Green brands: Rohan

Rohan is an outdoor and travel clothing company that 66% of people in our sustainable brand survey who had recently bought from the brand viewed as sustainable.

Which? carried out a survey in February 2023 into member perceptions of sustainable brands. We asked members to rate how sustainable a brand was that they’d bought from in the last two years and then to give us their reasons why. We’ve then taken a further look at some of these brands to see whether the reality lives up to the perception.*

The top reason given for Rohan’s sustainability were because the brand is durable and long-lasting (83%). The next most popular reason given was because Rohan is a well-established brand (33%).

Why worry about the impact of our outdoor clothing on the environment?

The fashion industry generally has a huge impact on our planet. It is estimated to be responsible for 10% of our annual carbon emissions.

Wearing your clothes for many years, repairing them and buying second hand are all good ways of reducing your personal impact. 

But if you do need to buy new items, it’s worth considering retailers who take their impact seriously and are taking steps to reduce it.

Different textiles all have different impacts. This might be the water required in the manufacturing process, the hazardous chemicals used in producing clothes, the microplastics found in many synthetic fabrics that will end up in landfill or the natural environment. 

What's 'good' and 'bad' isn't a simple equation. Natural materials, though they may feel inherently a more virtuous choice, aren't necessarily always the answer. Leather, for example, has a large environmental cost and is associated with deforestation. According to Our World in Data, cattle rearing is responsible for 41% of global deforestation – mostly in Brazil. And leather's production can use hazardous chemicals that pollute waterways and damage workers’ health.

Some plant-based fibres come with environmental concerns, too. Cotton is a very thirsty crop and needs a huge amount of water to keep it growing, in often dry climates. Non-organic cotton is grown with the aid of significant amounts of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. 

Outdoor clothing comes with its own particular environmental worries too: the chemicals used to make items – particularly jackets – waterproof.

PFAS (also known as PFCs) are a category of synthetic chemical that are very good at waterproofing. It’s what makes water bead on the surface of the fabric and roll off, rather than soaking in. But once in our soils and water, these chemicals are around ‘forever’ or as good as. The production processes involved in manufacturing waterproof clothing can mean lots of these chemicals are released from factories into the atmosphere and waterways. Some have proven links to serious human health issues, the impact of others isn’t fully known.

Some brands have never used them, or have phased out PFAS from their ranges. Others are currently looking for alternatives. A Europe-wide ban on all PFAS/PFCs looks likely in the future.

For more on PFAS/PFCs and the brands' commitments, read our article on where to shop to avoid the forever chemicals in waterproof clothing.

Who owns Rohan?

Rohan was founded in Yorkshire in 1972. It was bought in 2016 by H Young Holdings who also owns a number of other sporting/lifestyle brands and is owned in turn by Lakefield Holdings, also based in the UK.

Rohan and durability and repairs

It’s certainly true that clothing lasting well and being able to be repaired successfully is a key aspect of sustainable fashion. A study in 2017 by WRAP estimated that extending the average life of clothing by nine months, generated a 25% annual reduction in the carbon footprint. This wasn’t outdoor clothing-specific.

Members who responded to our survey highly rated Rohan for its durability and long-lasting products.

Rohan offers a guarantee that if your products don't live up to expectations for any reason, then you will be offered a replacement, refund or a repair.

For products affected by damage by general wear and tear, Rohan offers a repair service and will even wash your down-based products. and waterproof items. It can't currently repair waterproofs though it will re-waterproof the DWR layer. Prices for repairs and washing range from £10 to £35.

Rohan and materials

Rohan hasn’t phased out PFCs from its garment range. In 2015 it replaced long-chain PFCs (long-chain PFOA and PFOS have now been globally banned) for short chain ones alongside PFC-free alternatives. This remains the case today despite some other brands choosing to remove PFCs/PFAS from their ranges entirely.

Rohan’s website says it ‘continues to review the performance of our PFC-free treatments to gauge where we can apply this finish to other products in our range’. We asked for  a percentage of the range that is PFC-free and for further information on Rohan’s plans to phase out PFCs but have not received a response.

Rohan says it has a restricted substances list i.e. a list of substances that it will not use in the manufacture of its clothing, but this isn’t published on its website.

There is little information about other materials that Rohan uses on its website. We couldn't find a commitment to organic or recycled materials, for example, and we haven't yet received an answer to our questions sent to the brand about this.

Rohan does mention its use of microfibres i.e. clothing that contains microplastics, and gives advice on washing these such as washing on a full load and avoiding washing clothes too frequently.

Rohan and GHG reduction targets

There’s no information on Rohan’s website about its emissions reduction targets and no further information was provided by the brand.

Rohan in summary

Our research 

*The brands that survey respondents could answer on were preselected based on a previous Which? survey carried out in November 2022 asking members to highlight brands they considered sustainable. 

Other clothing brands rated highly by members in our survey were BAM (Bamboo Clothing) (91%), Paramo (84%) and Seasalt (63%)

Find out more about what supermarkets are doing about the environment, how to buy second-hand online, or what makes a green energy supplier.