Napapijri to be 100 percent down and fur free for AW17

Italian premium casualwear brand Napapijri, owned by VF Corporation, has announced that it is continuing its commitment to animal welfare by making its autumn/winter 2017 collection completely 100 percent down and fur free.

The move to put animal welfare at the forefront for a brand predominately known for their outerwear is rare and Napapijri are backing up its move with a new innovative Superlight Skidoo lightweight jacket that has all the qualities of a traditional parka but is over one kilo gram lighter and features no fur or down, instead it utilises faux fur and a high-tech thermo-fibre padding.

Launching for autumn/winter 2017, the lightweight parka is part of the brand’s push for sustainable design and the culmination of two years of embodying the values of its ‘Make it Better’ philosophy, which aims to “embrace product innovation to enable solutions that improve consumers’ lives, while making a meaningful contribution to the world”.

Kathy Hines, vice president marketing, e-commerce and strategy VF Corp, Napapijri Brand said: “At Napapijri, we are sensitive towards animal welfare issues, we are adapting our practices and products accordingly and we are always looking to innovate and make our products better.

“We are very proud to announce that our autumn/winter 2017 is 100 percent down and fur free. In coming years, Napapijri will continue to research materials and production methods which decrease our environmental impact. We are dedicated to continually improving our production practices and policies in order to ensure that our products reflect our ‘Make it better’ value.”

Napapijri highlights its sustainable journey to become 100 percent down and fur free

Napapijri began its journey to become fur free in 2012 when it stopped using fur in its children’s clothing as well as deciding to phase out raccoon dog fur. A key turning point for the brand was when it introduced a replacement for real fur with its innovative Eco-Fur Kanecaron fibres. The fibre has the softness, lightness and durability as well as the touch and colour of real fur and is now used on the brand’s collars and the linings of its detachable hoods.

Following on from its commitment to go fur free, in 2015, Napapijri developed its down free insulation replacement, Thermo-Fibre. Initially introduced to its autumn/winter 2015 outerwear collection, it was rolled out to 99 percent of its autumn/winter 2016, and this year the brand is making all of its autumn/winter 2017 collection down free, as part of its ongoing animal welfare commitment and is supported by VF Corporation’s recently released Animal Welfare Policy.

The Napapijri autumn/winter collection starts to drop in July, with the Superlight Skidoo parka priced 615 pounds and available from September.

Napapijri was founded in 1987 in Italy and is identified by the Norwegian flag on its designs. It is distributed in more than 40 countries through a network of over 200 monobrand stores and over 2,200 multibrand retailers. It sits within the VF Corporation portfolio that also includes Vans, The North Face, Timberland, Wrangler and Lee.

Using fur has been an ongoing debate in recent months within the fashion industry and the fur trade was delivered a blow when luxury e-tailer Yoox Net-a-Porter Group announced that it was going to become 100 percent fur free. The move will see it banning all items and products made from real animal fur from its multi-brand online stores including Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter, Yoox and The Outnet in adherence to the International Fur Free Retailer Program.

Images: courtesy of Napapijri