New for the spring and summer 2022 season, eco-conscious brand Patagonia has released a new waterproof jacket featuring the brand’s NetPlus technology, which aims to reduce ocean plastic pollution. This process involves collecting discarded fishing nets from oceans and re-purposing them into a 100% post-consumer recycled ripstop nylon material.

The new three-layer Granite Crest jacket has been constructed for “high performance…and full storm protection” during “long and wet days on the trail”, with a durable water resistant (DWR) finish free from harmful PFC chemicals and a hydrostatic head waterproof rating of 20,000mm – a grade that meets Patagonia’s H2No performance standard. The jacket is also Fair Trade certified sewn.

The challenge for all brands moving away from harmful chemical PFCs – which contain the element fluorine and contribute to water pollution – is that PFCs are very good at repelling water, and finding an eco-friendly alternative with comparable performance is difficult. PFCs have historically been used in both the DWR treatments and membranes of waterproof jackets. But, with the new Granite Crest, Patagonia’s gear boffins claim to have made some breakthroughs. Here’s how they explain the science and engineering process behind it all:

“We’ve spent more than five years extensively vetting and testing every single membrane and DWR pairing our engineers and supplier partners could build. What we’ve found is that the best performance comes from specific material pairings: ensuring that the membrane, face fabric and DWR treatment all work in tandem to complement one another for the best performance. This knowledge has helped us specifically engineer each material package explicitly for its end use, ensuring that every new, fully PFC-free material performs as well as the best fabrics in the industry.”