Ozone teams with Patagonia to Build ‘Earth-Friendly’ Kite and Wing Materials to Benefit Whole Industry
Sun 1st Jan, 2023 @ 3:00 pm
Ozone Kites is collaborating with Patagonia to raise the industry’s green credentials to produce more sustainable canopy and dacron materials.
It is not the first time Ozone and Patagonia has collaborated. In fact, the partnership began years ago but was only unveiled recently when the two companies partnered up at the AWSI expo in Hood River, Oregon. After several years of testing and effort, a kite made primarily of recycled materials has given its first public demonstration at the US expo.
But the project has yet to achieve its ultimate goal of developing materials made of recycled content that can meet Ozone’s demanding standards for high performance and longevity.
Once that goal is reached—and Ozone and Patagonia are confident it can be—the plan is to offer kite and wing products to Ozone customers and share the technology with the entire industry. It is very much in keeping with Patagonia’s prioritisation of the environment over profit.
Ozone, concerned about the environmental impact of its products and production processes at its dedicated factory in Vietnam, approached Patagonia several years ago. Ozone hoped to tap into Patagonia’s marketing-leading experience after it set out several years ago to use only “recycled, recyclable or regenerative” materials.
In keeping with Ozone’s tagline, “Inspired by the Elements, Driven by Nature”, the kite brand asked Patagonia to help it become more sustainable, whether through better packaging, reducing waste or cutting the toxicity of its production processes in Vietnam.
Yet, ultimately the discussion between the companies moved on to the techniques and raw materials used to produce the canopy, dacron and other components. They are almost entirely made from petrochemicals, and Ozone wanted to find ways to reduce their environmental impact.
That led Ozone to ask some of the world’s leading kite material producers to consider a collaboration to develop a new product. The aim was to make a canopy and dacron of mostly recycled plastics with the same qualities of strength and longevity that customers and brands have grown to expect.
Read more here.
