The NosiLife range from CRAGHOPPERS offers an adventure-ready line of kit designed to offer an effective defence against biting insects. For many years, Craghoppers’ insect repellent technology has proven to defend against bites from insects such as mosquitos.
New NosiLife system technology contains an active ingredient that repels insects so they neither land nor stay on the fabric, reducing the possibility of being bitten. Additional odour elimination technology captures and neutralises body odours during wear so the garment stays fresher for longer.
Both technologies are derived from a plant-based renewable source applied using a unique application process designed specifically to ensure the treatment lasts the lifetime of the garment.
Eucalyptus Citriodora Oil is now the active repellent ingredient in NosiLife clothing. The active ingredient is approved by the European Biocides Product Regulation (BPR) 528/2012/EU. The supply chain works back to the farmers ensuring the availability and sustainability of the active. For example, insisting only plant-based pesticides and fertilisers are used in the cultivation of the Eucalyptus tree stock.
The technology is currently ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals) level 1 certified and working towards level 3 approval. The system is plant based, and waste treatment solution can go directly to the water treatment plant of the textile mill before re-use or discharge.
Using carbon emissions
CO2RENU uses 100% recycled fabric which includes (up to) 30% of fibres made from recycled carbon emissions as an alternative to recycled plastic bottles. CO2RENU technology has been created in collaboration with industry experts LANZATECH.
The process reshapes carbon waste by using carbon emissions as the starting point to create some of Craghoppers recycled polyester blends. CO2RENU technology is an innovative way of recycling carbon emissions from industry, otherwise be emitted as CO2, whilst helping reduce the carbon footprint of the fabric.
Carbon is a chemical element that occurs in nature both in pure form (e.g. graphite or diamonds) or as a part of chemical compounds – such as CO and CO2. What is special about this element is that carbon has the ability to form complex molecules and therefore shows the greatest variety of chemical compounds of all elements – that is, carbon can take on a variety of forms in combination with other elements.
Industrial activity generates waste gases that usually end up as CO2 emissions; for instance, CO and CO2 waste gases are produced during steel manufacturing. Craghoppers worked with climate tech company, LanzaTech which has a platform to capture and convert these waste emissions into the building blocks for textiles manufacturing via the process of fermentation.
Much like traditional fermentation that uses sugars and yeast to make alcohol, this process uses waste carbon emissions and a special microbe to make ethanol. This ethanol can be converted into mono ethylene glycol (MEG), a key ingredient in the manufacture of polyester.
In this way, ethanol from pollution can be converted into the material needed to make the fleece. Craghoppers refers to these yarns as Bio3 Carbon Smart Polyester. When blended with recycled polyester in the next step, then named CO2RENU.
