Oz cycle clothing brand OORR has launched the OORR Cafe range on Kickstarter. The race-ready range has been developed with ‘Frog Skin’ nanotechnology for the cycling bib shorts; every garment in the range has a percentage of recycled materials; and OORR is pledging a percentage of profits to underprivileged children in South Africa.
“Creating coffee infused cycling and athletic wear unashamedly taps into cycling’s strong coffee culture,” said OORR’s Tim Christian.
“Polyester yarn is infused with coffee in a patented process, then blended with recycled polyester (from PET bottles) during fabric knitting, boosting the eco cred of the garments.”
He addes: “Coffee enhances the fabric by improving moisture management and sun protection – and because it’s coffee, it’s highly effective at controlling odour. Just ask an airport sniffer dog!”
The ‘OORR Cafe’ fabric is said to dry up to 50 percent faster than competitors jerseys, has 250 percent greater odour resistance and a significantly reduced carbon footprint.
OORR’s bibshorts incorporate “frog skin” odour-killing nanoparticles inspired by a frog species which secretes peptides that killed bacteria.
Christian is a former airline pilot and the colours, patterns and shapes on the OORR jerseys were based on warning and caution patterns on guarded switches within an aircraft flight deck.
“Research has proven that contrasting diagonal lines are learned markers for ‘danger’ or ‘caution’. Incorporating them onto our jerseys makes the wearer more visible to approaching drivers and subconsciously triggers caution,” said Christian.
Each OORR cycling jersey contains approximately five recycled plastic bottles, saving them ending up in landfill.
“The most common perception is that any fabric made with recycled materials is inferior in some way,” said Christian. “We can prove the opposite to be true.”
Some of the profit’s from OORR’s latest line will be donated to the African cycling charity Velokhaya.
Carlton Reid