SUSTAINABILITY BEGINS
WITH QUALITY PRODUCTS THAT LAST


Man wearing macpac apparel standing outside green hut

Sustainable Clothing

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we operate. We pay our respects to their elders, past and present and the Aboriginal Elders of other communities who may be here today



Dripping Blue backpack on someones back in the rain

QUALITY GEAR, TRUSTED TO LAST




When surrounded by nature, having the confidence to extend yourself beyond your own personal boundaries comes not only from within, but also from the belief in the performance of your gear. Through the design and manufacture of durable, high-performance outdoors clothing and equipment, we play a valuable part in the safety, enjoyment and comfort of your outdoors experience.
This commitment to durability not only meets your needs, but also fulfils an important role in sustainability. Through creating products that have a long life, we help limit waste and reduce our overall environmental footprint.



PRODUCT CARE


Caring for your gear properly will help it to last longer. We’re aiming to give you the best advice on product care, that also takes into account lower impact techniques that are easier on the earth.

REPAIRS


Macpac offers a repairs service.

We’ve offered repairs at Macpac since the beginning — to keep gear in play for longer, reduce our environmental impact and keep the memories going. That repaired baffle or patch often becomes a badge of honour.

In New Zealand, repairs are done from our head office. In Australia we work closely with Remote Equipment Repairs (and have been, for over 20 years!).

If you need a Macpac item repaired, just bring it into your local Macpac store and we’ll do the rest.


Gear is always worth fixing, I've repaired the most well travelled Macpac packs and other well worn pieces. You can really sense the most loved gear and that just proves the longevity and performance of Macpac design. - Christine Billing - Repairs Specialist - 20 yrs

RESPONSIBLE MATERIALS




Rethinking the materials we use, and also how we use them, has the greatest potential for lowering our environmental impact. Macpac Designers and Developers are working tirelessly to increase our use of more responsible materials from one season to the next. We hope you take some time to learn more about these fabrics and the technologies we use as we continue on our sustainability journey.

Gavin Davidson – Design Manager


Sustainability - Mountain River Photo with dense bush and blue sky

Dripping Blue backpack on someones back in the rain

AZTEC® &
AZTEC® ECO CANVAS


The story of AzTec® Canvas is almost as old as Macpac itself. We first developed this poly-cotton canvas in 1981 - it was near bullet proof, and could handle New Zealand’s unforgiving conditions. In 2011 we developed the next generation, Aztec® Eco updating to organic for the cotton content.




FAIRTRADE COTTON


We chose to partner with Fairtrade for our t-shirts, because Fairtrade farmers receive a fairer price, thanks to the Fairtrade Minimum Price, and have access to the Fairtrade Premium, a fixed additional income source that provides farmers with the means to invest in improving the quality of their businesses and communities.

Find out more about Fairtrade here


Sustainability - Mountain River Photo with dense bush and blue sky

Dripping Blue backpack on someones back in the rain

RESPONSIBLE DOWN


All our down is (independently) certified to the Responsible Down Standard (RDS). The RDS requires animal welfare practices to be in place at duck and goose farms in the down and feather supply chain.

On all of our down styles, you’ll notice a ‘Track My Down’ swing tag. By simply scanning the tag’s QR Code, you can learn more about the down in your product.



BLUESIGN® FABRICS



We set goals to increase the use of bluesign® fabrics.

The bluesign® System represents a holistic method for fabric and trims manufacturers to address the impact of their materials on our health and the environment. It involves a traceable commitment to more responsible and sustainable manufacturing methods.

When a material has been manufactured to bluesign® criteria, that material was made with the responsible use of resources and the lowest possible impact on people and the environment.

Learn more from the bluesign® website.


ORGANIC COTTON


Our certified organic cotton is more sustainably grown from non-genetically modified plants using methods and materials that have a much lower impact on the environment than traditional cotton production.




RECYCLED FABRICS


The beauty of recycled materials is that it reduces our dependance on petroleum as the raw material input. Our recycled polyester is sourced from post-consumer waste, like PET drink bottles, that would have ended up in landfill. Our recycled Nylon is currently sourced from pre-consumer industrial waste.


NZ Alpine Series Logo

Look out for this symbol to identify Macpac products with recycled content


Recycled Content - Happy couple sitting on a bench wearing recycled macpac fleece

2030 MICROFIBRE COMMITMENT


Macpac is proud to support and be a signatory of The Microfibre Consortium Roadmap. This is a global commitment to work towards zero impact from fragmentation of textile fibres to the natural environment, by 2030.

As a signatory, Macpac contributes vital test data to a central knowledge hub, that builds the industry’s understanding of the root causes of microfibre shedding from a range of textiles and manufacturing processes.

The Roadmap provides a clear agenda to support a science-based policy approach to the problem, giving policy makers a research framework to deliver on their goals.


TMC Logo - The Microfibre Consortium

Woman lying down wearing merino baslayers

WOOL


One of nature’s most remarkable fibres, wool has extraordinary characteristics. It is a renewable fibre that biodegrades and is naturally odour resistant, which means you can wear it longer between washes.
We are committed to using 100% non-mulesed wool.




Our Goal is to source 100% Responsible Wool Standard certified wool by 2025


TENCEL



Tencel Lyocell is made from sustainably grown eucalyptus trees. Incredibly comfortable and providing excellent moisture management, Lyocell fibre helps to increase the fabric strength and breathability of our merino and synthetic garments. Naturally odour resistant, Tencel Lyocell garments are designed to be worn more and washed less, effectively saving time, water and energy — a positive outcome for both us and the environment.




POLYGIENE®



Polygiene®, a revolutionary fabric treatment that reduces odour in garments – meaning they can be worn more, and washed less. Polygiene® is a bluesign® certified silver salt (silver chloride) from recycled silver, that controls odour by preventing the growth of bacteria and fungi.


Learn more from the Polygiene® website.




Macpac is a member of the sustainable apparel coalition and industry collaboration on benchmarking best practices for environmental and social responsibility

THE HIGG INDEX


Developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the Higg Index is a suite of tools that enables brands to accurately measure and score their company’s sustainability performance and product impacts.

Using this knowledge, Macpac sets future-facing goals that implement procedures to drive improved social and environmental practices in our operations.


Sustainabile apparel coalition navy blue shorts laying on a rock



“NATURE REMAINS OUR TOUCHSTONE”

BRUCE MCINTYRE, MACPAC FOUNDER




SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY



We’re working hard to nurture long term relationships with our Trade Partners, who we see as an extension of the team here in New Zealand. Many of them are the same ones that we started our offshore manufacturing journey with nearly twenty years ago.

We choose to work with Partners who share our commitment to quality, and who show constant improvement in managing our collective social and environmental responsibilities.


Person wearing mask making Macpac packs


CARBON REDUCE



Macpac is a Toitū carbonreduce certified organisation.
We are measuring and managing the operational emissions of our organisation, including business travel, freight, electricity, vehicles and offices, in accordance with ISO 14064-1 and the GHG Protocol.


Man climbing over rock wearing hiking backpack - Toitu logo, carbon reduce ISO 14064-1 ORGANISATION

3 people walking into a forest
Fund for good Logo

FUND FOR GOOD


The Macpac Fund For Good started off as a way to encourage our customers to help us give back, by refusing to take a shopping bag which helps to eliminate unnecessary packaging. Everytime a customer refuses to take a bag, Macpac contributes to the Fund For Good. Since it’s inception, the Macpac Fund For Good has helped organisations in New Zealand and Australia achieve some of their environmental or social projects.




3 people wearing Merino Tees with Re-looped, macpac x terralana Logo

WOOL RECYCLING


Please note that we are no longer collecting used wool products for our wool recycling trial in New Zealand. This trial is currently on hold as we work through technical issues with the shredding process. Customers can still return their used Macpac merino product to our stores, who will collect it for recycling through partner ImpacTex.



2nd Life Logo

GIVING OLD GEAR NEW LIFE



We’ve been repairing and donating used Macpac gear to those in need for years. Recently, we’ve partnered with the 2nd Life Project in Australia, who will be repurposing our unusable gear into new products.

Find out more on their website: offtrack.com.au/2nd-life

We’re excited about the potential of this collaboration, as keeping used gear out of landfill is one of the most important things we can do to reduce our impact on the planet.

Man from 2nd life Upparel recycling a bag

Warehouse full of boxes containing Upparel donations

TEXTILE RECYCLING



Upparel are pioneers of circular recycling. We’ve partnered with them since 2020 to recycle our un-repairable, un-donateable textiles. Now we are delighted to give you the same opportunity.

*Upparel recycling programme is currently only available in Australia.