Manufacturing

Helly Hansen has a long-standing partnership and commitment to the widely recognized and independent bluesign® system that acts as a global guiding tool for the entire textile industry’s production chain. To ensure that products are environmentally friendly and pose no health hazards, the bluesign® system helps design production processes that meet the increasing consumer demand for ecologically safe apparel.
The bluesign® system starts from the ground up. It’s not about testing finished products, but rather ensuring that the process is done right all the way from its first stage. Everything from raw material and component suppliers, to textile manufacturers and retailers, should meet the same criteria.

Helly Hansen strives to adhere to the highest performance and protection standards for our gear. We carefully choose and apply water repellant treatments in order to meet the performance needs and expectations of consumers. In certain environments and uses, treatments which don’t easily break down in nature are currently the only option.
For a product to be biodegradable, it needs to be able to house microorganisms, and microorganisms require water to survive. A chemical product which is designed to repel water is therefore in contradiction to a biological degradation. The only substance to date that can meet the needs for extreme oil and water repellency is fluorocarbons (PFCs) which for many years have been used in a chain with eight carbons, the so called C8s. This compound has hazardous bi-products, the PFOA and PFOS. Therefore Helly Hansen eliminated all C8 treatments from their products in production in 2014 and we are today relying on the shorter chained fluorocarbon compound with six carbons, C6, for extreme oil and water repellency.
For many activities this extreme water repellency is not necessary for the user to stay comfortable and dry. Helly Hansen has for many years been on the journey to find more environmentally friendly options. We continue to carefully research and test fluorocarbon-free DWR treatments. However, it is difficult to get a proper picture of the hazard and toxicological levels for most of the alternatives which can meet the performance levels our consumers require. A few options have been approved for our products, and we are offering a small selection of PFC-free garments.
Helly Hansen is in close cooperation with research institutes and chemical suppliers of PFC-free DWR treatments as we continue to solve the global issue of PFCs being the only option to obtain high performance oil and water repellency in waterproof / breathable garments. While we have not solved the issue, we have successfully avoided the use of PFCs in our waterproof / breathable membranes, which are 100% polyurethane based since 2007.
As a Scandinavian company, we’re extremely passionate about the outdoors, and we’re committed to running an environmentally and socially aware business. And while we’ve taken some significant and meaningful steps forward, we know that we can, and must continue to challenge ourselves, and our communities, to improve in all areas.

At Helly Hansen we work and play outdoors – being respectful to the environment is one of our main concerns. There are serious environmental and health concerns surrounding anti-bacterial treatments which are often added to textiles and sports garments in order to reduce odor. Several of these compounds have been found in high concentration in the environment, polluting the water, threatening aquatic life and damaging plants that use this water for nutrition. Many of these substances are still under review by ECHA as they are believed to possess human- and/or environmental toxicity and cause multi-resistant bacteria.

At Helly Hansen we take environmental protection seriously, and we are committed to ensuring that all our apparel is and will remain free of anti-bacterial substances.