Manuel said:
"This is great news! I hope all cities pass this into law.The practice of using plastic bags just to quickly dispose of them has been going on far t..." [read]
Jay Knecht said:
"What are the performance stats for the Son of Max? ..." [read]
gazelle said:
"@ Dallas:
The book, and the supplementary videos in the "How It All Ends" youtube series, address this in detail, but I'll try to paraphrase:..." [read]
Barry said:
"Kofi Annan has about as much of a clue about electric cars and developing countries as Ann Ann the Panda.
He underestimates the ingenuity o..." [read]
JJ said:
"Very cool. I didn't thought that biodesel might be our future fuel...." [read]
Derek said:
""I guarantee you this will spark huge debates around the world," she said. "We have to delve into this in a way that hasn't been done in a long tim..." [read]
Montane may not be one of the iconic names of outdoor gear, having only been around for 16 years. But they are taking it to the big boys by offering part of their outdoor sport clothing line in eco materials. The garments shown below, for example, use recycled polyester in either shell fabrics or insulations. Yet British-based Montane are still able to offer their signature low weight and pack size, demonstrating that eco-textiles still offer performance characteristics.
It's easy to harp on the big guys for creating massive big-box stores that sell massive piles of cheap products that ultimately end up in landfills. But let's be honest, from time to time we're still going to need to buy stuff and like it or not, sometimes those items come from chain or department stores. Action sports items in particular wear out just by virtue of the activity they are used for. When I spoke with Vipe Desai, founder of project BLUE this time last year, project BLUE was just getting started and there were big hopes that encouraging people to choose better products could ultimately raise money for conservation. Turns out, it worked!
Bed frames are made from trees, but sleeping bags? Why not, reckon Vaude, the German mountain sports company.
The insulation for a new range of Vaude sleeping bags due in 2010, will comprise 50% Tencel, a more benign form of nasty old viscose (aka Rayon), made from plantation tree pulp in a process that recycles most of the production solvents. Tencel is a relatively new fibre, having first appeared in 1987, and scoring its own textile category, known as Lyocell. Interest in the fibre waned for a while, but has been revived of late, with a whole raft of new fabrications coming to light.
We've had a few stories about smaller snowboard and backcountry ski companies heading off down a green path. I think this is the first time we've had a mainstream ski manufacturer on side. The Fischer Sports Group have just announced that the thermal energy for the production and heating of their plants which make Fischer Skis has gone 100% renewable.
Their Ried, Austria factory has been into this gig since 2001, but recently their other plant in Mukachevo, Ukraine, which has 950 folk pumping out 700,00 pairs of skis (alpine and nordic), also joined the initiative.
Winter is inching inexorably closer for our Northern Hemisphere readers, and for a few hardy souls (skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers and alpinists) this will bring with it the excitement of days and nights spent in the snowy backcountry. The wilderness may beckon, but nature also calls. What to do our human waste in these pristine environments? Because, come the spring thaw, the evidence, once hidden from view, becomes very exposed. And soon finds itself contaminating nearby waterways.
A couple of years ago the Cairngorms National Park, in Scotland, developed a rather elegant solution to the problem of winter waster or frozen faeces.
Now that the summer surfing season has come to a close, (is there ever really an end to surfing season?), it's time to give your board a little TLC, upgrade any thrashed gear and prepare for the big waves of the winter season. Just in time, ReRip is hosting their third annual "Future of Surfing" Surfboard Swap this weekend in Solana Beach where you can toss your broken boards and check out new green gear. Heck, maybe if you're lucky some fellow surfer will just trade boards with you.
You may recall we posted earlier this year on NEMO's cool 90%* recycled tent, the Nano Oz. And how, like many new arrivals it was experiencing a few teething troubles. Well, Kate from NEMO was recently in touch to update us on the Nano Oz developmental progress.
Seems the news is both good, and bad. Although the recycled single skin tent fabric is technically a winner "... incredibly durable, breathable and waterproof. Honestly, they have some of the industry's best ratings," according to Kate, it still a few issues to be resolved before a full commercial release.
We've long admired Montague for their tough, but elegant, full size folding bikes -- built around a concept that makes them just as suitable for military paratroopers, as it does recreational riders. Now, in a move to target urban riders, they've announced the Boston. A new single speed folding bike with 700c (roughly 26") wheels.
Instead of an often problematic, multi-spocketed derailleur, they've opted for an easy-to-maintain hub, which Montague say allows riders to switch between fixed or freewheel depending on their preference. More pix and specs after the fold.
Beauty, Performance and Sustainability are the three principles that drive the folk at Nau, the outdoor lifestyle clothing and bag company. You'll notice Price isn't included. Shoehorning that trio of attributes into a product is harder work, than simply squeezing a product to get the cheapest price. So, although Nau might be value for money, the ticket price might cause some potential customers to shy away from experiencing the brand's quality apparel.
In typical creative fashion, Nau have dreamed up a solution: The Changing Room. Buy from eight selected winter garments, (mostly those over $250) and Nau will bill your credit card for just 50% of the cost. Nau reckon you'll be so thrilled after wearing them for 30 days you'll want to keep it (you'll then be billed the remainder). If not so enthralled, simply return the garment for a full refund, and Nau will even pick up the return shipping costs. ...
A couple of weeks ago we started out on what we naively thought to be simple task. To catalogue some of the more popular forms of bicycle cargo hauling. In Chapter One, we catalogued more than a dozen different • Bicycle Bag and Racks, Here, in Chapter Two, we showcase over 20 different Bicycle Trailer builders. Using their engineering ingenuity you can jump aboard your bike and transport anything from kayaks to kids, fridges to freight, shopping to sofas.
In Chapter Three we'll check out Extended Frames as a means of ferrying stuff about on your bike, so, no we haven't forgotten Xtracyle, et al. Patience.
Photo: Surly Bikes...
Image via: Team Luna Chix
At this year's Wanderlust Festival, I got a chance to sit down with Karen Rehder, rider for Luna Chix and talk about bikes, babes and being a bad-ass. Here is how Luna is helping Chicks across the United States get off their butts and onto bikes....
Finisterre is a cool, surf-oriented outdoor clothing company from Cornwall, UK, for whom we have a lot of respect. And so it seems does Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), for they've nominated Finisterre as Small Company Fashion Finalists in their 2009 Good Business Awards.
David Bowles, Head of External Affairs for the RSPCA said in the media release: "We have had a record quality and quantity of entries to this year's fashion category - a clear indication that companies are responding to the shift away from disposable fashion and towards responsible consumerism. [...] These companies, who are striving to implement exceptional welfare standards, deserve our recognition as they set the standard for others to work towards." ...
Patagonia Footwear continue the open dialogue about their participation in Backpacker magazine's Zero Impact Challenge: to make a backpacking boot for a hiker hoisting a 13.5 kg (30 lb) pack and to do it with the least impact.
Click the link for Patagonia's previous communication on the challenge, (which Hi-Tec, Oboz, La Sportiva, and Wolverine are also undertaking.) But read on to learn how Patagonia are progressing in their product development....
Photo courtesy of Kara DiCamillo.
If any of you have backpacked the Presidential Range and Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, you know that the weather can change in a hot minute. Over the past 20 years, we’ve hiked through hail, lightening storms, and torrential rain up Tuckerman’s Ravine, over Mt. Washington, and down to the High Huts. So when we had a chance to take Helly Hansen’s new Ekolab Jacket for a test run, we knew exactly how to put it through the ringer. ...
Since we last dropped in on Pacific Outdoor Equipment, they’ve been busy.
Take, for instance, their Peak Oyl Series sleeping pads, which they are claiming, not only as “the lightest full length, 1 inch thick, fully bonded sleeping mat in the market” but also the”the most environmentally sensitive self inflator made.” A noisy trumpet, so how do they compute these claims? Well, the mats are made from a recycled PET polyester shell and filled with a new insulating foam comprising a blend of 40% Palm Oyl polyurethane. ...
Nau is still having their end-of-season sale at 30%-50% off. However they’ve snuck out some photos of some pieces from the Fall 2009 collection due for release later this month. More pix below.
In case you haven’t yet caught up with these guys, Nau make impeccably tailored clothing that straddles the divide between backcountry and bar hopping, between schussing and shopping. And they do it with unique fabrics crafted from the likes of recycled polyester, corn PLA, merino wool, organic cotton, etc, whilst donating 2% of each sale to customer selected NGOs. ...
Luna Sport Gear Booth at Wanderlust Festival. Image via: Author's Collection
The Luna brand is branching out from food into...bike apparel for women? Actually this marriage makes perfect sense, as we found out this weekend at the Wanderlust Festival. Plus, for all you style mavens out there, the gear comes in great colors too. ...
image via Earthfirst
Lawrence Toms and Lez Paylor make paper from sheep poo in Wales, which is a story in itself. They are so confident of their product that they have covered a kayak frame with it using a flour and water glue, treated the interior with beeswax and the exterior with "Envirez™, a nautical grade resin made from soya beans", and are planning to cross the English Channel in it. Their maiden voyage did not inspire confidence....
Photo from blog.sierratradingpost.comMontrail is best known for their non-urban premier trail running and hiking footwear for outdoor athletes. The website is definitely geared toward the more granola-type of greenie. But that shouldn’t discourage you from using the shoe for both on- and off-roading. Their approach to sneakers is anytime but hippie-dippie. ...
Golite is a lightweight outdoor gear and clothing company that we’ve previously brought to your attention for their eco business philosophy and for their support of a global warming awareness raising traverse. Now they’re back on our pixels because they are considerably upping the ante.
50% of the Golite collection for the Spring of 2010 will be crafted from environmentally preferred materials. ...
Image via Terracycle
How many billboards did you pass today? If you can even keep count, you're lucky. Most of those are made with vinyl. And most of them get thrown away. Over 3 million a year in the US alone. That's nearly 10,000 tons, or to give you a visual, about the weight of 2500 adult elephants. Once it makes it to the landfill, it's not going anywhere. Vinyl does not biodegrade. We thought something should be done about that. Starting this month, we are....
We’ve previously mentioned innovative tent maker, NEMO Equipment,r for their recycled backpacking tent and bamboo tent poles. We also noted how they donated over 150 tents to Kashmiri earthquake victims. Now they are at it again with the donating thing. This time generously forking over $13,000 USD in backpacking and mountaineering tents to youth outdoor programs....
Here is something that is 100% recycled, but doesn’t look it. ECOALF is the new fabric developed by the Spanish company fun&basics, made from recycled PET bottles. It is a high quality textile: flexible, tension resistant, long lasting, waterproof and lightweight. The first bags made from ECOALF are a toilet bag, a small bag, a cabin trolley and a large, wheeled luggage bag. The fun thing about them is the visualisation of the recycled bottles. Each bag tells you exactly how many 75cl PET plastic bottles were needed to make it. ...
Image via: Ezeiza on Flickr.com
Earlier this year the Six Flags Inc. is adding green throughout their 20 theme-park locations, but many are so behind the scenes that you may not have noticed. ...
Photo: PRNewsFoto/Brooks Sports, Inc
You a runner? Or an exercise-oholic? And you want your workouts to reflect your green lifestyle? Well, the race is ON…or at least for me and a few friends to find the best performing green running equipment. Since February of this year (2009), I’ve made it my personal mission to seek out the most excellent green products in the running world as I train for my first marathon in November. Most people think running is a simple sport in which all that is needed is a good pair of shoes to be active. Nothing could be farther from the truth. ...
Image via: B9 on Youtube
Recycled plastic soda bottles are now showing up in everything from toothbrushes to park benches to jackets and now they are even being molded into the 2009 Platinum B9 (b9 = pronounced "benign") wetsuit by Billabong. Plus the new suits come with anti-shark invisibility resin. ...
Pssst! Sssh! It’s supposed to be a secret, so let’s just keep this strictly between you and us okay. Don’t tell anyone, not even your best friends and family. And certainly don’t pass on the news to that crew hanging round your FaceBook page. But Nau have started their SummerFun sale, with 50% off everything on their site.
It’s going to be hard not telling anyone that all this cool, technical, stylish, outdoor inspired, eco-apparel fashioned from recycled polyester, organic cotton, corn PLA, mohair, down, and merino wool, is now available at half price. But we’re sure you’re up to the challenge....
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the weekly archive if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.