Howies, BFJ (aka The Big Fat Jacket), £165

A puffa is a fab investment outer layer for the cold winter months for years to come. I love a great story, and this is Howies ... it doesn't get much cleverer than this!

The Goldilocks Theory is all about a little thing called perfection. A difficult thing to achieve in anything you do – not too much of this, not too much of that, just right (she was a fussy girl).

What we have here is The Big Fat Jacket. A super-warm classic puffa jacket designed using just that theory. Not too hot, not too cool, just right (a bit like the Three Bears’ porridge).

You see, the problem with most down jackets is that often they are just too darn hot for our modest climate (they are designed for more entrepid expeditions than a walk to the shops). They have a fill power of between 600–650, that’s the industry norm. We found that to be a bit excessive for the kind of temperatures we get in Cardigan Bay. You stick your jacket on when you’re cold and before you know it you’re overheating. You’re all red-faced and can’t wait to take the bleedin’ thing off again. Quite simply, they are too hot for this non-arctic life.

However, if the fill power you use is too low then obviously you’re going to get cold. We had to find the perfect balance. So we’ve insulated The BFJ with 80% fine quality duck down – great at trapping warm air and probably the best insulator known to man (or bird), mixed with 20% duck feather. These regular feathers insulate a little less efficiently than the pure down. They do a great job of striking the balance between toasty and toasted and giving our puffa a much more comfortable fill power of 500–520.

Down is not only the best insulator there is, but it is a lower impact one too, being 100% natural and recyclable and a by-product of the food chain. Reassuringly, before it goes into our jackets, it has also been washed and sterilised.

We didn’t stop there in our search for perfection either, the outer shell is made from recycled polyester fibres, stuff that would otherwise have gone straight into the landfill – granddad’s old suit, your next door neighbour’s fleece, even a water bottle or two thrown in for good measure perhaps.

Through the Teijin Eco Circle recycling system all that stuff is ground into granules, decoloured, converted into polyester polymers, before being spun back into fibre and then made into this new garment.

The BFJ is lightweight and packs pretty small too, so if you’re off camping or snowboarding and need to cram all your gear into your rucksack it won’t break your back. We wouldn’t advise a trek across Antarctica in it, it’s not that hardcore. However, for a typical UK winter you can rely on it to keep you snug.

The BFJ. We think Goldilocks would approve.

And so does The GIN Lady!

WEAR AN ETHICAL PUFFA COAT TODAY!