The Best Sustainable Outdoor Clothing Brands for Epic Adventure

Last updated on January 29th, 2024 at 03:11 am

Heading to the hills – or, the mountains – for some sporting fun? This post goes over some of the best sustainable outdoor clothing brands. Most of us are fully knowledgeable about the environmental impacts of camping and hiking, or other outdoor sporting activities, and we take care to minimize any damage we do. It usually comes with the territory – if you’re a fan of the outdoors, you tend to be nicer to the outdoors. But how many of us are aware of the environmental impact of the gear that we use? Our outfits, equipment, tents, sleeping bags, luggage and all of that? That requires a bit more thought and research, and this post covers a lot of the information you would need when it comes to understanding and choosing the right outfits and gear.

If you are an outdoor person, and love heading out into the wilderness, you probably have loads of outdoor gear for eco friendly travel. Are they made of sustainable materials? If they’re not, this post may be useful to you. 

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A Handy List of Sustainable Outdoor Clothing Brands

This is not a comprehensive list by any means. In fact, what I’ve attempted is to list out some of the possibilities there are in the sustainable outdoor gear industry, and hopefully motivate others to do more research into it. There are many options for those of us interested in cutting down out impact on the environment, so take your time to check them all out. This list is just a sampler of brands from around the world.

Also, this is not a call to encourage you to throw out your existing gear and buy new, sustainable gear. Keep what you have, and use it till it falls completely apart. Save this page for when you have no option but to buy something new. I know these products are super sexy, and you’re probably tempted to get some of them. But buy only if you need it! Let’s not waste any more resources than we absolutely have to.

1 // Amble Outdoors

2 // Arms of Andes

3 // Camp Brand Goods

4 // Coalatree

5 // Houdini

6 // Icebreaker

8 // La Sportiva

9 // Outerknown

10 // Patagonia

11 // Picture

12 // prAna

13 // Save the Duck

14 // Smartwool

15 // tentree

16 // The North Face Renewed

17 // Toad&Co.

18 // Vaude

If you’re eyeing other brands, check out the Good On You brand rating to see if they are featured there.

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Sustainable Vegan Brands for the Outdoors

These brands are completely vegan and sustainable. Any product from them should be adhering to those requirements.

1 // Ethical Wares

2 // Altitude Sports & Quartz Co.’s Milkweed Collection

3 // Marmot Featherless

If you know of other brands, do let us know in the comments!

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Sustainable Outdoor Adventure Clothing Checklist

You’re heading out for a camping trip, and need to buy some sustainable camping gear. What do you do? Well, get some warm socks, a vegan puffer, and consider these specific products listed below, which are just a few of the awesome cruelty-free outdoor gear that’s available nowadays!

1 // Patagonia Switchback Sports Bra

2 // Columbia Midnight Stretch Baselayer

3 // Buffwear Thermonet Hat

4 // Phunkshun balaclava

5 // Mountain Equipment Women’s Glove

6 // Dakine socks

7 // Arc’teryx Hiking Boots

8 // The North Face Ventrix™ jackets

9 // Napapijri Sleeveless Hoodie

10 // Helly Hanson Outdoor & Hiking Pants

11 // Picture Treva Ski Pants

12 // Big Agnes Sleeping Bag

13 // Dakine backpack

14 // Cotopaxi Capa Vacuum Bottle

15 // BioLite Campstove

16 // Fjällräven tent

THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.

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Sustainability Practices in the Outdoor Gear Industry

I found out recently that there are some industry standards for the supply chains used in the outdoor industry. Most serious outdoor brands make a solid effort to be more responsible and ethical in their production. They have introduced more transparent, traceable manufacturing processes, they have begun to use more eco-friendly materials (including organic, recycled materials), they route some of their profits toward environmental organizations, and more.

Some of the sustainable practices they use include the following:

1 / Circular Business Model

Many brands, such as The North Face, have jumped into a circular business model. This model takes into account every stage of the product’s entire life, with a focus on using quality materials and giving the materials new roles in the end through recycling and upcycling. The aim is to make the best use of quality products and make them last as long as possible, as opposed to making cheap, low-quality products frequently (a la the fast fashion industry). VF is focusing on repair and rental options, as well as recycling and upcycling. The North Face offers a lifetime warranty for three products and also repairs decades-old products for customers.

2 / Organic Clothing

Materials that are replacing animal products can still cause damage in other ways. Conventionally grown cotton, for example, has a significant environmental impact. Organically grown cotton has a far lighter environmental footprint, since industrial pesticides, herbicides and other pollutants are not used. Certified organic farms that grow organic cotton (or bamboo, hemp, etc) are required to maintain the health of their soil and water, and also follow best practices for water and energy conservation.

Products with organic materials usually contain labels which indicate that the material came from an organic farm, as certified by Organic USA or other such authorities.

3 / Fair Trade

Fair Trade programs promote sustainable livelihoods and safe working conditions for the workers throughout the supply chain, as well as environmental protection and community empowerment. It works to prevent exploitation. For example, REI has the Fair Trade Certified™ mark stamped by Fair Trade USA. 

Fair trade credentials can apply to individual ingredients or materials, or to one or several parts of the process. If the entire process and all the materials comply with fair-trade principles, then the end product may be certified as fair-trade by Fair Trade USA.

4 / Recycled Materials

A big sustainability move has been to recycle plastic bottles into polyester. Recycled polyester can be found in every type of outdoor gear, from clothing to backpacks. A common marketing tactic is to also state the details of the plastic bottles used in that product – the number, type, etc. Makes the buyer feel better:P

Why use recycled materials, though? Well, recycled materials use up less energy and water than virgin materials, and help route plastics back to the market (in a circular model) instead of to the landfill. 

Is it enough to be using recycled gear? Nope. But it is part of the solution, and it’s better, from an energy-use and environment standpoint, to opt for recycled material in place of virgin material.

5 / bluesign^®

A Swiss group called bluesign^® technologies monitors the lifecycle of materials from factory to final product. The bluesign^® team works to optimize the supply chain in terms of resource use, health and safety, water and air emissions, and consumer safety. They have a set of standards for each of these, and certify after the strictest (they say) of checks. So, essentially, a bluesign^® certified material or end-product meets their criteria, so you can rest assured when you buy it.

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Animal Welfare & Outdoor Gear

It’s not like animals have not been taken into consideration by the outdoor gear brands. Most outdoors enthusiasts also love animals, and it’s a logical next step to take good care of animals while trying to protect the environment. There’s the Responsible Down Standard, the Responsible Wool Standard, and the Leather Working Group (which is concerned with the impact of industrial leather production on the environment).  

Because of our consumer demand for softer fur and high-quality down, the burden falls on the animals, being voiceless an helpless as they are, and manufacturers will do whatever it takes to give consumers what they want, at a terrible, final cost to the animals. At the end of the day, it’s a money-making business, not an animal welfare committee. 

Even if you do nothing else about this, please just think about these two facts:

1. Animals are raised and killed for our warm clothing. There is no other way to get the leather jacket or the fur coat made.
2. There are numerous viable alternatives to animal products that can keep you just as warm, that are sustainably produced and involve no torture and murder.
3. Secondhand clothing gear for the outdoors is the perfect, sustainable choice.

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How Do I Choose Sustainable Outdoor Gear?

With so many labels and various standards, it becomes a bit complicated to narrow down the products that satisfy your criteria. There are very few brands that are completely vegan, but most brands do offer some vegan products – which you should make note of (the list is below). Other criteria are still evolving. For example, if something is manufactured in a far-away country and flown all the way across the world to where you are, is that sustainable? It isn’t really, but outdoor gear is not something you can make by yourself (unless you’re very handy), and for now we have to put ourselves at the mercy of these companies that for the most part seem to be doing the right thing. 

What about thrifted and secondhand items? I recently visited some thrift stores, and found fantastic collections of outdoor gear. These items, depending on when and where they were made, are likely to contain animal products and non-organic fleece, and may even have been made by exploited workers well before the manufacturing company adopted fair-trade standards. Are these items still worth buying? 

For me, the decision was financial. I cannot afford all brand new sustainable gear, and have made the uncomfortable compromise of buying some pre-owned items of unknown origin. I don’t know if they’re fair-trade or organic; it’s impossible to know with a thrifted item. But ultimately, your decision boils down to whether you need the item, and whether you can afford a brand new item with its half dozen reassuring certifications. If you can’t afford the new item, then opt for the best thrifted alternative, if that is an option. As always, just do your best with what you know and can manage. Don’t buy something unless you absolutely need it, and when you do buy, make sure you make the most responsible choice for the environment and the animals.

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This post was about sustainable outdoor clothing brands

It’s way past time for outdoor gear companies to all have uniform manufacturing standards that put the environment (and animal welfare) first. But until that glorious day comes, this is what we little people have to do, but depend on the brands being transparent about the information they give the public. We should also give our strongly worded feedback to the companies so they know what their customers are eagerly looking for:)

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Disclaimer: I have tried to make a list of sustainable outdoor gear for women. If I find that any of these are not sustainably made, I will remove them from the list. 

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I hope this post was useful!

THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE DETAILS.

NOTE: All brand photographs belong to the respective brands/businesses.