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The gear made by outdoor brands helps us get safely out into nature, where we can explore the mountains, rivers, and crags that inspire, excite, and rejuvenate us. It’s only fitting that those companies would also work to protect those beautiful spaces.
Here, eight gear producers with Colorado ties that are taking steps to be eco-conscious—plus, some of their best products.
Jump Ahead:
1. Zeal Optics
See a brighter future for yourself and your planet with the latest additions to Zeal’s lineup of plant-based sunnies. Reducing your carbon footprint by riding on two wheels instead of four? Choose the Harbinger (starting at $199), a wrap-style stunner with panoramic polarized lenses. Casting a line to bring home a more earth-friendly meal than red meat? The full-framed Westwater (starting at $179), named after a 17-mile canyon along the Colorado River, uses a high-purity lens to help certain wavelengths (notably the blues of your favorite waterway) pop more vibrantly. And for more standard Earth Day activities like hugging trees, channeling your inner Greta Thunberg, refilling old bottles with new products to reduce plastic? The slender, circular frame of the Juno ($169) is just the thing.
Best of all, each of these options uses the Boulder-based brand’s signature Z-Resin frames, which are made with a castor bean byproduct that’s lightweight, durable, and far more sustainable than traditional plastic varieties.
2. Fjällräven
From choosing recycled polyester and fully traceable down to using a research-heavy design process (read: no fast fashion) and avoiding restricted substances, Fjällräven has a clear—and all-encompassing—commitment to sustainability when producing its packs and outdoor apparel. It doesn’t stop there. In addition to creating durable items meant to last, the Swedish brand with U.S. headquarters in Louisville, is also ready to keep your gear in circulation long term. So, say you take their hardwearing Singi 20 Daypack ($120), which is made without harmful PFCs, out for a short excursion in Colorado’s high country. Then (oh no!), you accidentally crush a buckle underfoot during a snack stop. You could bail on the rest of your adventure and take the pack back for in-store repairs. But you also bust out your Samlaren Field Repair kit ($25)—which includes two repair release buckles, along with dual repair tension locks and Gear Aid Tenacious Flex Patch—and keep trekking.
3. Scarpa
In 2021, Scarpa debuted its Green Manifesto, a promise that includes a commitment to update products with the most eco-friendly materials on the market. In 2023, the outdoor footwear brand made that pledge even more tangible through certification as a Benefit Corporation, a company legally bound to generate social and public good. Why? “The thing that drives Scarpa to build category-leading outdoor footwear is the natural outdoor space where we’re able to pursue the range of mountain sports,” says Mark Mathews, vice president of sales for Scarpa North America, based in Boulder. He also participates in the research and development process for the brand’s running and hiking shoes. “For us, helping to protect those places means doing our part to improve our production process to result in fewer impacts on the environment at large.” One great example is the Spin Planet ($159 for both men’s and women’s versions). This cushioned trail-running shoe boasts a breathable upper made entirely from recycled material and a midsole featuring 45 percent recycled content.
4.Paka
Not only does Boulder-based Paka put renewable, sustainable, breathable, odor-resistant, and hypoallergenic alpaca fibers center stage in its outdoor-ready apparel, it also weaves empowerment for the people of Peru into the equation. Each garment—from the best-selling The Hoodie ($149), which started it all, to our favorite pick for summer, The Lightweight Crew ($139)—helps to provide skilled female artisans in Quechua Peru with a wage eight times the standard amount. Plus, this Certified B Corporation has pledged one percent of its annual revenues to Peruvian Hearts, a non-governmental organization based in Golden that supports the education and ambitions of underprivileged young women in its namesake country.
Read More: Move Over, Merino: Alpacas Are the New ‘It’ Girl in Outdoor Apparel
5. Big Agnes
Want to sleep easy in the backcountry? Make sure a heavy conscience isn’t keeping you up at night by choosing climate-friendly camping gear from Big Agnes. In addition to running its office and gear repair center in Steamboat Springs entirely on renewable energy offsets, the brand prioritizes recycled and recyclable materials. Just look at its use of nylon sourced from discarded fishing nets in the minimalist Fly Creek UL Quilt ($350) and the promise to recycle the Circle Back Insulated Sleeping Pad ($250) in its entirety once it’s beyond repair. Big Agnes’ sweetest eco offering, however, is no doubt the TwisterCane BioFoam Pad ($50), an ultralight, foam snooze surface made from more than 60 percent sustainably grown sugarcane resin.
6. Icebreaker
Colorado outdoor aficionados of all sizes have likely noticed that their merino wool base layers provide top-notch temperature regulation by wicking sweat away from their bodies. That’s why we parents choose base layers like the kids’ Merino 200 Oasis collection ($60 for both the thermal crew and thermal leggings) from Icebreaker (North American headquarters in Denver) for little shredders.
We want them to warm up—not the earth—which brings us to another wonderful attribute of merino: It’s uber-sustainable, especially when made without polyester (read: plastic) elements like 97.56 percent of Icebreaker’s line-up. In addition, all of the brand’s merino can be traced back to the source (the brand proudly points out that it knows its suppliers by name). Plus, by 2028, Icebreaker aims to have 100 percent of its merino sourced from growers using regenerative farming practices and renewable resources.
7. Topo Designs
Topo Designs is known for its retro-inspired apparel and color-blocked bags, packs, and dopp kits. This Denver-based brand also has a passion for preserving the places we play in. That environmentally minded ethos shows up in the Dirt Collection of jackets, pants, and other elevated basics, which are made with organic cotton and dyed using a water-saving process with GreenScreen-Certified chemicals. It’s also apparent in the free-wheelin’, 44-liter Apex Global Travel Bag Roller ($359), which uses recycled materials exclusively.
Since keeping our favorite kits in commission is a key element of sustainability, Topo offers a repair center for its products. Choose to send a product into their team to fix, or dodge the carbon emissions inherent to shipping and handle the repair on a local level (here are some options along the Front Range); they’ll send you a Topo-specific online gift card worth the repair cost for your trouble.
8. Laws Whiskey House
Is a brand that makes après-adventure bevvies technically a gear brand? How about we debate the matter over a pair of crystal rocks glasses filled with the limited edition Headwater Series Four Grain Straight Bourbon ($85) from Laws Whiskey House? Like the other whiskeys, ryes, and bourbons available from this Denver-based distiller, the Headwaters release is made using heirloom grains. Unlike the rest, 10 percent of proceeds from this amber-hued sipper aged four to seven years will be donated to conserving and protecting the Colorado River. We’ll happily raise a glass to that.
Read More: How to Live More Sustainably in Colorado
