Houdini Sportswear circular mono air houdi broken down pattern

How we designed the circular Mono Air Houdi

Every detail matters

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Here we share all the secrets behind our latest innovation: The Mono Air Houdi. The goal is to enable co-creation and a circular transformation of the apparel industry, not to spawn cheap copies of Mono Air Houdi. Get creative, remake, rethink, go fully circular and think holistically. Then you will be our friend forever!

Main fabric: Polartec® Power Air™ Lightweight

The main fabric is essential for the concept of the Mono Air Houdi. The fabric is called Power Air™ Lightweight and is produced by Polartec® in Cleveland, Tennessee. It’s a high performance light fleece fabric constructed to prevent the shedding of microfibers without compromising on functionality. It is made from recycled and recyclable polyester, ensuring a circular lifecycle. A top tier technical fleece fabric that is both circular and anti-shedding is nothing short of groundbreaking.

Supplier: Polartec Art nr: 1709

Beside the sustainability benefits, Polartec® Power Air™ Lightweight has all the performance qualities that we could wish for. The fabric is light (288 g/m²), stretchy, and highly durable. It has a great balance between breathability and wind resistance. All in all, it is just what you need for a 4-season insulation garment for skiing, climbing, hiking or any other outdoor adventure.

Read everything about the fabric technology and get in touch with Polartec here.

Mono Air recipe

Item: Cord bottom hem and hood

Supplier: Texcon

Art.no: TT1002 + MF1368

Item: Hard drawcord stopper inside pockets

Supplier: Hop Hing

Art.no: A250

Item: Soft drawcord stopper inside hood

Supplier: TexCon

Art.no: CD1295

To create the perfect fit and let the user close out any drafts, we added adjustments in the bottom hem and hood. We wanted a cord that is light enough to not create bulk, weight or absorb water, but still thick enough to feel comfortable. A 2,5 mm diameter cord with 40% stretch and recovery was the perfect choice. It is a rubber with a polyester casing. It can be recycled together with the garment and the rubber is considered a “tolerable contamination” that does not hurt the process. It can also easily be removed before recycling.

The hard stoppers for the bottom hem adjustment is hidden inside the pocket to avoid abrasion against an underneath garment. In the hood adjustment, we chose a soft stopper because it’s more comfortable around the head and neck. The soft stopper can be recycled together with the garment but the hard stopper has to be removed before recycling. It contains metal that needs separate recycling.

Item: Front zipper

Supplier: YKK

Art.no: CIFMR-5* DA8LH H3/DAG8 H3 P16 ND-B OP-V P-TOP

Item: Side pocket zippers x2

Supplier: YKK

Art.no: CFC-451 DFW H3 P14 B.E N-ANTI P-TOP

Mono Air Houdi features high quality zippers from YKK. Zippers are usually the first thing that breaks on a jacket and the right choice of zippers can add years to the garment's lifespan and therefore reduce the environmental impact. We chose a flexible coil zipper that does not build bulk or create abrasion and can move easily with the garment. The 2-way zipper lets you access gear you have underneath, such as a climbing harness or things in your pockets. It’s also great for ventilation and general comfort. We chose a metal slider and puller to add durability to a garment designed for heavy use, often in below freezing temperatures. A fully plastic zipper would have been better from a recycling standpoint, but the sacrifice in durability was too great. Sustainable design often means to choose between options with different pros and cons. In this case, we prioritize durability, which means that the zipper has to be cut out before recycling. The construction makes it easy to replace. The most common repair work we do on fleece jackets is to replace a broken zipper.

Item: Pocket liner x2

Supplier: Cervotessile

Art.no: Maglina Nylon

The pocket liner is made in an ultra light, silky and smooth nylon fabric. It’s comfortable for your hands and has almost no friction against the main fabric or any fabric you wear underneath. Unfortunately, the nylon is not recyclable with the main fabric, but for this component we chose to prioritize performance and durability before recyclability. A key element of sustainable design is to make sure the components of a garment don't break and therefore shorten the lifespan. The pocket liners can easily be removed together with the pocket zippers before recycling.

Supplier: Coats

Art.no: Gramax 80, Epic 120, Eloflex 120

We use different threads with different characteristics: Textured for maximum strength and non-textured that run smoothly through the fabric. All threads are polyester and can be recycled with the main fabric. The seams are placed to create as few seams as possible and to minimize friction. It’s important for comfort but also for durability. Seams break before the fabric itself and less seams means less weak points. The seams are placed at a slight offset to not stack with other seams if you layer garments. We use two types of seams: Flatlock seams that don't build bulk and flow smoothly with the stretchy fabric. Overlock to protect open edges of the fabric.

The technology for using recycled polyester for several of these components exist. It is a question of demand before suppliers start making them. With a collaborative effort, where more brands start demanding recycled versions instead of virgin ones and mono material versions replace mixed, we could transform even the smallest components from linear to circular.

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Cut and fit

In Mono Air Houdi, we are looking for the ultimate balance between performance and comfort. The stretch in the fabric allows us to create a rather snug fit that fits nicely underneath a shell jacket without feeling too tight. The shoulder has a raglan sleeve that gives the shoulders room to move. To give that cozy feeling of comfort, we have designed a high, snug collar and added the thumb loops at the end of the sleeves. The neck and the wrists are the main contact points between the garment and your skin. They are also sensitive pulse points on the body. The thumb loops eliminate drafts around the wrists. The hood fits perfectly underneath the hood of a shell layer and the snug fit lets it move with your head to never get in the way. The garment has a slight back drop to create extra comfort. We believe that those small things that create a feeling of comfort is highly important when you are out in the wild exposed to nature's elements. The cut is also optimized to minimize production waste. Cutting a garment from a piece of fabric is like cutting cookies from a dough and the cutting should be adjusted to minimize waste.

Houdini-sportswear-mono-air-houdi-hoodie-fleece-reimagined_conept12.jpg

One step closer to a waste free world

Colors

The fabric is dyed using only Bluesign® certified dyestuff. Bluesign® is a third party organization monitoring to make sure no substances are used that can cause harm to people or nature. All the water that is used is cycled back into the production.

Colors is more than just production. It is science, performance, mood and caracter. With inspiration from nature we develop a wide variation of timeless tints and shades. Colors with integrity, that exist above and beyond seasonal trends, age with beauty.

Packaging

Mono Air Houdi is shipped from the factory in a standard, thin plastic sleeve. The main purpose of the sleeve is to protect the garment during shipping and handling in the warehouse. It might seem a bit counter-intuitive to use a plastic wrapper on a garment designed to fight plastic waste and we are in the process of finding a better alternative, but at this point, this is our best option. Plastic does have some undeniable advantages, it’s very light (which means less energy for shipping), it’s durable and protects that garment from both dirt and moisture. It can be made from recycled plastics and also be recycled again in a circular system, which is the route we have chosen.

IF the plastic is recycled, which is the case in some countries including here in Sweden, it has a very low environmental impact. But even though we know many of our customers around the world care as deeply as we do about recycling, we can never guarantee that these bags don’t go astray. All in all, the plastic bag does the job very well, but is not optimal in the linear world of today. We are working on alternatives and recognize several initiatives for eliminating single use plastics as well as developing circular solutions. One such is the European Outdoor Group’s Single Use Plastics Project.

https://www.europeanoutdoorgroup.com/singleuse/singleuseplastics-en

Meet the Mono Air family

Houdini sportswear man with mono air houdi in sandstorm color

M's Mono Air Houdi

Light and durable hooded fleece jacket for men. Features an innovative fabric construction that prevent microfiber shedding and is made with recycled and recyclable fibers.

295.00 CAD

W's Mono Air Houdi

Light and durable hooded fleece jacket for women. Features an innovative fabric construction that prevent microfiber shedding and is made with recycled and recyclable fibers.

295.00 CAD

W's Mono Air Jacket

Light and strong multifunctional women’s fleece jacket with a high collar and half-zip. The innovative fabric construction prevents microfiber shedding and the material is recycled and recyclable.

280.00 CAD

140.00 CAD

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