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Photo: Nau

' In any economic climate, it's natural to consider the price of the products we buy, and whether their value justifies their cost. We often receive comments regarding the prices for Nau products. One customer recently commented that, "The clothing is great and unique but the pricing is outrageous." ' So starts a discussion the outdoor-inspired, eco clothing company Nau, has on its website.

They continue, "We recognize, and regret, that for some customers our products will be too expensive. [...] That's because our prices don't reflect some arbitrary mark-up, but rather the true cost of making high-quality product."

It's an intriguing read about the True Cost of bringing a greener product to market. But what's equally as interesting is that Nau have offered new customers a special deal.

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Photo: WorkCycles Other photos via respective manufacturers.

Bike Cargos for All Tastes!
In our endeavours to take a snapshot of the world of Bicycle Cargo we have to date looked at the Racks And Bags used for bicycle cargo as well as the Bike Trailer. Now in Chapter Three, we take a gander at over 20 Extended Frame Bikes, as used for the hauling of people, product or produce. As per usual, leave a message in the comments panel to alert fellow readers to any glaring omissions we've made. Please note, our earlier round-up of Quads and Tricycles also captured quite a few human powered-vehicles used as bicycle transport. (In the next upcoming chapter, we'll showcase some of those businesses that rely on cargo bikes to get the job done.)

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"Corporations are real weenies," he says. "They are scared to death of everything. My company exists, basically, to take those risks and prove that it's a good business." This is Yvon Chouinard, founder and CEO of Patagonia, the $ 270 million USD outdoor clothing talking to U.S. News who just included him in their 2009 list of America's 25 Best Leaders.

Yvon knows about risk. Both personal (climber, skier, white water paddler, surfer). And corporate. In 1972 Yvon told rockclimbers there was a more environmentally sound way to protect themselves on rock routes that didn't require bashing metal pitons in and out of the rock. At that time he was making his money selling pitons.

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"There is no business to be done on a dead planet." This was the view of renowned mountaineer turned environmentalist David Brower (Executive Director of the Sierra Club and founder of both Friends of the Earth and the Earth Island Institute.) It is also the view of outdoor clothing and equipment industry. You need seasons of consistent rain, snow and ice, if you want to make a living selling rain jackets, hire skis, or make crampons.

So key mover-and-shakers in outdoor adventure industry, on both side of the Atlantic, are pulling up their merino wool socks to ensure sustainability becomes as much a part of doing business as sales, service and salaries.

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Photo: Montane

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.

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Image via: Be True to Blue

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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!

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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.

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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.