Wednesday, August 3, 2022
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Prana Sustainable Clothing and the ReZion Line


Want to do some good for the world with your travel clothing choices? You don’t have to sacrifice looking good for doing good when you get outfitted with prAna, including their ReZion sustainable clothing line made from recycled single-use plastic bottles.

Prana ReZion sustainable clothing

If anyone was skeptical before about whether climate change was real, the summer of 2022 should have jolted anyone with half a brain out of their stupor. From 40+ days of 100°F heat in Austin to record-breaking temperatures across Europe, the doomsday scenarios of the future are getting closer to the present time. We can’t keep doing what we’ve been doing.

A lot of decisions we make in our everyday life can have a huge impact on the planet, from the car we drive to whether the container we’re drinking out of is reusable or not. When we travel, those decisions can have an even bigger impact because of the throwaway culture that’s so prevalent around the world and the lack of facilities to even recycle the items that can be recycled. Carrying a water filter or purifier can help a lot, avoiding single-use plastic bottles, but the clothes on your body can also be part of the problem or part of the solution.

Prana sustainable clothing for travel

Nice-looking, Multi-function Travel Clothing

Prana is not the only sustainable clothing brand out there making good items for travelers. While the fashion industry is a major polluter, especially the fast-fashion brands, travel apparel ones are a lot more conscious and sustainable overall. I’ve worn plenty of items from Patagonia and Icebreaker over the years and my wife has worn lots from Athleta. There are plenty of great winter jackets made from recycled materials if you buy from a high-end company like Arc’teryx or Mountain Hardwear.

I keep coming back to prAna for three reasons though: 1) Their clothing holds up really well over time and 2) The fit is flattering, and 3) I can use what they make for adventures or business meetings on the same trip. The clothes they made are double-duty and multi-functional.

This year I went from Argentina to Washington State to Tampa Bay to Europe and the prAna outfits I packed worked great for all these multiple situations. I went hiking, whale watching, sightseeing, and casual bike riding using the same set of clothing. Also in the mix were three conferences though, places where I needed to look presentable and professional. No problem: I even wore my ReZion Prana Brion pants and my Lindores shirt on stage as a speaker!

The editor of Luxury Latin America speaking on stage

There was another speaking gig in a different country where I had on another prAna outfit, including this very cool Roots Studio shirt below that uses different patterns designed by indigenous artists in different countries. It’s a great choice for a collared travel shirt that presents a unique look and has a story behind it, plus some of the money goes back to the local communities.

It’s a polyester (Bluesign) and organic cotton blend. I’ve gotten a lot of positive comments on this one.

Roots studio shirt indigenous artists

I did check a bag on this multi-countries series of trips, but I’ve utilized prAna’s double-duty travel clothing when I needed to pack a carry-on as well and really make the most of every item. Since the sustainable clothing outfits can work for business but the pants are durable and stretchy enough for adventure activities, there’s no big sacrifice in using a carry-on instead of a checked bag in terms of outfits.

I also like how they’re walking the line between form and function much better than most other travel clothing companies. Our media company used to own a blog that did regular travel gear reviews and one female reviewer was always complaining that the approach to women’s adventure clothing was to just “shrink it and pink it.” Not enough thought went into what adventurous, well-traveled women really need, especially long-term travelers.

Prana seems to actually read the product reviews and listen to customers to keep refining what they sell. My wife, who also packs a heap of their clothing, has noticed. “I get so sick of short pockets that aren’t deep enough for a phone or a passport in supposed travel pants. We carry the same size phone that men do so why don’t we have equally good pockets?” She loves these Halle Jogger pants for airport days because the pants have multiple pockets that are actually functional, while retaining a flattering body shape.

travel pants for women with real pockets that hold a phone

Sure enough, I found this quote on the company website:

Halle II styles now feature a closure with a softer edge, attached with reinforced webbing for strength and durability. We also increased the pocket depth for better functionality and ability to fit a phone with ease. You’ll find that each new low-profile closure lays flat for added comfort and compatibility when wearing things like a climbing harness or a backpack with hip belt.

She also likes the Halle Pant II and Halle Short she’s been traveling with the past few months, both fitting well and offering plenty of movement. All are stain-resistant so they tend to look good even when they’ve been in action for a week.

A Dedication to Sustainable Travel Clothing and the ReZion Line

While a lot of companies have a particular line or a few specific items that are easier on the environment, most of them don’t maintain that momentum through the whole product line. After all, it may be easy to make nearly everything out of organic cotton or hemp like Toad & Co. does, but a label that says “100% cotton” might as well say “terrible for travel” on there as well.

When everything is stuffed tightly in a travel bag, anything cotton is going to come out very wrinkled. Most of us don’t want to spend our travel time fumbling with a hotel iron and ironing board or sending everything out to be pressed after arrival.

Prana does make plenty of 100% organic cotton items for those times you’re going to be home with a clothes dryer and I have a hemp shirt of theirs I pull out in cool weather. But their dedication to the environment extends to all those travel-friendly items with synthetic fabrics that keep looking good after traveling across an ocean. The company uses Bluesign-approved materials in 35% of their styles and is aiming for 80% by the end of the decade. The DWR repellent that keeps some items water- and stain-resistant is made without the PFAS materials that can cause harm in the waterways.

For the clothing that’s not made from natural fibers, prAna turns to eco-friendly recycled ones when it can. More than half their current offerings are made from recycled nylon or polyester, getting a second use out of what would normally end up in a landfill. The ReZion line is especially impressive because these pants are the same styles that are already beloved by customers, but created with fabrics mostly made from recycled plastic bottles.

prana sustainable clothing packaging

I always smile when I get something from prAna on my doorstep too because it’s one of the few packages I ever receive that doesn’t contain plastic. It’s another sign that they’ve thought long and hard about how to keep their damage to the environment to a minimum.

Last, more than 200 of their items are made in Fair Trade Certified factories and they’re aiming to get that to 100% by 2028.

Get Your Own Prana Sustainable Clothing

I’ve got quite a few items from this company in my closet and some of them I’m pulling out for every travel packing event. “Brion pants in two colors–check. Zion pants in two colors–check. Is it warm enough for shorts? Let’s toss in the Almeda ones in blue.”

They’re not the cheapest brand on the virtual shelf for sure, but saving the planet costs money plus these are well-made items that keep looking good for years. The company website does ease the sting on a regular basis though by putting some items on sale, especially when there’s a change of seasons going on in retail land like there is right now as I write this. It may be the dog days of summer, but clothing companies are already thinking about fall.

Besides the items I mentioned above, I’m really liking the Cayman shirt for travel (in that shot above) and a lot of our vacation photos seem to have the Rallay Pullover shirt for women in them (second picture in this post). She also likes their yoga wear that can pull double-duty as travel day clothing too.

I’m not linking to the specific pages since inventory comes in and out with the seasons. Follow the women’s or men’s tabs from the home page to see the current offerings. Then browse for what resonates.

If you sign up for their e-mail list, you’ll currently get 20% off your first order. Then you’ll know for sure when you can snag a discount or there’s something new out that you’re going to love.

Here at Luxury Latin America, we only recommend travel products that we have used personally and have been happy with. These posts sometimes contain affiliate links that pay us a small commission if you order through them. You’ll never pay more than if you just went direct (sometimes less), but these earnings help us to continue to offer free content throughout the site instead of hiding pages behind a paywall. 





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