[Organic cotton and Picture’s ‘We Are’ summed up]

In a sport such as snowboarding it’s pretty damned hard to be 100% ‘green’. What are the most important, environmentally damaging processes you’ve scaled back on using, or simply never used?

The worst is PFC, a component that you will find in the water repellant treatment. By abrasion PFC drops from jackets on the floor, goes into water and pollutes sources and lakes. The biggest issue is that PFC is carcinogenic and today, drinking water coming from the mountains means drinking polluted water. Greenpeace is pushing companies to move all their water repellant treatment to PFC free treatment which is unfortunately three time more costly for the company.
Money is driving the world but sometimes the world has to react because our health is in danger. Some changes are much more than marketing. More other processes are also important like dying fabrics without chemicals, printing on garments with solvent free serigraphy (solvents have a very bad impact on workers when they press), etc.

Can you talk us through the ways in which you’ve made your outerwear more environmentally friendly?

We explain in our “We Are” campaign how we made outerwear more environmentally friendly:

-We Are Eco-designed: 100% of our products have been design with the environment in mind, from the raw materials to the end of life
-We Are Organic: 100% of our cotton collection is made from certified organic cotton
-We Are Recycled: 100% of our technical outerwear is made from recycled materials
-We Are PFOA free: 100% of our fabrics durable water repellent treatments are PFOA Free since 2011
-We Are Recycling: together with key retailers we are collecting and recycling textile products through our Picture recycling program
-We Are Taking care: we are closely following the social and environmental responsibility of our supply chain with external partners. All fabrics used in our products are Oeko-tex standard 100 certified and/or Bluesign approved fabrics

“Money is driving the world but sometimes the world has to react because our health is in danger.”

We are also proud to show our differences thanks to labels like:
– GOTS & Organic Textile Standard: 95% of Picture products using cotton are made out of organic cotton. 5% left are made of cotton from recovery fabrics.
-OEKOTEX: 100% of main fabrics are fully certified Oekotex 100: the international reference label guaranteeing non-toxicity of products used.
-TAIWAN GREEN MARK: 100% of technical products are made with minimum of 50% recycled polyester. This is a label from the Taiwanese government guaranteeing the traceability of recycled polyester and recycled polyamide.
-Bluesign approved Fabric: The Bluesign® system is the solution for a sustainable textile production. It eliminates harmful substances right from the beginning of the manufacturing process and sets and controls standards for an environmentally friendly and safe production
90% of Picture’s products are made of Bluesign approved fabric.

[Recycling scraps.]

By all accounts, Picture has enjoyed great success since starting in 2009. What do you attribute this to?

In 2009 there was nothing new since Volcom in the 90s and we came in the
market with a clear redline:
– A NEW DESIGN. Jeremy and his team doesn’t have a fashion designer background but an architectural background, which allow them to think the products differently.
– A NEW PHILOSOPHY. Everything we do is all eco-friendly made with a minimum of 50% recycled polyester, 50% organic cotton or made from recovered fabrics.
– A NEW WAY OF THINKING. Because we are neither a ski or snowboard brand; we are an environmental action outdoor brand dedicated to boardsports.

Today, everything is a question of creation, we imagine the products in a different way, from the end of life to the creation to be as eco-friendly as possible. We will always stretch the limits to find responsible and durable innovations.

“We are working on developing each piece of a jacket like a puzzle made one by one without waste.”

Moving forward, what’s next for Picture – both in terms of new outerwear technologies/designs and more broadly for the direction of the company?

We are working on developing each piece of a jacket like a puzzle made one by one without waste. At the moment we are buying rolls of fabric and we cut the pieces we need out of it. This creates a lot of waste which has to be recycled. That innovation is an environmental innovation and production process innovation. Without a value for the consumer but with big value for our planet.

The recyclability of the product is part of the designers’ biggest preoccupations. We launched two years ago the project “2020 100% recyclable” kick off by the Welcome jacket ispo award. Our jacket uses the RPET 100% recyclable membrane. It is composed by the same external and internal material, which makes the product made with only one material which makes the product monomaterial and therefore has a 100% recyclability. That innovation had received in 2013 the ispo award to be the first jacket 100% recyclable in the market. That innovation has been transferred to more than 40% of our products with one aim: transferred/forwarding this technology to 100% of our products in 2020.