SUSTAINABILITY BEGINS
WITH QUALITY PRODUCTS THAT LAST

PRODUCT CARE

Caring for your gear properly will help it to last longer. We’re aiming to give you the best advice on product care, that also takes into account lower impact techniques that are easier on the earth.

REPAIRS

Macpac offers a repairs service.

We’ve offered repairs at Macpac since the beginning — to keep gear in play for longer, reduce our environmental impact and keep the memories going. That repaired baffle or patch often becomes a badge of honour.

In New Zealand, repairs are done from our head office. In Australia we work closely with Remote Equipment Repairs (and have been, for over 20 years!).

If you need a Macpac item repaired, just bring it into your local Macpac store and we’ll do the rest.

RESPONSIBLE MATERIALS

Rethinking the materials we use, and also how we use them, has the greatest potential for lowering our environmental impact. Macpac Designers and Developers are working tirelessly to increase our use of more responsible materials from one season to the next. We hope you take some time to learn more about these fabrics and the technologies we use as we continue on our sustainability journey.

Gavin Davidson – Design Manager

AZTEC^® CANVAS

The story of AzTec^® Canvas is almost as old as Macpac itself. We first developed this poly-cotton canvas in 1981 - it was near bullet proof, and could handle New Zealand’s unforgiving conditions.

FAIRTRADE COTTON

We chose to partner with Fairtrade for our t-shirts, because Fairtrade farmers receive a fairer price, thanks to the Fairtrade Minimum Price, and have access to the Fairtrade Premium, a fixed additional income source that provides farmers with the means to invest in improving the quality of their businesses and communities.

Find out more about Fairtrade here

All our down is (independently) certified to the Responsible Down Standard (RDS). The RDS requires animal welfare practices to be in place at duck and goose farms in the down and feather supply chain.

On all of our down styles, you’ll notice a ‘Track My Down’ swing tag. By simply scanning the tag’s QR Code, you can learn more about the down in your product.

BLUESIGN^® FABRICS

We set goals to increase the use of bluesign^® fabrics.

The bluesign^® System represents a holistic method for fabric and trims manufacturers to address the impact of their materials on our health and the environment. It involves a traceable commitment to more responsible and sustainable manufacturing methods.

When a material has been manufactured to bluesign^® criteria, that material was made with the responsible use of resources and the lowest possible impact on people and the environment.

Learn more from the bluesign^® website.

ORGANIC COTTON

Our certified organic cotton is more sustainably grown from non-genetically modified plants using methods and materials that have a much lower impact on the environment than traditional cotton production.

RECYCLED FABRICS

The beauty of recycled materials is that it reduces our dependance on petroleum as the raw material input. Our recycled polyester is sourced from post-consumer waste, like PET drink bottles, that would have ended up in landfill. Our recycled Nylon is currently sourced from pre-consumer industrial waste.

Look out for this symbol to identify Macpac products with recycled content

2030 MICROFIBRE COMMITMENT

Macpac is proud to support and be a signatory of The Microfibre Consortium Roadmap. This is a global commitment to work towards zero impact from fragmentation of textile fibres to the natural environment, by 2030.

As a signatory, Macpac contributes vital test data to a central knowledge hub, that builds the industry’s understanding of the root causes of microfibre shedding from a range of textiles and manufacturing processes.

The Roadmap provides a clear agenda to support a science-based policy approach to the problem, giving policy makers a research framework to deliver on their goals.

WOOL

One of nature’s most remarkable fibres, wool has extraordinary characteristics. It is a renewable fibre that biodegrades and is naturally odour resistant, which means you can wear it longer between washes.
We are committed to using 100% non-mulesed wool.

TENCEL^™

Tencel^™ Lyocell is made from sustainably grown eucalyptus trees. Incredibly comfortable and providing excellent moisture management, Lyocell fibre helps to increase the fabric strength and breathability of our merino and synthetic garments. Naturally odour resistant, Tencel^™ Lyocell garments are designed to be worn more and washed less, effectively saving time, water and energy — a positive outcome for both us and the environment.

POLYGIENE^®

Polygiene^®, a revolutionary fabric treatment that reduces odour in garments – meaning they can be worn more, and washed less. Polygiene^® is a bluesign^® certified silver salt (silver chloride) from recycled silver, that controls odour by preventing the growth of bacteria and fungi.


Learn more from the Polygiene^® website.

THE HIGG INDEX

Developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the Higg Index is a suite of tools that enables brands to accurately measure and score their company’s sustainability performance and product impacts.

Using this knowledge, Macpac sets future-facing goals that implement procedures to drive improved social and environmental practices in our operations.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

We’re working hard to nurture long term relationships with our Trade Partners, who we see as an extension of the team here in New Zealand. Many of them are the same ones that we started our offshore manufacturing journey with nearly twenty years ago.

We choose to work with Partners who share our commitment to quality, and who show constant improvement in managing our collective social and environmental responsibilities.