BARCELONA – Within an hour of its launch, The Running Republic – which offers ‘sustainable’ running gear – surpassed its €12,500 funding target on Kickstarter, and plans to fully launch its apparel range in September of this year.
The company’s clothing is made of recycled polyester and polyamide fibres from post-consumer plastic bottles and fishnets, meaning the clothing does not introduce new contaminates into the environment. The Running Republic says that eighty-four per cent of the materials it uses are recycled, and almost 100 per cent of the remainder is elastane.
The Running Republic apparel is said to control moisture and be quick drying, bacteriostatic and UV protected up to UPF 40. It also offers four-way stretch for elasticity and muscle compression to improve performance. The apparel is complete with YKK zippers and reflective details for protection and visibility.
The Running Republic say the idea was born in summer 2013 because “they were tired of always wearing the same boring running gear and, most of all, they were tired of looking for real conscious running gear without finding a real solution.”
“I started working on this project years ago, but the need became more evident recently,” said Paolo Quagliotti, creator of The Running Republic. “When we started looking at materials, we knew we wanted to provide something more fair and sustainable to the market without compromising any technology or aesthetics about the clothing. All of our products are manufactured by socially responsible suppliers, too.”
Garments offered by the company include t-shirts, shorts, hoodies, leggings and jackets.
Web: www.kickstarter.com/profile/therunningrepublic/about
