Jones Snowboards Debuts First-Ever Recycled 750-Fill Down Jacket This Season

The historic snowboard and backcountry leader pioneered the outdoor industry’s first-ever sustainable down jacket with recycled 750-fill down feathers, in step with the brand’s entry into winter apparel.

Several brands have taken big steps toward sustainable apparel, but Jones Snowboards elevated the benchmark with the company’s recent release of the Re-Up Down Hoodie, a down jacket design completely stuffed with recycled down feathers — and high quality, too. At 750-fill, a number that relatively reflects the level of loft and insulation efficiency, the jacket could be a competitive choice for warmth on backcountry missions.

Last winter season, the brand’s cardinal outerwear featured men’s apparel across three collections —  Shralpinist, Mountain Surf, and Uphill — including the men’s Re-Up Down Hoodie ($330). Altogether, the launch took three seasons of research and development.

Now, for the 2022/2023 season, Jones will add a women’s lineup of apparel including snowboarding and splitboarding pants, jackets, and bibs. The collection includes a Re-Up Down Hoodie ($330) for women, which will officially be available at the start of September.

Jones Re-Up Down Hoodie: Sustainable Details

At large, the Jones Outerwear prioritizes sustainable measures. The materials are OEKO-TEX and/or Bluesign certified, the majority are 100% recycled, and they utilize PFC-free DWR (except the GORE-TEX Pro fabric).

We have a Re-Up Down Hoodie in hand to test the jacket once the snow flies. We’ll be examining the durability, warmth, functionality, fit, and weather resistance. To check out our other down jacket reviews, take a look at our GearJunkie gear guide The Best Down Jackets of 2022.

As a primer, here’s the initial rundown on the eco-friendly Jones Re-Up jacket.

Jones Snowboards Re-Up Down Hoodie

Jones Snowboards Debuts Recycled Down

What sets this sustainable puffy jacket apart is that the fill is recycled and its 750-fill power: a higher-quality fill and an indicator of more warmth.

The Allied Feather and Down recycled down fill in the Jones Re-Up Down Hoodie is upper-tier in part because the down is sourced from recycled apparel versus bedding.

Traditionally, pulling feathers from old apparel has been labor-intensive but the company innovated an efficient method to collect the down, allowing the increase of recycled fill power in this puffy.

Other sustainable down jackets are out there. For instance, the REI Co-op 650 Down Jacket 2.0 has a recycled nylon shell fabric and Bluesign materials. The 650-fill down is RDS-certified but not recycled fill.

Similarly, the Patagonia Down Sweater Hoodie features a 100% recycled shell and recycled lining with 800-fill that meets the Global Traceable Down Standard — but it’s not recycled.

Then, tentree launched puffers for guys and gals — the Cloud Shell Packable Puffer — with 100% recycled exterior fabric, Bluesign materials, and recycled YKK zippers. But the jackets are insulated with recycled synthetic fill: 100 grams of PrimaLoft Down.

Two of the most challenging components to recycle in a jacket are the zippers and natural down fill — and this Jones jacket did both.

Down Fill: Why It’s So Challenging to Recycle

Recycled down isn’t new: it’s been around for the past half-century. However, locating down feathers that are high-quality enough to reuse in apparel (versus, say, lower-quality down pulled from cushions or pillows) has historically not been easy or readily available.

Several stepping stones have helped. In the last 15 years, the quality and labeling standards of down products have improved, which has trickled into post-consumer down goods, according to a statement from Jonathan Uretsky, the Chief Operating Officer of Allied Feather and Down.

Also, Responsible Down Standard (RDS) was launched, which requires virgin down to be traced to its origin, thus eliminating the opportunity to blend reused and new down fill and increasing the resource pool of reusable down.

Preview: Re-Up Down Hoodie

The overall mission of Jones was to create outerwear that’s functional, moves well, and has a unique style. For the other apparel we’ve tested so far, those marks were met, so we have high hopes for the Re-Up Down Hoodie.

Down fill options typically range from 450-fill to 900-fill or a bit higher. Ultimately, a 750-fill jacket is a good indicator of warmth, but we need to get the Re-Up Down Hoodie out in the field to put it through its paces.

In addition to fill power, the warmth of a down jacket changes based on the fill weight, as in how much down is actually inside the jacket. (The tradeoff for a lower fill weight is the jacket becomes more packable and lighter overall.)

Another factor that influences warmth is the baffle design, which changes how the down fill spreads around in the jacket. Lastly, it’s important to check if the weatherproofness is effective.

Overall, the jacket seems like it’s solid. We like the aesthetic, and it’s certainly a markup in sustainability. We look forward to reporting back with a full review later this winter.

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