Green brands: Paramo

Paramo is an outdoor clothing retailer. It's unusual in that it's never used PFAS (or forever chemicals) in its waterproofing. 

Its shoppers approve - 84% of those who had recently bought from the brand told us they considered it a sustainable choice in our survey. 

Which? carried out a survey in February 2023 into our members' perceptions of how sustainable certain brands are. We asked them tell us which brands they'd bought from in the last two years, rate how sustainable they thought that brand was, and give us their reasons why. 

We then took a further look behind the scenes at some of these companies to see whether the reality lives up to peoples' high expectations.*

The top reasons given for Paramo’s sustainable status were that that its products are durable and long lasting (64%), that it contributes to sustainability initiatives/projects using its profits (43%), and because it offers a repair service (41%).

Read on to find out more about Paramo and whether it lives up to people’s perceptions, as well as more on the sustainability issues we should be worrying about in the clothing industry.

Live more sustainably - get our free Sustainability newsletter to make changes for you and the planet

Why worry about the impact of our outdoor clothing on the environment?

The fashion industry generally has a huge impact on our planet. It is estimated to be responsible for 10% of our annual carbon emissions.

Wearing your clothes for many years, repairing them and buying second hand are all good ways of reducing your personal impact. 

But if you do need to buy new items, it’s worth considering retailers who take their impact seriously and are taking steps to reduce it.

Different textiles all have different impacts. This might be the water required in the manufacturing process, the hazardous chemicals used in producing clothes, the microplastics found in many synthetic fabrics that will end up in landfill or the natural environment. 

What's 'good' and 'bad' isn't a simple equation. Natural materials, though they may feel inherently a more virtuous choice, aren't necessarily always the answer. Leather, for example, has a large environmental cost and is associated with deforestation. According to Our World in Data, cattle rearing is responsible for 41% of global deforestation – mostly in Brazil. And leather's production can use hazardous chemicals that pollute waterways and damage workers’ health.

Some plant-based fibres come with environmental concerns, too. Cotton is a very thirsty crop and needs a huge amount of water to keep it growing, in often dry climates. Non-organic cotton is grown with the aid of significant amounts of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. 

Outdoor clothing comes with its own particular environmental worries too: the chemicals used to make items – particularly jackets – waterproof.

PFAS (also known as PFCs) are a category of synthetic chemical that are very good at waterproofing. Its what makes water bead on the surface of the fabric and roll off, rather than soaking in. But once in our soils and water, these chemicals are around ‘forever’ or as good as. The production processes involved in manufacturing waterproof clothing can mean lots of these chemicals are released from factories into the atmosphere and waterways. Some have proven links to serious human health issues, the impact of others isn’t fully known.

Some brands have never used them, or have phased out PFAS from their ranges. Others are currently looking for alternatives. A Europe-wide ban on all PFAS/PFCs looks likely in the future.

For more on PFAS/PFCs and the brands' commitments, read our article on where to shop to avoid the forever chemicals in waterproof clothing.

Who owns Paramo?

Paramo is a UK company that was launched in 1992 by the owner of Nikwax – a waterproofing treatment that has never used PFCs. Since 2022 it has been owned by its employees.

Paramo and durability

Paramo’s Lifetime Guarantee covers its products, providing you register them within three months of purchase or you have proof of purchase from an authorised retailer. 

The guarantee covers any manufacturing fault but not wear and tear.

If you do require repairs caused by accidental damage or wear and tear, you can send your items off to Paramo to have them repaired. This service comes with a fee depending on the repair.

Items that can’t be repaired can be recycled. Aside from underwear, all Paramo items can be recycled if you send them back to the company. In return you’ll receive a discount code for a new item (either £10 or £50 depending on the item).

Paramo and its sustainability projects

Since its inception, Paramo has partnered with a charitable organisation in Colombia for its garment production. The Miquelina Foundation offers employment and training to vulnerable women and makes over 80% of Paramo’s clothing. It has Fair Trade status.

When Paramo was transferred to employee ownership in 2022, part of the deal was that 1% of yearly turnover would be dedicated to environmental and social projects.

Paramo and materials and chemical use 

Paramo is unusual in being a brand that has always been PFAS/PFC-free. It uses its sister brand, Nikwax, as its durable water repellent coating (known as DWR). All products carry a guaranteed PFC treatment free label.

The brand says it tests every batch of fabric it orders for the presence of fluorine (the defining element of all PFCs).

Paramo has also adopted the Greenpeace Detox MRSL (Manufacturing Restricted Substances List) which commits to the exclusion of hazardous chemicals from its products.

All its fill for jackets and similar garments is synthetic and 100% recycled.

Paramo is moving towards using 100% polyester where it can for its garment range. Avoiding mixed materials in its fabrics enables them to be successfully recycled using chemical recycling - closed loop fibre to fibre recycling. Chemical recycling is still very rare in the textile industry.

Most recycled polyester is harvested used mechanical recycling and therefore textile manufacturers can only use certain products (often plastic bottles) to turn into recycled polyester. Plastic bottles can be successfully turned into more plastic bottles a number of times, but once they are turned into clothing fibres, they can't be used again. Ultimately, this removes that plastic from being recycled and then more virgin material is required for new plastic bottles. So recycled polyester using plastic bottles isn't the most sustainable answer.

Other sustainability information

Paramo has committed to reducing its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30%. It's waiting for these targets to be validated by the Science Based Target Initiative. It is still measuring its scope 3 emissions.

Paramo in summary

It's also worth bearing in mind that despite all brands having some inevitable shortcomings, the brands featured in our green brands guide have been selected by members as being brands that are more sustainable. These are generally brands doing significantly better than average in their sector and should be recognised as such.

Our research 

*The brands that survey respondents could answer on were preselected based on a previous Which? survey carried out in November 2022 asking members to highlight brands they considered sustainable. 

Other clothing brands rated highly by members in our survey were BAM (Bamboo Clothing) (91%), Patagonia (82%), Rohan (66%) and Seasalt (63%)

Find out about what supermarkets are doing about the environment, how to buy second-hand online, or what makes a green energy supplier.