When did Mover start to move away from synthetics?

It happened by accident. We had been creating technical ski garments with the Mover brand under the GoreTex licence. We were searching for better comfort and a lot of it is about thermal regulation; trying to avoid the point that you start sweating, or to delay it as much as possible, and at the opposite end of the spectrum it’s about protecting from the cold. The answer to that is thermal regulation. It’s basically what animals have with their fur. It breathes but they still have this insulation that protects them from the warm and the cold. 

Mover didn't start with a sustainability angle, we just intuitively went to natural fibres because they gave us a better answer for breathability, thermal regulation, and comfort on the skin. We started with merino wool base layers and then we developed a Wool wadding to replace polyester called swisswool. It was the first to market in 2010 and now there are different brand names using this wool insulation principle, however most of them have 10% PLA, ours is 100% plastic free.

When did you make the decision to go entirely plastic free?

We went plastic free as a result of a meeting with a sailor friend of mine who came back from a world tour in a boat called Race for Water. They collected samples from the most remote beaches around the world and there was not a single place, a single beach, that was not completely polluted with plastic micro particles. They had [the samples] analysed and came to my office in 2016 to show me the results. We realised how much our synthetic clothes were responsible for this pollution. Around a third of the problem comes from synthetic textiles. We were so close to having a plastic-free collection at this point anyway, thanks to our use of Cotton and our wool ski clothes, that I decided we had to propose an entirely new brand that offers completely plastic free garments for all sports. In 2019 we transformed the company with a complete brand revamp, and in 2021 we launched our plastic-free sportswear as the first-to-market.

What is your design approach?

It starts with function. What do you need to go running or go sailing? Depending on whether you need more breathability or more weather protection, the type of fibre, knit, or weave will vary. If you’re skiing up a mountain you sweat a lot but it’s cold outside so you need to [wick away] your sweat very quickly but you can’t be exposed to the cold and wind. If you’re running, you may overheat very quickly. We start with the need, then move to the fabric. 

How do you ensure your fibres and materials have the required functionality?

We work closely with our manufacturers and suppliers, and are always working on new fabric qualities. For example, we have reduced the weight of the high density woven fabric we use called Ventile. It was a UK patent and it was used by Burberry for its trench coat [because] it’s waterproof by construction. It’s beautiful but quite heavy, and after the patent was bought by a Swiss company we worked with them to get it as light as possible. Today, we’re at almost half the weight of the trench coats with the same water resistance. It’s the same for the fleece. Usually [brands] would sell you polyester or recycled polyester but we propose 100% merino wool because it’s light, possibly warmer, possibly more comfortable. We also worked a knitter to improve it so that we have a flat surface on the outside.

30 years ago, everyone jumped on Nike’s Dri-FIT. It’s polyamide, but we can get the same type of moisture wicking effect as synthetic fibres, or even better, by using cotton and changing its structure. To do this we've worked with suppliers like Natural Fiber Welding. They’re fantastic and they work on changing the cotton fibre at a molecular level to enhance and adapt the properties, beating polyester in terms of absorption and moisture wicking. This is very unique because cotton usually absorbs a lot of sweat but NFW's cotton does the opposite. It removes the sweat very quickly [due to] changing the structure of the fibre.

Were any fibres or components particularly difficult to replace?

The devil was in the details. It was really easy to replace the base fabrics and the outer fabrics for a jacket, we knew how to do this from our skiwear experience. What was difficult to replace were small accessories: the trims, the zippers, the sleeve closures, the cord stoppers. These tiny little details took us a lot of time. For example, we worked for almost two years on a cord stopper. Finally we found a solution; a cord stopper that is 100% metal, with Aluminium buckles. For zippers, YKK were able to supply us with metal teeth and sliders, but it was all fixed on polyester tapes. We said, “our parents had blue jeans with cotton tape zippers” and they told us they don’t have the machines anymore. It took us a year to get that tape and we still can’t have it in different colours. We only have it in undyed and black. 

The thing we’re struggling to replace is elastin. It’s very difficult to replace it with natural fibres because we haven’t found an elastic natural fibre that you use to can get stretch and elasticity through knitting or construction. We’re now working on first layer underwear for women and men—leggings, boxers, and pants—and the result is quite amazing. You have to change the construction and the way you design your pattern.

What challenges did you face while trying to source new products from suppliers?

It's challenging because at first you're the only small brand asking for this, and it's not worth the effort for big suppliers. YKK is the world leader of zippers, and they say, “but you don't represent anything in our turnover, so why would we change our habits?” We had to argue that we are first to market. Icebreaker is coming too, which belongs to VF Corporation. That company has a USD 20 billion turnover and other brands will hopefully join us. It’s a new market opening up so why don’t you invest in the future and go one step beyond recycled plastic? 

Many sportswear brands use recycled plastics, why do you avoid them?

The numbers show that today we recycle only 9% of the plastic produced. In 30-40 years we will recycle twice this amount, around 17%. Meanwhile, the amount of virgin plastic produced will triple. Recycling allows for this tripling of production by creating a smokescreen between the consumer and the industry. It's just a nice story that is being sold to the consumer, allowing the industry to continue business as usual. It's good for business but not business for good. We are selling a sustainability concept to the consumer that's untrue.

Of course, we should collect the plastic and try to transform it into something more stable, but we should not reinject it into a new product that will end up in the environment and continue to leak and release pollutants, forever chemicals, and endocrine disruptors. We should not transform a toxic linear economy into a toxic circular economy. 

Given sailing gear is so synonymous with synthetics, how did the collaboration with SailGP come about?

It was really pushed by Sian Sutherland [founder of A Plastic Planet and PlasticFree.com], she was the initiator. After I invited her to come to our launch in 2021, she invited me to meet SailGP and Team Japan. They were partnering and very keen to work with us. What we have proposed is the first onshore collection by Mover for SailGP. 10% of sales from our site will go to A Plastic Planet.

We’ve been working on it for a year and a half now, and it’s not just an idea, it’s a concrete collection with useful, attractive products. SailGP being willing to go this way, to go plastic free is fantastic. They’re powered by nature, and to get together with A Plastic Planet sends a message at a higher level.

What can we expect from the collection?

The first collection is really souvenir items. We did organic cotton t-shirts, a hoodie pullover, a fantastic wool fleece… We have a technical fleece that is flat for SailGP, and we have a light merino wool t-shirt that is only 130 grams, it’s super, super light and more sea- and summer-oriented in terms of weight. In total we have two wool items and three or four cotton items to make the first onshore collection. 

You're also exploring the possibilities of an offshore collection. Has it been challenging to find the right fibres?

Sailing garments have been made from plastic since the 1950s, but before then, they were made from wool and cotton for centuries. If you ask real sailors, they love wool for its odour-barrier properties and for being warm even if it’s wet. If you’re sailing and it’s wet and windy, you will freeze because of the cooling effects provoked by the evaporation, wool stops this from happening. In the 1930s jet pilots were equipped with high-density, woven cotton garments that meant they could fall in the water and be rescued hours later, surviving because of the protective nature of the material. [Cotton and wool] were always used for the survival equipment meant for the harshest conditions. These fabrics have been used for a long time, we just forgot to use them because of the plastic alternatives.

What are your hopes for the SailGP collaboration?

The beauty of this collaboration with SailGP is that it brings [plastic-free sportswear] to a broader audience and showcases that this is the right [and a possible] direction to go in. We can be faster and go further and go cleaner if we're really willing to.