By ARIADNE WILL
Sentinel Staff Writer
Cadence Arbucci wants to know how the Tongass National Forest can tie into a new outdoor clothing project.
“It’s the largest national forest, it’s close to my heart, (and) it means a lot to me,” she said in a Sentinel interview. “I have a personal relationship with it.”
Arbucci, a former Sitkan whose family moved away when she was 11, studied fashion design at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and Paris College of Art, in Paris. Since finishing her education she has lived in New York City, working in the fashion industry.
Presently on a three-week trip to her old hometown, Arbucci said she has been interested for some time in creating her own outdoor and performance wear brand. When she was laid off because of the pandemic, she saw an opportunity to start thinking about the project again.
Arbucci’s project aims to create hiking and active wear made from sustainable fabrics.
“One of the major issues with outerwear and outdoor clothing is a lot of it’s petroleum based, which is not biodegradable,” she said. “The whole process to create those fabrics is also very toxic – all the chemicals involved, everything else – it’s really bad for the planet, which is really weird because the best outdoor clothing is some of the most toxic in the industry.”
Cadence Arbucci. (Sentinel Photo)
Arbucci wants to source fabrics that are derived from organic materials for her brand.
As she is a designer – not an engineer – Arbucci is hoping to work with a Swiss company that is developing what the industry calls “bio-based” materials.
These materials – fibers – are created from things like beans, oils, food waste, and plants. After they’re engineered, Arbucci says, they will create “a closed loop production of fibers” which will be turned into fabric later in the process.
Arbucci said this means that she will have access to fabric that is more biodegradable than the fabrics used in traditional outerwear.
But the project is about more than creating sustainable clothing, she said. It’s also about supporting the Tongass National Forest.
Arbucci said she has used her three-week visit to Sitka to connect with the Sitka Conservation Society, and wants to share the profits of her organically-derived products with that organization.
“I wanted to partner with some sort of nonprofit organization to do something that is beneficial for the (Tongass National) Forest, specifically,” she said.
Arbucci said the forest is close to her heart, and her desire to create sustainable outerwear comes as the result of a childhood spent in Sitka.
“I like to hike a lot, I like to run a lot, I love being in the outdoors,” she said. “Being here means a lot to me.”
