Ex Officio Clothing

Long known for making durable, lightweight and practical travel clothing, ExOfficio now offers a wide variety of eco-friendly options for Men and Women.

In particular, ExOfficio seems enamored with the benefits of using soy fibers in its clothing.

That's right, soy isn't just good for you when consumed as tofu or edamame, it's also good for the planet when spun into apparel. Durable, super-soft and machine-washable, soy can sometimes take the place of wool garments that would require chemical-intensive dry cleaning or tedious hand-washing.

The process of making soy clothing uses the leftover products from tofu production, so it's really a waste reduction effort. And apparently the chemicals used in turning soy plants into clothing fibers can be reused again and again.

ExOfficio has numerous lines of soy-based clothing. Take this cute cap-sleeve women's Soytopia shirt ($40) that uses a blend of 56% organic cotton, 37% soy and a smidgen of spandex.

A bit less soy (15%) works its way into the Dualformance line of long-sleeve tee shirts for both men and women ($37.91).

In addition to soy, ExOfficio is also incorporating a significant amount of recycled polyester into its clothing. Both men and women can enjoy the snug comfort of the Migrator line that uses 64% recycled polyester ($52.91).

What sets ExOfficio apart from other eco-friendly clothing lines? Price seem moderate, quality seems quite good and we like the little touches that show thoughtfulness. For example, the Men's Migrator 1/4-zip shirt has a handy little zippered pocket on the sleeve, a small piece of fabric to protect the throat when the chest zipper is pulled all the way up, and thumb loops at the cuffs to prevent the sleeves from bunching up when you pull on a jacket.

We also like the cute floral hood liner on the women's Migrator hoody.

On the other hand, we do wish that some ExOfficio's eco-friendly pieces were made closer to home (less transport-related pollution), rather in Vietnam or China.

We also have mixed feelings about some of the treatments that ExOfficio gives even their eco-friendly clothing. For example, our Migrator tops came with notes that the fabric had been treated with AEGIS Microbe Shield (R), an EPA registered antimicrobial technology. On the one hand, if AEGIS does its job of protecting against "odor, staining and deterioration caused by bacteria, fungus and other microorganisms", that could mean that you'll need to wash and even replace the shirt less frequently, which is good for the environment.

On the other hand, we tend to frown on clothes that have been chemically treated.

Back to the first hand, the Microbe Shield website does a convincing job of explaining that the antimicrobial treatment does not contain heavy metals, will not be absorbed by humans or other animals and uses a violent-sounding physical method (stabbing/electrocution) to rupture and destroy microorganisms. AEGIS also asserts that studies have not shown any adaptation by microorganisms to Microbe Shield, indicating that the use of the product will not lead to the development of superbacteria.

Where to buy:

You can order both men's and women's eco-friendly ExOfficio clothing directly through the company's website.

Alternatively, you can find a couple hundred items of ExOfficio clothing online via Amazon.com.

If you live in Seattle or fly through JFK airport, you can stop into a physical brick-and-mortar ExOfficio store.

Otherwise, click on the Dealer Locator link on the left side of the About Us page and enter your address to find a retailer near you that carries ExOfficio products.