Co-Founder Deep Dive: 5 Generations of Apollo

Hi There,

Imagine the intense heat and humidity of a New England summer morning - you’re showered and dressed for the workday, but the commute has you arriving at the office sweaty and soaked. It’s not even 9AM, and you already feel like you need to change.

 
Sean (our first intern!) in our debut Kickstarter video - sweating in “the competition.” 

That was the world we and many of our friends grew up in - moments like this were the catalyst for creating Ministry of Supply, starting with our now-iconic Apollo Dress Shirt.

We first launched Apollo on Kickstarter back in 2012. It was a pioneering product; the first performance dress shirt on the market made with NASA Phase Change Material, and a unique 19x more breathable than cotton construction. But it never stopped evolving - in fact, we’re now in Apollo’s 5th generation.

If you just experienced the eclipse, you might have noticed the temperature rapidly dropped in the shadow of the moon. That transition actually happens every 45 minutes for astronauts(!), and it’s much more extreme. Our friend Eddie was a researcher in the Human Systems Lab at MIT back in the day helping develop next-generation spacesuits, and that was where we learned how PCMs were used for glove linings to combat these temperature fluctuations.

But let’s back up for a minute - what exactly is a Phase Change Material?

Solid PCMs at room temp, turning to liquid after being warmed by my hand. 

The “secret sauce” of our PCMs is paraffin wax, which acts as a thermal battery by absorbing and releasing body heat as it melts and solidifies. The process in which the wax changes between a liquid and solid is known as a “phase change” - hence, the term Phase Change Materials.

Heat and temperature are slightly different, though often correlated:

• Heat is a measure of energy (think gas burned, or electricity used)
• Temperature is a measure of the "speed" of the molecules - as more heat is added to a material, temperature often rises proportionately - except during a phase change from solid to liquid (melting) or liquid to gas (vaporization), and vice versa.
• Latent Heat is the heat that can be absorbed stored during a phase change without raising the temperature.

An interesting thing about the PCMs in our Apollo fabrics is that they don’t use just one, but three phase change materials - different-length molecular chains that melt at, above and below our ideal skin temperature (91ºF /33ºC). This allows us to better dial in the temperature-regulating effects to keep you comfortable across different temperatures and climates.

See the whole process explained in this gif:

Over the past 10 years we’ve continued to push this performance technology forward, improving its durability, aesthetic and sustainability to make the best shirts on the planet.

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1.0 (2012) - Printed PCMs 

The initial Apollo produced with our partner Outlast bound microencapsulated PCMs directly to the interior of the fabric using a process similar to screen printing. It was super effective as it was directly against the skin, but inevitably hot washes and dry cleaning would cause a decrease in performance. 

Our first Apollo Dress Shirt, and Aman working with our mill partners on the PCM-printing process.

2.0 (2013) - In-Fiber PCMs, Laminated Collars

We solved our PCM longevity issue by using a revolutionary new process that allowed us to extrude them directly into the core of the fiber - meaning that the functionality was locked in and would last the life of the garment. Our friend and “super customer” Todd Danforth continues to wear his Apollo 2.0, and over 9 years later it functions just as well! Additionally, 2.0 featured a new lamination process for collars so that they would never wrinkle.

The upgraded Apollo 2.0 with in-fiber PCMs and a no-wrinkle laminate collar.

3.0 (2017) - Cationic Dyed and Heathers and 3D Collars

With performance and durability handled, our next goal was optimizing the aesthetic. We achieved our goal with cationic dyeing, a process that allows certain fibers to absorb dye while leaving others un-dyed that unlocks a natural heathering effect (with the bonus of a more matte finish).

Cationic-dyed Apollo yarns at 1000x magnification - spun together with un-dyed fibers to create the intended look.

4.0 (2019) - Recycled Content

The same year our classic Aero shirting went 100% recycled, Apollo also made a major shift in sustainability. We sourced optic white polyester fibers from recycled water bottles (a process which requires a special recycling stream) and replaced over 50% of the material with recycled content - reducing carbon emissions by 26-30% per garment. To celebrate, we sent this one to the edge of space on a weather balloon!

Houston, we have liftoff!

5.0 (2022) - Bio-Based PCMs

In 2022 we were able to make another huge leap in sustainability, implementing a brand new plant-based PCM made from the plant Brassica napus (also known as rapeseed oil). This is actually the naturally occurring variant that canola oil is derived from... BTW, did you know that canola actually stands for Canadian Oil, Low Acid?.

A field of Brassica napus in bloom.

Where the original Apollo PCMs used petroleum-based paraffin wax, this update further decreased our reliance on virgin petrochemicals.

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Apollo has come a long way in the last decade - it’s a fabric forever entwined with our company. We couldn’t be more excited to see what innovations develop in the years to come. 

 

- Gihan

 

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