The Fair Wear Foundation is an independent, non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories to improve labour conditions for garment workers. Currently there are 80 member companies represent over 120 brands, and are based in seven European countries.

There are many aspects to being a member of the Fair Wear Foundation, however some of the basic principles are expressed in their 8 labour standards:

• Employment is freely chosen
• There is no discrimination in employment
• No exploitation of child labour
• Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
• Payment of a living wage
• No excessive working hours
• Safe and healthy working conditions
• Legally-binding employment relationship

There is no certification process which claims to cover all of these at every factory that a manufacturer may use, rather there are ongoing reports which are published at fairwear.org for anyone to look at.

Gore-Tex is a unique tissue paper thin microporous membrane, which contains over 9 million pores per square inch. Each pore is 20,000 times smaller than a water droplet, yet some 700 times bigger than a moisture vapour molecule. This gives the fabric excellent levels of waterproofness and breathability.

The outer face of the Gore-Tex fabric is coated with a hydrophobic DWR (Durable Water Repellency) treatment which encourages surface water to bead up and run off, improving the wet weather performance of the garment and promoting breathability by preventing wetting-out of the outer face which can cause the face fabric to become less breathable, thus preventing the membrane from breathing.

Mountain Equipment are known for their attention to detail and mountain-inspired design. With the Stratum Storage System they have once again tweaked something ordinary to make it better.

By carefully looking at how each pocket layer is inserted into one of their jackets, their garment technicians have been able to increase the volume of the main storage pockets by as much as 25%. That’s a lot of useful extra space for storing bulky laminated maps, gloves or accessories.

The Stratum Storage System is only found on the more serious hardshells where three or four large chest pockets are required.

YKK is a Japanese group of manufacturing companies and is the world's largest zipper manufacturer with a reputation for reliable and durable build quality in their zips. It was founded in 1934 by Mr Yoshida and known as Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha.

Today YKK produces zippers for everything from handbags to wetsuits as well as many other fasteners. They are at the forefront of innovation in fastener design and will generally last longer than similar non-branded designs.