Circular Ready
Design to Deconstruct
Traditionally all outdoor garments are linear in their existence, with beginning and end points to them that are not linked. Linear manufacturing starts with the production of raw materials from non renewable, unsustainable sources. These materials are processed into technical fabric that are then manufactured into a finished garment. This garment is then purchased, (hopefully) thoroughly used, enjoyed and cared for until diminishing performance levels brings an end to its usefulness. At this point the garment is unfortunately, more often than not, discarded into landfill.
Circular based manufacturing reduces the need for virgin (new) fossil fuel based raw materials and minimises the waste of resources. For circular manufacturing and recycling to be a reality, garments have to conceived and designed differently. Circular products by design have to create the link between the end of a garments usable life and the start point of a brand new one. To be able to recycle garments successfully back into usable raw materials, circular products, their materials and features, have to (where possible) be produced from the same singular material. Furthermore, the design and construction needs to be taken into account to make deconstruction at the products end of life, a simple task.
In 2024 we proudly introduced the ground breaking PS Vest and Adventure Lite products to our line, born from our ever evolving More Sustainable ethos. These items are Circular Ready, the first of their kind for the paddlesports market, as they move away from linear manufacturing, instead are ready to be part of a fully circular system.
Adventure Lite
High performance, lightweight and highly breathable touring / sea kayaking jacket. This ground breaking piece of kit is made almost entirely of recycled polyethylene. It is intended to be recycled at the end of its life, with the PE content remade into textile yarn once again. This garment has been designed to be deconstructed and all none-essential components have been removed. The Adventure Lite is Circular Ready* and is the new benchmark for sustainable manufacturing. Find out more about this ground breaking piece of kit here.
Sustainability Breakthrough
Conventional waterproof breathable fabrics are constructed from multiple different polymer layers — laminated into a multi-material fabric. These fabrics are near impossible to recycle at the end of the product’s life due to the major challenges of separating out the different polymers into their relevant waste streams.Utilising the specialist Pertex Revolve fabric, a new mono-material, where each layer of the fabric is made from a single polymer (recycled polyester ), we have designed the Adventure Lite to be recycled at the end of its life.For this reason, the Adventure Lite has noticeable differences compared to other jackets in our touring range, the Adventure Lite goes without rubber badges on the Velcro tab seals - instead finished with printed logos, the normal customary plastic elements around the hood adjustment have been replaced for simplified knots, elasticated shockcord within the hood has been exchanged for 3mm polyester cord and finally, the reflective sleeve stripes are substituted for reflective water-based screen-printed logos.
PS Vest
Easily one of the most important PFDs we’ve ever designed, the PS Vest is Circular Ready* and sets the benchmark for sustainably focused PFDs. With the focussed use of a single material type and a ‘design to deconstruct’ ethos the PS Vest can be fully recycled at the end of its life. Made almost exclusively of polyester, the material can be reprocessed back into raw material ready for a new application. Gear loops and zip pullers have been created from fabric off cuts eliminating the purchasing of ‘unnecessary’ plastic components. The flotation foam throughout the PFD is accessible, to give the option of replacing it, reusing it again, and to improve the ease of processing the item for recycling at the end of its workable life.
Based on the Marathon Vest cut, the PS Vest is designed for paddlers looking for a low profile, easy fitting, high performance PFD, with plenty of storage. The front pocket is large enough to fit all the items you might need close at hand for a trip on the water, attached safely to the internal fabric gear loop. Perfect for all paddlesports including touring, racing and paddleboarding.The first of it’s kind, the PS Vest is Circular Ready, learn more here.
Integrated shoulder and side webbing for increased strength.Simple, yet effective zip pullers made from fabric off-cuts. Accessible flotation foam for increased lifespan / simplified recycling. Simple, yet effective gear loops made from fabric off-cuts.
Peak PS x Circular Flow
In collaboration with our partners Circular Flow, we are thrilled to the launch a series of brand new, paddlesport first, Circular Ready products. The Multi Mat, Roofrack Wraps, Mouse and Desk Mats are items made from recycled neoprene, finished with recycled polyester face fabrics and water based screen printed logos.
Neoprene products are currently not recycled on a large scale, additionally neoprene products are produced using nonrecurring materials such as rubber or limestone, the production of which generates harmful carbon emission. However there are solutions and alternatives*…
Circular Flow are at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing, as they attempt to provide a global circular economy for neoprene waste. Their mission seeks to stop millions of neoprene products ending up in landfill, Circular Flow calculate that 23,000+ tonnes of neoprene waste (including manufacturing offcuts) is either incinerated or sent to landfill annually.
Their solution is to have waste neoprene collected, cleaned, processed / stripped (zips, snap buttons and other plastic elements removed), shredded and then reconnected to produce a neoprene core material called Reneoprene®, this block can then be laminated with any desired finishing face fabric. The revolutionary element to Circular Flow’s recycling process is their ability to connect shredded neoprene particles together, without removing the textile laminates and without the use of any harmful chemicals in the process.
The properties of the Reneoprene® material are not the same as virgin (brand new) neoprene material - the characteristics do not lend itself to be used as a new neoskin garment for example, however the recycled neoprene material does boast the right qualities for other hard wearing applications.
We are very proud to bring new products and an industry leading end-of-life neoprene processing service to our Circular Ready initiative. For the past 2 years we been collecting the neoprene waste from our own custom production here in the UK, ready to send to Circular Flow to be processed into recycled neoprene. We would welcome anyone with Peak branded neoprene equipment (excluding shoes and boots) that has come to the end of its life, to return it to us to join the Circular Ready story. We will coordinate all neoprene waste from our UK premise back to Circular Flow for processing. For outdoors centres, activity providers or larger scale organisations please contact us to discuss workable options.
Recycling
We feel responsible for our products at the end of their life so we are striving to find recycling solutions for our existing and future items. Current products are made from many different plastics / polymers so prove difficult to recycle. We are currently sourcing recycling partners who can split up, separate and re use existing garments.
Future products will be designed to be deconstructed, from where possible one single polymer, so that recycling becomes feasible. We are proud to have added two such products to our line and refer to them as Circular Ready. Again we are working with recycling partners to enable recycling of these items in the near future.
In the future we plan to offer recycling solutions for a minimum cost. We’ll break down garments into key components. Neoprene items and parts can be recycled into new items such as Roof Rack Wraps, Multi Mats and other items by our partners. Current textiles can be separated and repurposed / recycled by third party companies. Future mono plastic textiles / webbing will be recycled by specialists and one day very soon be made back into textile yarns. Buckles and fastenings can be removed and re used by a local bag manufacturer or recycled by third part companies. Buoyancy Foam can be separated and repurposed into furnishings such as bean bags. Polyethylene foam can be recycled back into foam by our partners.
