The names of Philipp Langer and Miranda Chen are beautifully united in the label they founded together: LangerChen. This German-Chinese joint venture is known for its light, warm and eco-friendly clothing, which is made in Shanghai, where Langer and Chen have been doing pioneering work since 2009.

LangerChen has a thing for small-scale production. That’s why all of their clothes are made in a local factory, JIECCO, which is both GOTS and BSCI certified. JIECCO maintains a close relationship with small-scale farmers in Tajikistan, who are renowned for producing high-quality cotton. The local community also benefits from the collaboration between LangerChen and JIECCO, which provides for many families.

Next to using natural fiber textiles, LangerChen also went to great lengths to develop two softshells (http://www.backcountry.com/explore/what-the-hell-is-softshell). A softshell is a highly breathable, wind and water resistant jacket that’s usually made from polyester. We say ‘usually’, because LangerChen found a way around this harmful material. The brand came up with two environmentally friendly alternatives, the enticing Storm Pop and the sturdy-sounding Technowalk. The first fabric is based on poplin, the finest organic cotton from Central Asia, which makes sure that Storm Pop is both durable and waterproof. That’s is quite something, given that most brands can’t seem to get around using toxic PFC chemicals to make their fabrics water resistant. Technowalk owes its water repellant characteristics to its exterior of boiled eco wool, which is surprisingly light and warm.