10 years of rock solid
commitment to eco-design

At Quechua, we have been recycling so that "fleece" rhymes with "circular economy" for over ten years now (so a long chapter in the story that began in 1997).
In 2010, we changed our production to make fleece using plastic bottles and recycled textiles. "Second hand" PET, to avoid making new plastic. In 2014, we worked out that re-use of bottles enabled us to recycle 2000 tonnes of waste in one year. Today, we’re making great quality fleeces composed of at least 66% (men’s models), 70% (women’s models) and 71% (junior’s models) of recycled polyester for 90% of our models.

That doesn't mean you can abandon your water bottles on the footpath and we will make your new jacket! "Hike up, pick up" is our creed ! That simply means that a Quechua fleece lengthens the life cycle of plastic components generated by other products, rather than producing more. And when you are careful about your impact on the environment, we think that it will allow you to hike lighter...

At Quechua and Decathlon, being an eco-designer means that we have re-thought the technical processes at the heart of our products. For example, we have become great proponents of dope-dyeing, a dyeing process that minimise water use in the production. Our dope-dyed textiles are mass dyed, using colour pigments when the yarn is manufactured. Our navy blue jacket and socks are dyed using this technique.

Another technique that has improved eco-design in our manufacturing process is bi-ton dyeing: simply, we only dye one out of every two threads. The natural thread gives the garment a mottled effect. With this alternating dyeing, we have reduced the CO2 impact of our MH100 tent by 41%. And since environmental progress is hidden in the details, we have also started using laser engraving to mark our products, as it doesn't require solvents, unlike traditional branding.