Royal Robbins Sustainably Made

Royal Robbins Sustainably Made

The Royal Robbins clothing line comes from a long history of wanting to keep you comfortable in the outdoors while also keeping the process as sustainable as possible. I met with a couple of reps for the company at a trade show and they sent me some nice summer shirts to test out. The problem was the Colorado winter never seemed to end this year! So I spent more time researching the brand than wearing it while I was tucked under blankets away from the cold. What I found was a great story of Royal Robbins. Plus, their sustainability practices in making clothing that is helps to protect the outdoors that the founder loved so much. Finally, it warmed up and I was able to test the shirts! Here is a bit on the clothes and the process that makes Royal Robbins: Sustainably Made.

As a disclaimer I would like to mention that I was given the shirts from Royal Robbins so that I could write this review. All opinions on this page are my own and based on my own experiences with this jacket. I am not compensated for the opinions on this review. Your experience with the clothing may be different.

What is Royal Robbins

Royal Robbins was one of the most influential climbers in the world when he founded the company back in 1968. Royal revolutionized the climbing world when he was an early proponent of moving away from the bolts and hardware and focusing more on clean climbing to preserve the natural state of the rocks. He was also one of the first to complete several of the climbs at Yosemite National Park. He is one of the most well known climbers in the world, even today. Along with his wife Liz, who was the first woman to climb Half Dome, decided to found a clothing company to create functional and durable clothing that minimized the impact on the world.

Royal Robbins is known as an outdoor lifestyle brand with clothing geared towards the outdoors and travel. The focus on keeping the impact low on the environment remains to this day. I really enjoyed reading up about Royal Robbins. You can find more information on RoyalRobbins.com and also a bit more information here.

The Process for Spring

This year Royal Robbins announced several steps to towards lower-impact practices that started in the spring of 2023 which support their overall climate goals. Royal Robbins carefully selects lower-impact fibers to help reduce waste, chemical use, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions. For the 2023 Spring Lines, Royal Robbins took these steps according to a company statement.

• Sixty-two percent of the styles are made with materials that contain 50-percent or more lower impact fibers,including: preferred cotton, recycled polyester, certified forest materials, hemp, and preferred wool.
• Reducing the carbon footprint of its best-selling men’s shirt series (including the iconic Desert Pucker) by switching to carbon-zero TENCEL™ Modal fibers, which are certified as CarbonNeutral™ products by Natural Capital Partners.
• Eighty-eight percent of cotton-based styles for are made with preferred cotton (including organic cotton), which is grown in partner programs with farmers to help reduce environmental impact through improved water, land, and chemical management practices.
• Unbleached and undyed fabrics in select styles, as seen in their Vacationer and Hempline styles. This new colorway uses up to 80-percent fewer kilowatt-hours (kWh) energy, 80-percent fewer liters of water, and 75-percent fewer chemicals than a traditional piece dyeing process.
• Expanding the use of recycled materials with 80-percent of poly-based garments made from recycled polyester.
• Many trims (locker loop, zipper pull, cord locker loop, and woven labels) are made from recycled polyester, which has lowered the brand’s use of energy and fossil fuels.

These were all of the steps that really impressed me. Sitting in the long winter weather hoping the sun would shine again so I could give them a test. Once the sun finally made it way to melt the snow around Colorado, I couldn’t wait to jump into some of these clothes I read about.

The Products

As more of a lifestyle brand, the shirts I was sent weren’t necessarily all for hiking. There was a polo, a button down, and more a crew neck. The Fatman is more than a one trick blogger though! I wore the shirts as lifestyle shirts and had a really good experience.

Amp Lite Polo

The first shirt I wore was the Amp Lite Polo. This really became a lifestyle shirt as I wore it to work, around downtown, and to the parks for weekend walks. The polo is light weight, and my favorite part is that it is nice and stretchy. It is a very comfortable shirt and it moisture wicks and does a good job of being wrinkle free. (Which is perfect on those days I have to run into the office which I am never prepared for!)

Desert Pucker

The Desert Pucker is a pretty awesome casual shirt. It is one of most popular shirts that Royal Robbins sells and I understand why. The button up is super light weight and comfortable. It comes as more of a relaxed fit that was perfect for barbecue’s and graduation parties and even flying.

The Desert Pucker has a UPF 50+ to keep you protected from the sun. Also, it is lightweight at only 7.7 ounces. Desert Pucker shirts are made from TENCEL fibers which were very soft and comfortable. The shirt is also very breathable and kept me cool on those hot summer days

Amp Lite Tee

The Amp Lite Tee was most hiking-ready shirt that I was sent so the first thing I did with it was take it the side of a hill! This was a really comfortable shirt. Much like the polo, it had plenty of flexibility and was a really nice fit on my larger body.

Perfect for the trails with a UPF 50+ rating. Plus, the recycled polyester base of the shirt is moisture wicking and lightweight. It was perfect on one of the first really hot and sunny days in Colorado. I’m a sweater but feel like the shirt didn’t get damp in the least on my hike. As a hiker who gets out a lot I can tell you this was a very comfortable shirt that led to a really enjoyable hike.

Wrapping up Royal Robbins Sustainability

It is always great to put on a shirt that feels good. But it is even better to feel good for putting on a shirt. Royal Robbins checks both of those boxes. The shirts are soft and light and feel good when I am wearing them. Either on the trail or at a picnic. They even feel good wearing them at work, well as good as one can feel at work!

But the other nice thing is it feels good to put on a shirt that I know is trying to make difference. Always keeping environmental impacts in mind. Recycled materials, TENCEL fibers, and low impact materials all factor into the designs of the clothes now and in the future. That makes it a lot easier to put that shirt on for me. I know that not only am I getting a comfortable shirt but the choice to wear it has helped to make the environment a little bit better.

More from the Fatman

For a list of other products that I have reviewed you can check my Product Review page here. If you have any products you would like me to review or any comments you can email me at fatmanlittletrails@gmail.com. Or you can follow me on any of the below social media platforms. Happy Hiking!