Portwest has just unveiled its new brand partnership with Bleubird Apparel and welcomes the collection of eco-conscious clothing and accessories in store and online.
As the world continues to deal with a global pandemic and the planet continues to fight climate change, Portwest has started to make some changes to the way it does business, to ensure it operates in the most environmentally friendly, sustainable, and ethical way possible.
Portwest Ireland operates an online store and has four retail outlets along the Wild Atlantic Way. The company prides itself on producing exceptional outdoor clothing for more than 100 years, and although the Portwest name is renowned globally for its workwear and PPE, the retail side of the Irish business is still striving to become Ireland's favourite outdoor store. The mission is to inspire outdoor adventure through accessible and affordable gear while maintaining a continuous focus on customers' and employees' experience. The company hopes to achieve this while minimising its environmental impact.
One way Portwest has started to make a change over the past 12 months is by working more closely with suppliers that create sustainable clothing ranges. As part of its expansion to this eco-conscious range, Portwest has sourced a new collection of clothing and accessories from the Northern Ireland-based brand Bleubird Apparel, which was born from a passion for the mountains and the ocean.
Bleubird was founded by Matt Creighton, who is originally from Belfast but spent six years in the French Alps, working throughout the winter as a ski technician and spending summers by the running tides of western Europe, searching for waves. He began printing T-shirts in a self-taught printing process with old picture frames in the ski resort, and in 2016 he moved home to pursue his dream of building and expanding the Bleubird brand.
Headquartered in Newtownabbey in Co Antrim, Bleubird now has an extensive supply chain, a large warehouse and distribution team, and is shipping its extensive collection of clothing, accessories, changing robes, and outdoor equipment around the world while its business ethos remains focused on eco-friendly and sustainable practices.
The latest Venture Collection, which is now available in Portwest, is inspired by the colours and landscapes of nature. The designs were born from nostalgia of adventures, and it is Bleubird's most eco-friendly collection yet. The range is made from organic cotton, printed with 100 per cent water based, eco-friendly, inks and labelled with recycled or recyclable tags. Not only is this range Peta Vegan, Fair Wear, and OEKO-TEX approved, the company also plants one tree for every item purchased.
Portwest also took the first steps last year in its strategy to make its own products more sustainable. Some adaptions were made at the manufacturing stage in the production. The company stopped using plastic kimble tags on all Portwest clothing ranges and replaced them with a tag made from hemp, which is a natural fibre. The team also started making all their product tags from recycled card, which means they, in turn, are also recyclable. They began sourcing cardboard cartons which are made from an even higher levels of recycled cardboard than they previously used, and swapped all plastic polybags for biodegradable ones made from corn starch and other plant-based materials.
More plans in the pipeline include continuing to reduce excess packaging and in turn prevent excess waste, to introduce eco-friendly carton sealing tape which is made of 60 per cent bio-based materials, and to increase the amount of recycled fabric in the product range. Some of Portwest's autumn/winter 2021 fleeces will be labelled with the average number of PET recycled bottles from which they are made, and the company also plans to use more eco-friendly production processes and in turn discontinue the use of some rainwear fabric. The new collections will use more eco dyes in the production process.
To shop the range of eco-friendly clothing and accessories from Bleubird Apparel, call into one of the Portwest stores or visit the website TheOutdoorShop.ie Perfect for summer with the unisex designs bang on trend, choose from top-selling changing robes, tees with large vintage style branding, or a contemporary sweatshirt with minimalistic designs.
As part of the launch, Portwest is giving one lucky winner the chance to win a Nordic changing robe on Instagram this week and next month, a chance to win a SUP board worth €700. To enter see Instagram @portwestireland
