure, despite being all around us. On first inspection they rarely reveal their distinguishing features and often blend into the background of our lives.”
He goes on to describe the history and the context for many of the materials we take for granted today. Like paper, concrete, steel and chocolate.
Much like Miodowink explains how this “stuff” literally changed our lives, the question I keep asking myself: What materials built (and continues to build) this swell of outdoor recreation.
Which materials quite literally “built” this industry.
I don’t know when the term “technical outerwear” entered the lexicon. Technology certainly plays a role in the progression of an industry, but there must have been a catalyst for people to think they needed a different jacket for fall and for winter. Or one that repels water rather than soaks it up. I think a lot of the futurists of that time and imagine conversations like my generation had about cell phones and computers saying things like, “A rain jacket that sheds water and is breathable? You mean it has holes? -- That will never happen.”
But it did happen, and most people, I propose, think nothing of how their jacket came to be. The store just has them, and you just buy it.
Let’s take a look at some of the materials of the industry, how they came about, who makes them and ultimately the circle of life within the market.
Polytetrafluorethlyne
Sadly, one day before we lost the notorious RBG, we also lost a person that was at the center of the materials revolution within the outdoor world: Bob Gore. That material that has holes (microscopic as they may be) but doesn’t allow in a drop of outside moisture yet allows your sweat and body to breath freely, thus not overheating and cooking you from within? It’s Gore-Tex, and it was the brain-child of scientist Bob Gore and his family. It’s hard to understate the importance this fabric has meant to not only the outdoor industry, but society as a whole. It made working in harsh conditions possible, not only for fun, but for our military and first responders. As with many ‘once in a lifetime’ technologies it has also spawned new applications never before thought possible. This once small company, ran from a Delaware basement, now has multiple divisions, including a burgeoning medical device business, making artificial heart valves and other life saving components. What’s most commonly known as “Gore-Tex” is actually a synthetic compound called Polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE. Gore discovered that if this material is stretched, allowing pores to form, it also maintains some relative impermeability to liquid to the outside, while still allowing moisture from behind its walls to get out. Something that comes in handy while skiing in a snowstorm seeing your heart-rate reach 180. While other technologies have since matched it’s technical qualities, it still serves as one of the most recognizable materials in the world which may be one of Bob Gore’s biggest achievements: the marketing of a synthetic compound into an iconic and enduring brand that helped spawn an outdoor industry.
Nylon
It’s hard to match the importance of Gore-Tex in the growth of the industry. People could now buy clothes that literally allowed them to go places they never could before. They could be outside longer and wind and moisture were no longer life threatening (as much). And as this material became mainstream and available, albeit at a much higher price, other materials were being developed to help people get outdoors. Not only did you need a jacket or a boot, you needed backpacks and tents and pouches to hold your gear. As with a lot of innovations of the 20th century, a lot of attention was paid to technology that could help the military. And Cordura (the brand that perfected it) was no different. This new fabric, derived from nylon, was originally used in tires in WW2, and has since been developed into fabric made famous by brands like EastPak and Jansport as material for backpacks. In fact, this unassuming material, captured 40% of a market and invented what is now known as “soft-sided luggage”. The abrasion resistant, tough and nearly indestructible fabric could be used to protect gear, military and otherwise, yet be flexible and light enough to bypass hard sided, and inflexible carrying cases. It was another game changer, providing access to the outdoors previously impossible, and is still thriving today in many different applications.
photo credit: www.carryology.com
Composites
Strength and weight. When it comes to properties in a material that is used primarily for structural integrity, both uniquely perform well on their own. But put them together and they become superhero “stuff”. By definition, composites are a combination of things. Much like alloys make metals stronger, less brittle and flexible, a breakthrough in weight to strength ratio came to us in the form of Carbon Fiber and reinforced plastics. Materials that would not only prove beneficial to outdoor pursuits, but also the world at-large. Tent poles were stronger, Skis were lighter and airplanes could burn less fuel. This was innovation at it’s finest. But as with everything, things come at a cost. These materials, that would now allow you to hike deep into the backcountry without a horse to carry your sleeping arrangements, were hard to make, and relied on massive amounts of petroleum based components. To make matters worse, it was expensive. Although the applications continue to grow, driving costs down, the long-term impacts on our planet are coming more and more into view.
photo: Trek
These are just three examples of materials that made growth in our outdoor industry possible. And while various other innovators and brands have entered this space, it is largely science we need to thank for developing the technology driving our pursuits into nature. In some respects revealing quite the dichotomy facing the protection and future of our planet as we face head on the effects of climate change. Without a love for the outdoors and conservation at an all-time high would we have the level of engagement and support for attacking such an enemy? Would we have had these stripped down, natural and wild experiences, where we look to escape our busy, tech driven lives, without the help of technology itself? And what are the costs of these technologies on the whole?
Luckily, the future of the material world is looking once again to science to solve these challenges. Here are some of the emerging materials innovations that are looking to upend the reliance on petroleum based production:
3 companies looking to save our planet and preserve an industry
Calling itself a “Materials Innovation Platform”, Checkerspot is looking at redefining the industry through the development of an elusive market: bio-based materials that perform on-par with their petroleum based competition and are cheaper. They are well on their way and recently closed a $36M Series B round of funding to accelerate this technology. Think carbon fiber made from algae. They already have rave reviews of their new alpine ski brand: WNDR.
Making the most of the situation is where I find Repreve. A textile company at the forefront of sustainable innovation. They are diverting ocean bound plastics into high performance fibers used in everything from technical clothing to denim jeans. They have shifted the paradigm that recycled materials are too expensive to have any possible margins to scale but creating technology that breaks down these pesky plastic water bottles and makes thread that performs better than it’s petroleum intensive counterparts. And at scale.
While complex materials might be feedstock for these products it makes sense to focus efforts to innovate on the science behind developing a more sustainable compound. But let’s face it, we are a long way off from every piece of fashion, or piece of outdoor gear made sustainably and economically to completely upend the market. And even so, across all industries, there is waste. Whether that happens at the factory with a blemished or unsellable item, or the consumer simply doesn’t need it anymore, there is a lot of material floating out there in the world. And like everything, it has to go somewhere. Enter the circular economy and The Renewal Workshop, “an innovative company looking to solve hard problems with new systems”. Sounds to me they have their eyes on more than fashion. And I am here for this.