Project Mono Air

Project Mono Air is an open-source initiative by Houdini supported by Polartec that aims to help the textile industry become more circular. By sharing the work behind our latest innovation, the Mono Air Houdi – a fully circular fleece jacket that sheds up to 80% less microfibers than regular high quality fleece – we hope that our knowledge can help others to create better and more sustainable products. It is all a part of our vision to create a waste-free world. 

The goal with the initiative is to encourage a more collaborative mindset within our industry where we no longer keep our innovations to ourselves, but share our knowledge in order to facilitate long-term change. That’s why we are sharing every component, every design decision and the circular principles behind our latest innovation, the Mono Air Houdi. We want to lead the charge toward a waste-free world – and hopefully inspire others to follow. 

The textile industry is responsible for a huge amount of pollution and waste. Not only due to its unsustainable production methods, but also because clothes are generally not made to live for a long time or be recycled afterward. Microplastics in our waters are also a growing environmental problem. This needs to change.

Houdini’s vision from the start has been to enable people to enjoy natural experiences without a negative impact on our environment. We have come a long way towards that vision by creating products with a longer life, high functionality, low impact and a circular lifespan. But we know that we can’t fight the environmental impact of this industry ourselves. So, in order to change the industry for the better, we want to share our innovations so that others can work towards the same goal.

Most products in today's society are made in a linear lifecycle, which means that Earth’s resources are extracted, used and then discarded after use. This comes at a great environmental impact - not only does it mean we constantly drain the Earth of resources without giving them back, but also because the discarded material can be harmful for the planet. In the long run, this will not work. 

Instead, we need to shift to a circular lifecycle. That means that instead of viewing resources as disposable, we aim to close the loop and reuse the material that has already been used. This affects all parts of our process: from design and production to how garments are taken care of and worn by our customers - and not the least the take-back systems to recycle them. 

Microplastics are small plastic particles that originate from products in plastic manufacturing, or as ingredients in skincare, tires and toothpaste (to name a few). When it comes to textiles, garments made of synthetic fibres can release fibers when being used or discarded, but also when washed. Through rivers, streams and sewages, the plastics that the fiber contains end up in the ocean. This pollution is causing damage to marine life and potentially human health as the water we drink and the food we eat becomes contaminated with microplastics. 

This is a significant environmental problem that we need to take on by producing garments that minimize the amount of fiber shedding and by creating systems that enable recycling of old garments instead of putting them in landfills as trash. To learn more about our actions to tackle microplastic waste, check out this reading on The fight against microplastics.

First of all, we are trying to every extent to minimize fiber loss in our garments. For example, we only use high-quality fiber, well engineered fabric constructions and precision manufacturing practices that minimize fiber loss and the release of microplastics. We also never mix natural and synthetic fibers in one garment, as using only one type of material makes it easier to recycle. As a part of our commitment to responsible production, we also encourage customers to bring their clothes back to us for recycling and educate them on how to wash and use the garments so as to minimize shedding and extend product lifetime. 

On a broader scale, we also partake in multiple research and innovation projects to develop alternative fabrics and eliminate leakage from existing material, which include the Alchemist jacket, the Power Air Houdi and the Mono Air jacket. We have also initiated a number of cross-sectoral collaborations to speed up the innovation pace. We are also testing a number of filter solutions that limit microplastic leakage in the washing process

Polartec has been Houdini's innovation partner since the early nineties. In 2013, we set out to create a technical high performance outdoor garment made from recycled and recyclable mono materials that could address the issue of microplastic and textile waste on a larger scale, without compromising on performance or quality. This eventually became the Mono Air fleece jacket. We have been working hard together - Polartec on the fabric side, Houdini on the design side - and we are very pleased with the result. We were both convinced from the very start that this type of project is needed and necessary in our industry in order to spark change.

The term ”open-source” is often used in software development and means software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified*. We believe that this approach needs to be introduced to the textile industry as well. For Project Mono Air we have made every detail of the Mono Air Houdi freely available for anyone to use, copy and – preferably – modify into something even better. Open Source is a new concept for the textile industry and we hope that this project will evolve into a new standard for Open Source in our industry over time.

*Source: The Oxford Dictionary

Houdini’s design philosophy and way of doing business is radically different from the fast fashion practice that dominates the textile and apparel industry. A commitment to long-lasting, highly functional garments with a circular lifespan has the potential to drastically lower the environmental footprint of our textile consumption.

The Mono Air fleece jacket is a circular innovation that is made from recycled plastic waste and, thanks to the mono material, is also fully recyclable. The fabric of the Mono Air fleece jacket sheds up to 80% less microfibers compared to regular high-quality fleece. This is a huge leap forward in the development of high-quality performance garments. 

As for the circular design, we have for a long time developed design principles that enable us to create every product with the intention of making a difference for the end user and for the world, from a short- as well as long-term perspective. These circular design principles will not only be of great value for companies within the outdoor or even the textile industry, but also for other industries who want to adapt a more circular way of working with design – which is absolutely necessary if we are to protect our planet.

We hope that other brands will download the material and learn from it, play with it and hopefully build even better solutions. As we are constantly striving to break new ground within sustainability, we would love to see new collaborations and solutions as a result of this project. We firmly believe in collaboration and that our industry has to push sustainable development even harder to protect our environment, and we’re hoping that this will spark that passion within other companies too.