It will not surprise you to know that I wear outdoors and sports clothing almost all of the time. I do not need to be smart for my “office” job because I work from home and mostly it is only family, friends and the postman that sees me. But there are occasions when I need to look a little more respectable, such as when I go to the pub for a meal or to meet clients or interviewees.
So, it is with delight that I have discovered a shirt that ticks many boxes of outdoorsy loveliness but also one that looks great. The shirt comes from the new Berghaus collection of ECO Wovens, described as “sustainable apparel”.
ECO credentials
Unlike regular woven fabrics, Berghaus’ nylon yarn is subjected to a streamlined dying process, which bypasses the stages that normally contribute to the generation of most pollutants and the excessive consumption of water.
Berghaus states: “Not only is the manufacturing process of the fabric better for the environment, but because colour is added to the polymer melt before it is extruded into fibres, this results in improved colour fastness and quality, too.”
Apparently, during production, the typical savings of an ECO Woven product versus regular fabric are:
- 89% in water use
- 62% in CO2 emissions
- 63% in volume of chemicals
- 67% in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD).
In the creation of Berghaus ECO Woven trousers and shirt that’s a saving of 100 litres of water, 110 kilowatts of power and 300kg of CO2 emissions.
Many of the ECO Woven products also incorporate a “Polygiene” anti-microbial treatment, to improve performance and also to reduce the number of times that they need to be washed, which also saves on more water from less washing in the lifetime of the products.
Berghaus ECO Women’s shirt
I love the bright colours of this shirt. The fit is also really good. It’s not too super-hugging yet it skims over all the right bumps and curves to give a flattering fit and look.
The fabric is light and soft and doesn’t cause me to become hot and sweaty. It would be a great shirt for travelling in, such as on planes. There are two chest pockets and a small zipped hip pocket. The sleeves can be rolled up with fasteners.
I am a UK size 10 and the Eco shirt size 10 fits well. The only place where it falls a bit short is the arm length. I do have very long arms so I can only hope for longer arm length shirts but with this shirt they fall about 1cm too short.
The wrists are also very small (and I have skinny wrists) so it is very tight to button them up. Instead, I have left the cuff buttons undone and the short looks fine.
This is a shirt that has been smart enough for all kinds of meals out and interviews yet also feels comfortable and hard-wearing.
I like the idea that the shirt has been created by being kinder to the environment. I wouldn’t normally think about such things when choosing what shirt (or any clothes, in fact) to buy, or not, but now that I have been alerted to the negative footprint that can be created by some manufacturing processes I will be far choosier when sourcing clothing.
There are three other checked designs in this range and two plain coloured shirts. It is priced at £55. See Berghaus ECO Women’s Eco shirt
The wider collection, for men and women, is priced from £45 to £60, and includes long and short sleeved shirts, standard and zip-off trousers and shorts. All of the products use performance fabrics that wick moisture, dry quickly and offer UPF protection. See the full Berghaus ECO Woven range.