Irina Mock, PrimaLoft European PR manager, left, and Kathrin Pildner, the brand's trade marketing manager, hand over the jackets to Brother Emmanuel at the charity
Retailers from across Europe provided 300 winter jackets for homeless people in a coat swap organised by insulation brand PrimaLoft.
The swap took place at February’s giant ISPO trade show in Munich, where retailers were encouraged to hand over their used coats for a new PrimaLoft Gold Insulation Down Blend jacket.
This month, PrimaLoft representatives handed over the 300 coats and jackets to homeless charity St Bonifaz, at an abbey in the city that hosts the show.
Brother Prior Emmanuel Rotter from the charity said about 200 homeless people a day contact him to ask for help and assistance in the form of medical care, food and clothing.
He said he was delighted by the donations and expressed his gratitude for the number of people who took part. “We want to give our guests a little bit of home, warmth and value and our guests have shown true appreciation for their coats,” he added.
UK retailer Snow & Rock was among companies who took part in the swap.
Heiner Oberrauch Jr, product manager at Italian retailer Sportler, said: “It was a fantastic initiative designed to combine a good cause with the opportunity to experience the high-performance functionality of PrimaLoft Performance Down Blend.”
Simone Heer from Globetrotter Munich said: “We welcome this opportunity to help a good cause.
“The PrimaLoft Performance Down Blend jacket got me warmly through winter, both on my bike and on foot, and is superbly comfortable to wear. We’ll of course be factoring these test results into our sales pitches.”
The doors of the St. Bonifaz Benedictine Abbey in Munich have been open to the needy for 25 years. The charity offers warm meals, medical treatment and donated clothes for those without health insurance and social services.
The patented PrimaLoft Performance Down Blend hybrid insulation used in the jackets in the swap comprises permanently water-resistant, ultra-fine PrimaLoft fibres and water-resistant, fluorocarbon-free premium down.
PrimaLoft Gold Insulation Down Blend offers a level of warmth comparable with a 750-fill down filling. The material retains 95 per cent of its heat when wet and dries four times quicker than untreated down. Since its launch in autumn-winter 2014, PrimaLoft has managed to double the number of manufacturers using PrimaLoft Performance Down Blend in their products.
