Green Gear: Part 1

• Posted on April 22, 2009 at 3:20 PM
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Keen's green sox

“Green gear”

It's Earth Day. To celebrate here are some green products that work. Part of a three blog series.

Keen Concord Stripe Crew Lite sock Usually when yarn or wool is died it is done in big baths; lots of dye is wasted. Keen does things differently. In funky and fashionable Concord the dye is injected directly into the yarn, so less dye goes to waste. The sock is made from a combination of recycled polyester and Merino wool stripes (Merino is a natural and renewable material). In the weaving process cushioning is built into the footbed to reduce impact and improve moisture management. Did you know you only sweat on the bottom of your feet. A double welt at the top of the sock keeps it in place. And, as with all Keen socks, they are made gender specific and foot specific, ie there's a right and left sock, so the fit is great. We've worn Keen socks for a couple years now and they are seriously durable. $18 per pair.

Icebreaker BAA code Buy Icebreaker clothing - all are 100 percent New Zealand merino wool – and you can track the wool back through the production cycle all the way to the station where it was sheared. New Zealand sheep farms are called stations and Icebreaker has a long term relationship with its suppliers that govern their business practices and ethics to ensure they are kind to their animals and good to the land. So what does this have to do with Earth Day? Among The Earth Day Network's core principles is fostering "an individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption." Being able to trace a products origins speaks to this goal. Each Icebreaker piece carries a unique Baacode, which customers enter at www.icebreaker.com/baacode to view the living conditions of the merino sheep, meet the farmers who run the sheep stations, and follow the production process that turns premium Icebreaker merino fiber into sleek athletic garments. A range of prices. Find a retailer

Mountain Equipment Co-Op PVC-Free Dry Bag Polyvinyl Chloride is not only used to make that sexy faux-leather jacket you like so much. PVC as it's commonly known is used in all kinds of applications from piping to baby toys. Problem is it contains additives that change its properties and these may leach out of the PVC. These additives mimic human hormones and also affect various life forms including fish and invertebrates adversely. Mountain Equipment Co-Op in their never ending efforts to better the outdoors in Canada is the first to come up with a PVC-free dry bag. They aren't guaranteed to stay dry in a submersion, though we tried it and had no leakage, but they are perfect for storing just about anything but cameras on paddling trips. Plus they are see through. Knowing what's inside is no longer a game of memory. 5 to 30 litres in size; $13 to $26. Buy it here