#2 Consort Eco Spindye
British filmmaker, sailor and surfer, James Aiken has recently completed a project where he became the face of the re-imagined and re-launched Henri-Lloyd. Born and raised on the South Coast of England, James has had a love of the Ocean from an early age. Like many young sailors, James started his sailing career through racing, but developed a love for surfing in remote regions, which jumpstarted his solo exploration of North Atlantic waters.
Carefully balancing living on board his yacht ‘Oaken Yarn’, a British designed and built Tradewind 33 sailing boat, which he likens to a ‘series one Land Rover’ for its ‘capability and robustness’ and managing work related projects in London, Aikin believes in living a sustainable lifestyle. Aiken says: “Living on a boat like mine is essentially an off-grid life. My power usage is tiny, I don’t plug in to shore (mains) power and rely on a wind generator”. When it comes to the essentials, Aiken focuses on buying minimally, with emphasis on ethical and minimal impact purchasing. Which is where the Henri-Lloyd SpinDye® Consort jacket comes in.
Working in collaboration with the innovative We aRe SpinDye®, the iconic Consort jacket has been re- engineered from a fabric that uses the revolutionary SpinDye® process. A process that delivers the most sustainable polyester yarns and fabrics in the industry. Chairman and Controlling Shareholder Hans Eckerstrom says; “The question of how to achieve sustainability whilst striving to minimise our impact on the environment is an incredibly important one for our business. We are passionate in our belief that producing high quality products that last and are styled in such a way that they can be worn for a long time is one of the best things that we can do. In addition our product development team are constantly reviewing innovations such as Spindye and we will learn how we can apply these technologies as we grow.”
The Spindye® method has revolutionised the process of colour dying, reducing chemical usage by a massive 90% and water usage by 75%. SpinDye® uses recycled colourless plastic pellets combined with precise pigment ‘recipes’ to create a fibre which is spun into yarn which is then ready to be knitted or woven into a wide array of fabrics, ready to be turned into a product. By choosing this colour dying method over the traditional, we have reduced the carbon footprint of the Consort jacket by a significant 25%. “As someone who lives at sea, I see the impact of the generations whose lives weren’t sustainable every day, which is why reducing my carbon footprint is incredibly important to me. Where possible I use public transport but flying often for work is a hurdle that I need to surmount. Choosing ethically made, low carbon footprint clothing is equally important to me, which is why I support the Henri-Lloyd We aRe SpinDye® collaboration as it is a part of the new age of sustainable clothing”, James Aiken said.