At The North Face, innovation and conservation go hand in hand

Whether you’re high atop the Mont Blanc in search of breathtaking views or swooshing down an inbound terrain at Jackson Hole, we expect our outerwear to perform with serious insulation, no matter what altitude situation we are in.

As any high-performance athlete, backpacker, trail runner our outdoor enthusiast will tell you, there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes. This is why The North Face, a purveyor of high-performance apparel and equipment, has made every corner of the world accessible with its innovative brand of technical garments.

The San Francisco-founded company’s latest innovation is FUTURELIGHT™, a unique sustainable, waterproof and breathable fabric developed using cutting-edge nanospinning technology, the result of three years of extensive research, lab and field testing.

The New Gold Standard

In conditions where cold and wet may be encountered, athletes need gold standard insulation and outer layer garments that are wind-proof, waterproof and breathable, which often came at the expense of bulky, uncomfortable fabrics.

The nanospinning process used to create FUTURELIGHT™ fabric uses an inventive technique to allow air permeability into the membrane of a fabric for the very first time. The process creates nano-level holes, allowing for incredible porosity while maintaining total waterproofness, letting air move through the material and provide more venting than ever before.

“Product innovation, pushing the boundaries and having the courage to disrupt have been a part of The North Face DNA since our company was founded over 50 years ago,” Scott Mellin Global General Manager of Mountain Sports at The North Face said. “For far too long, we have been forced to adapt to our clothing and environment. With the introduction of FUTURELIGHT™, we are finally offering clothing that adapts to our needs.

Setting a Sustainable Precedent

The global fashion supply chain has been using the same fabrics for centuries: think cotton, wool, leather, hemp and silk for the majority of garments, as well as man-made fibers, like polyester and acrylic. It is only in recent years that textile innovation has become a gamechanger in the age of sustainability.

At The North Face, its teams of designers, engineers and athletes are truly committed to sustainably push the limits of innovation in apparel. FUTURELIGHT™ is not just an industry gamechanger, it was also created with an advanced process to allow the brand to responsibly create three-layer garments made up of 90 percent recycled materials.

Its world class team of climbers, skiers, alpinists, snowboarders and trail runners have been rigorously testing FUTURELIGHT™ for over two years across every discipline to prove this technology in varying weather conditions and climates all over the world.

“We are starting with jackets and outdoor apparel, but the possibilities are endless,” Mellin said. “FUTURELIGHT™ can theoretically make anything breathable, waterproof and for the first time. This technology is paving the way for the future of technical fabrics and provides endless possibilities across The North Face product categories.”