Design Philosophy
Functional, multi-purpose design
Our commitment is to create high quality products for versatile usage, which last through the most challenging conditions.
One is better than four. We believe a garment should be suitable for a lot of things and we design our clothes so you can. You shouldn’t need to buy a different garment just because you are going running instead of cycling.
Functional, Multi-Purpose Design
Multi-purpose products, designed for a variety of uses, enable a wide-range of activity while reducing long-term consumption. We don’t want you to have a closet filled with single-purpose shells, insulation layers, or jackets. Whether it’s 3-in-1 jackets like Tvioddi, or multi-sport shells like Snaefell which are suitable for cycling, skiing, or hiking, kayaking or other outdoor activity.
We make garments that last and our commitment is to never compromise on fabrics that are not durable.
Gudrun in Súgandafjörður with her Kria Jacket purchased two decades ago
Durability
For nearly 100 years 66˚North’s products have been Designed and Proven in Iceland, worn by everyday people and outdoor professionals in some of the world’s most challenging conditions. Nothing makes us prouder than when we see someone in a 20 year-old-plus 66˚North jacket, whether that’s in the Icelandic highlands, around town in Reykjavik, or in our offices. We mean it when we say our products are “Made for Life!”
Timeless Design
The creation of new styles and everything that goes with it — from design, technical specification development, sampling, preproduction, and production-- is one of the most wasteful parts of manufacturing.
Because we design products which have timeless aesthetics and enduring purpose, many of the styles in our catalog have been around for more than a decade. While each year we might make subtle performance or sustainability improvements, we are able to reduce the environmental impact of our collection by relying on improvement rather and overhaul.
Assortment Evaluation
To reduce waste and live up to our standards of multi-purpose, versatile design, we are always looking for opportunities to shrink the product assortment. We believe we can do better for our customers, our business and the earth by improving, reducing, combining, and reinventing what we have rather than to make more and more things to chase less-efficient growth. Since 2018, 66˚North has reduced its style count (the number of products we produce) by 52%.
Reduction in styles from A/W18 to S/S 21
of styles in S/S 21 use sustainable or recycled materials
Materials that Last
When possible, we use recycled, upcycled, biodegradable, or organic natural fibers. However, function, necessity, and longevity come first. We would rather make a garment that lasts for a decade rather than one which is slightly more “sustainable” in the short term but has material which will break down and lead to waste after two or three years.
Learn about our raw materials and how we strike a balance between durability, sustainability, and performance.
66˚North has guaranteed repairs on its products since its founding in 1926. Learn about our commitment to repair and how to get in touch with us for product concerns.
Find out more about our suppliers, our supply chain, and the definitions of the various third-party validated certifications connected to our products.
Production:
Responsible Growth Planning
For most clothing brands and retailers, overproduction is a business strategy that fuels Black Friday events, holiday markdowns, outlet sales, and a whole ecosystem of overstock and discount chains: all of it multiplying the carbon footprint and perceived disposability of products. It creates the slightest financial gain at a steep environmental cost. Most companies plan to sell less than half of their products at full price. The incredible waste which results is intentional, expected, and profitable.
We see things differently at 66˚North. We don’t produce more than what our customer needs, we don't participate in Black Friday or other over-consumption-driven holidays, and we plan to sell over 90% of our product at full-price. What’s left over fills our Icelandic outlet store, and that’s it. We don’t want to produce more than is needed. Therefore responsible planning and purchasing is very important. If we have an extra stock we can‘t sell (outlet or other channels), we donate it in a sustainable way (in cooperation with Red Cross or similar). Nothing is ever destroyed or wasted.
66˚North produces the majority of its styles in Europe, primarily a our owned facilities in Latvia. Learn more about our long-term partner facilities in Europe and Asia.
Case studies
Upcycling and zero waste
We try to upcycle what we have from raw materials or excess finished goods just as Icelanders have been doing for generations. This is by design. Our Vik gloves come from leftover cuttings of PowerStrech fabric, Kria jackets are sewn from leftover Neoshell from last season’s Snaefell, our backpacks come from fabric used for fishermens’ bibs, and so on. We also produce small capsules seasonally such as with our Logn sweatshirt project or the Sölvhóll bum bags, made from leftover shearling.
Crafted out of leftover Polartec Neoshell and fleece fabrics from last year's products, the new Kría capsule unites our heritage inspired 90‘s design with a long-term sustainability commitment to never throw away product or materials. We use what we have, just as the Icelanders have done for generations.
