Polartec’s brand new revolutionary Power Air fabric is revealed this week as the centrepiece to Swedish outdoor brand Houdini Sportswear’s new Power Air Houdi.
A next generation fleece jacket which sheds five times fewer microfibres than other high-quality fleece and only a fraction compared to regular fleece.
The result of an innovation project by Polartec and Houdini, the Power Air Houdi will be launched on January 31 at www.houdinisportswear.com
Swedish environmental pioneer, Houdini Sportswear, shares Polartec’s values of prioritising innovative ways to solve the environmental crisis. This newest addition to the Houdini line is made of new Polartec Power Air, the first fabric technology engineered to reduce microfibre shedding.
Gary Smith, Polartec CEO, said: “Houdini shares our commitment to taking meaningful actions that improve the sustainability of our products, supply chain and business practices.
“As a completely new way of making fabric, Polartec Power Air has the potential to be our most significant development since pioneering the process to knit fabrics made of post-consumer plastic bottles.”
By encapsulating lofted fibres within a multi-layered, continuous yarn fabric construction, this revolutionary new platform offers advanced thermal efficiency that is proven to shed five times less than other premium ‘mid-layer’ weight fabrics.
Jesper Danielsson, Houdini design director, said: “As we joined forces with Polartec to innovate the next generation insulation fabrics our intention was clear – to take on the issue of microfibres while simultaneously elevating performance. The launch of Power Air is a true milestone. After intense ideation, R&D and field testing we can finally present the end-result – a next generation stretch insulation garment with superior layering comfort featuring an air-trapping fabric strictly made out of continuous filament fibres.”
Houdini has been working on limiting fibre release since 2013 when their first filament fibre garment was launched. With the Power Air Houdi, CEO Eva Karlsson points to the synergy between performance and responsibility: “When I first wore the Power Air Houdi, my initial reaction was how good it felt against the skin. Then when we started to get all the wear tests back, the feedback was very similar – Polartec had managed to create a quality so technical it would have been a game changer even based on performance alone. Now we once again prove that sustainability and performance can, and should, go hand-in-hand.”
The Power Air Houdi owes its fit and aesthetics largely to a long-standing Houdini favourite, the Power Houdi. With a slim fit, a snug high collar hood and extended sleeves with thumb loops, it’s perfect layering or to wear on its own.
The smooth, low friction surface of the Power Air fabric has great durability, is Bluesign-certified and made from 54 per cent recycled polyester which means that it not only prevents plastic waste, but is actually built from used plastics.
