Pyrenex: Factory Visit.

In the Spring of 2019, the UW. team were lucky enough to travel to travel to the quaint town of Saint-Sever, in South-Western France for an exciting meeting with renowned French outdoor brand Pyrenex.

For over 160 years, Pyrenex have been producing the best natural down in the world from their factory with the same passion and dedication as when they started in 1859. Whilst we were there they gave us a guided tour of the factory, and we got an insight into the production and intricate quality control process that makes their down so special.

Thanks to their processing of high-quality feather and down, a by-product from the local farming industry, their products offer unfailing protection against extreme temperatures, having been tried, tested and approved on some of the world’s highest mountain ranges.

Along with amazing product, Pyrenex have a commitment to recycling, a continual improvement in their production processes and they have been validated by the Oeko Tex label for their feather production and environmental performance. Their noticeable efforts over recent years have seen them win the 2019 Nouvelle Aquitaine eco-conception prize and all their production is fully traceable down and feather. Watching all the dedicated people in Saint Server was an education, especially seeing Pascal finding the finest down for the finest jackets with tweezers (see the image!)

We heard stories of the first down jackets, made from duvets, by the then owners wife for prisoners of war during the first world war. We also saw the incredible history in the factory and the small village yet also an urge to look forward and make the best contemporary jackets today. Pyrenex are a company we have enjoyed working with and of course it's been a huge challenge because of this crazy year, yet here we are at the end of 2020 with a small yet exciting range of collaboration products we can be really happy and excited about.

View Pyrenex x UW. Collection