Sustainable Adventure: 4 Gear Items that Help Protect the Environment
Houdini Polartec Power Air
($300; mec.ca)
When you wash any synthetic fabric, microscopic bits break off. These micro-fibres slip through water treatment, enter the water cycle and are now found in pretty much every body of water on Earth—and are climbing the food chain. To combat the problem, Polartec improved its materials and knitting process, reducing shedding by 80 per cent. Houdini used the mid-weight fabric to make a fleece with a big hood, high neck collar and tons of warmth.
Eagle Creek Migrate Wheeled Duffel
(from $79; eaglecreek.com)
To make this burly duffel highly water-resistant, Eagle Creek worked with Asian recyclers and reclaimed plastic that’s used to make vehicle windshields shatter-proof. They applied the recycled PVB coating to a Bluesign-approved heavy-duty poly fabric. A doctor-bag style zipper opens the duffel wide open for easy gear sorting and it carries with handles, backpack straps or rolls. Available in four sizes.
Boulder Denim Canadiana
($195; boulderdenim.com)
Performance jeans may sound like an oxymoron, but these really do check the boxes. Denim manufacturing is a notoriously dirty business, but Boulder avoids denim’s usual polluting processes by using a Quebec manufacturer with leading environmental standards. Made for climbing, these stretchy jeans are overbuilt. And they’re stain-resistant, setting you up for years of use.
Costa Sunglasses Panga
($345; costadelmar.com)
Costa supports organizations like OCEARCH (which researches sharks), the Surfrider Foundation’s Coastal Defenders program and Indifly, an organization that helps start up sustainable sport fishing industries in Guyana. They’re constantly improving the sustainability of the materials they use, including recycled fishing nets in some frames and bio-based resins in others, including the large-framed Panga.
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