Unbekannte Marke Furtech

Furtech ist eine kleine Marke aus Grossbritannien. Und eine spannende Marke. Was Andrew Davison entwickelt, testet und probiert er selbst. Er ist ein richtiger Tüftler, der sich mittlerweile recht gut auskennt mit Materialien, Schnitten und Details. Die Stückzahlen sind noch klein und vielfach sind die Sachen schnell ausverkauft. Aber umso mehr lohnt sich ein Blick.

Furtech bietet vor allem wetterfeste Bekleidung an. Vielfach sind die Jacken isoliert und weisen eine Menge spezieller Details auf. Bestellen kann man direkt online bei Furtech. Wir haben Andrew gebeten, uns ein paar Fragen zu beantworten. Natürlich haben wir auch eine seiner Claw Jackets getestet. Der Bericht folgt.

How came the idea to found Furtech?

I remember, as a teenager, hiking in the Lake District, in the rain, feeling cold and damp and seeing sheep happily grazing; and wondering why? Further research showed that different types of fur has different properties but the most waterproof – found in the otter and waterbuck – have three elements: long guard hairs, short inner fur and water repellant oils.

The aboriginals in the wetter parts of Australia used furs with the fur facing outwards as rain coats. This is the earliest known example of man using fur for rain wear.

Over the years I’ve found out much more about clothing systems, drawing on the physics I learned as an engineer. About temperature, humidity, condensation, insulation and the aerodynamics and penetration characteristics of rain. And I’ve been working with the physicists at Nottingham University to understand exactly how water behaves in furry fabrics.

I’ve also been experimenting with many fabrics in many situations. Looking at them in the lab and outdoors. Putting some designs through the rain room test at Leeds University.

Who is behind Furtech? How did you finance it?

FurTech is self financed by me and is really a tiny business. It would be so much easier to do with more funding!

What are you particularly proud of?

Getting feedback from customers who really like what we’ve done.

Where can I get your products? What are your distribution-plans?

At the moment we are very short of stock. We have a web shop and sell through a few independent retailers. We would like to be selling through many more.

Can  I buy your products online in Switzerland?

Yes, we are happy to send products. We process card payments by PayPal which is universally recognised and trusted.

Where do you produce your products?

The garments were made in Bulgaria but the fabrics come from the UK and Sweden.

Your Design is quit plain and suitable, the products have a good quality. How important for you is susainability?

I have been reviewing the sustainability of our products alongside our other developments. We have some progress to make on this but we have a surprisingly low carbon footprint, mainly because of the relatively short transport distances in Europe as opposed to manufacturing on other continents.

The durability and repairability of our products not only creates value for money for customers but reduces the environmental impact of our products. If customers don’t want to make repairs at home we can do it for them.

Thanks for the interview.