Houdini, a Stockholm-based sportswear company has always emphasised on products that have been sustainably approached. The new collection launched by Houdini this season feature fabrics that are biodegradable, recycled, recyclable, renewable or Bluesign-certified. 

In the year 2018, Kva Karlsson was awarded for Sustainable Leadership, which is presented annually by NMC Nätverket för Hållbart Näringsliv. The brand’s recent effort concerning the open-source initiative Project Mono Airensures environmental accountability while setting the stage for other brands to follow.

Karlsson stated that as a brand they were doing the right thing from the beginning and did not compromise with the performance, style or nature. Karlsson added that the combination of the three was possible as all times and was looked at very differently. Karlsson believes that brands have done products on the side that are suitable and then they reduce their ambitions on quality or performance.

The company chose to do the exact opposite of these brands. They tweaked products to make them even better, circular and sustainable for a longer period of time. Houdini’s collections follow this ideology and ensure their products are made from circular materials. They are made from recycled materials that are infinitely recyclable, with hooded fleece jacket that “fights plastic waste”. The Polartec produced materials are constructed from (known as Power Air Light) drastically reduces total microfiber shedding, a severe pollution problem identified in a Patagonia-backed research study. All the materials in the collection are circular it does not diminish the quality of performance. 

The company has launched a lightweight that also features a fairway stretch attribute and includes an insulating technology. They not only provide consumers eco-friendly, proof of concept products but also offer production insights to other companies to follow suit. The company has been keen to work on collaborative settings. 

Karlsson stated that Open source innovation for has always the company’s way to share knowledge or insights with others who cab align with the company and co-create their goals. Karlsson added that is was more fun to have more knowledge coming in from various sources to ensure different experiences and backgrounds and knowledge coming together. 

The company believes that collaboration has led to the innovation of many things and has established it at the foundation of the company. With respect to the Project Mono Air’s landing page, product listings exist alongside a hub for information. The information is both actionable and educational to encourage buyers to opt for more sustainable. Houdini also offers information on their efforts, the ultimate goal of the project and what roles Houdini, Polartec and purchasers play in all of it. 

The company states that it strongly believes in collaboration, especially when looking at sustainable innovations. The brand stated that complete transparency was important with regard to sustainable innovations. Karlsson stated that she didn’t understand brands that would keep sustainable innovation for themselves as it was completely contrary to what you’re trying to achieve. 

The Mono Air Houdi is just another step toward a waste-free world, but simply making more products wasn’t the way forward, even if they’re less impactful on the environment. Karlsson strongly believes that suitability shouldn’t be customers preference but should be the only option provided by brands. She states that the responsibility should be taken by the brands and not the consumers as they are the ones with the knowledge.