In 2019, it's hard to ignore thinking about how your consumption choices affect the world. While you're probably familiary with the bad impacts of flying, the meat and dairy industry and the plastic soup that we call oceans, the textile industry hasn't entirely made it's way into the spotlights. 

A couple of months ago I saw the documentary "Stacey Dooley Investigates: Fashion's Dirty Secrets". While I was aware of terms like sustainable fashion, I had never been presented with the blunt facts or shocking images that come with it, nor had I tried to read into it. The fast fashion industry comes at a huge cost to the environment; water pollution, toxic chemicals, fashion waste and transportation costs. Furthermore, the water footprint of fabrics like cotton, and even more shocking, organic cotton, is huge. And while we are on the safe-side of the fashion industry (for now...), millions of people are suffering from the fashion choices we maken. 

Fast fashion is an industry focusing on low costs and speed. In reducing the costs for clothes, companies often choose for the cheapest countries with little (enforced) rules on environmental impact. The vibrant colours you love so much in your clothes, are often created with the use of toxic chemicals of which the residues end up in rivers and oceans, making this practice the second largest pollutor of clean water, following the number one we're all aware of; agriculture. By making such choices, fashion companies can constantly provide new collections at low costs, and the consumer is presented with cheap attractice new options all the time. In turn, this has caused a high-turnover of clothes in people's closets. Whereas in the past you used to have the same trousers for years, now you might have worn them 5 times before buying new ones and sending these to the second hand shop, hence the increasing amounts of textile waste. 

What can you do?

I was shocked by what I saw in the documentary and it totally changed my view on fashion. I'm not the only one, many blogs can be found on the internet regarding sustainable fashion, or even cutting out clothes shopping as a whole (check out this girl who didn't buy clothes for a year). While the latter option is something I might consider as a new-years resolution next year, it's a bit difficult with my upcoming trip and my lack of outdoor clothing. Therefore I have found some other ways to reduce my environmental fashion impact, which I would love to share with you. 

First of all, the number one rule is buy less. It's a simple solution to a big problem, buying less means less waste, less chemicals, less transportation, less water use etc. This is immediately connected to the second thing: buy recycled and good-quality. Recycled clothes are often the best as little pressure is put on virgin resources used for new clothing. Buying good quality means the clothes will last longer and therefore again, you'll also have to buy less. However, not all good quality fashion is sustainable, so make sure to look at the brands. 

Since this blog is about outdoor brands, I want to give you a list of brands that from most sustainable to least sustainable based on the amazing website "rankabrand.org". 

Vaude 
Vaude scores the highest in the list of outdoor brands and therefore achieves a B-label. This is due to their use of 100% green electricty, their policies regarding toxic substances and their waste and packaging management. Furthermore they are a member of the Fair Wear Foundation. 

Jack Wolfskin
Jack Wolfskin is assigned a C label. They have implemented several measures to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and work with organic cotton and certified manufacturers. However, they are not entirely transparent about their practices and therefore many impacts remain unknown. 

Fjällräven & Patagonia
Even though I've repeatedly been told Patagonia is one of the most sustainable brands, both Fjällräven and Patagonia score a C-label as well on the rankabrand website. Since the website uses a strict set of criteria, if the brand is not transparent about this, or does not publish results on their impacts, they score rather low. 

Other C-labels are assigned to Pyua, Trigema, Schöffel, Norrona, Deuther. Furthermore, D-labels are assigned to Bergans, Burton, Icebreaker, Regatta and Millet. 

When looking at a review of the fair cottage website, Vaude again pops up as the top sustainable choice, followed by Houdini and La Sportiva. 

The Greenpeace campaign "detox our fashion" on the use of PFCs (long-term severe pollutants) also gives an overview of the big outdoor brands. Their detox champions are again Vaude, and Paramo and Rotauf. The brands that are moving towards becoming more sustainable but that are definitely not their yet are The North Face, Haglöfs, Black Yak, Jack WOlfskin, Mammut, Salewa and Norrona. The brands that score the worst are Arcteryx, Columbia and Patagonia. While they mention that Patagonia is one of the leaders in sustainability, they are definitely falling short in their detox from PFCs. 

Interestingly, an independent website, theprch.com, puts Patagonia as the most sustainable brands out of a list of outdoor brands. Patagonia is refered to on many websites and in many articles as one of the most sustainable brands due to, for example, their focus on recycled fabric. While they score the highest on theprch, the website does mention that they are far from perfect and not very transparent. However, they do provide a lot of information on how they try to reduce their impacts, while many other companies hardly make any efforts at all. 

Patagonia is followed by REI, which has a B score. In the D category, the North Face, Mountain Hardware, Mammut, Marmot, Columbia, Black Diamond and Arc'teryx are listed. The worst brands, according to this list, are SmartWool, Sea to Summit, Osprey, Big Agnes, Coleman, Exped, Five Ten, Granite Gear, Gregory, Kelty, KUHL, MSR, NEMO. 
If you want to know more about how these brand were scored, check out the theprch website. 

All in all it seems that Vaude is definitely the most sustainable brands. Whether Patagonia follows, I'm not sure. They mentiion that they try to do a lot to be more environmentally friendly, but they lack actual reporting and therefore score quite low. Furthermore, they are not active in reducing their PFCs. I think it's best to buy products from Vaude, look into what products you buy from B/C categories, and definitely avoid the brands with a B-label. If one of your brands is not in the list, you can request RankaBrand to review it through this page. 

Last of all, I want to mention the option of second hand clothes. While it can be tricky with outdoor clothing, there are still plenty of options to find good clothes. Check out second hand (outdoor) shops, people selling clothes on the internet, shops, or even brands selling used clothes (https://www.rei.com/used for example). 

Well, hopefully this helped you in making your sustainable outdoor shopping easier! Let me know if you have any more ideas, thoughts, tips or comments below :). 

Cheers

Hannah

So, a bit of a different topic today, but one that you can't ignore when travelling as a woman, period. I mean, periods! Yeah, it's the one thing I'm always worried about. Ah, let's book a skiing holiday! Oh no, what if I have my period and two full days of cramps? Let's go diving! Ohhhh, but what if......................... Sometimes life sucks as a woman, and while it's a bit easier if you can take a contraceptive pill and have the upper hand over your periods, I can't, so I've had to work my way around it. Aside from that, putting a bunch of hormones in your body is something I'm not very fond of anyways because of all the side-effects it can have, although some women of course hardly experience any! Since there are more women who have to, or want to, get rid of all the hormonal stuff, the period-market is opening up! Yay. A couple of years ago I've found my near-perfect solution and while it still sucks to have my period, and to be subjected to two full days of pain, it has made my life a lot easier. 

A cup!? Yes, a cup....... 

About three years ago, I saw this add on Facebook for the Organicup. What? A cup? For your periods? How does that work? I had no idea, but it caught my attention! I was trying to live more sustainably and to reduce my waste, so this seemed to fit right into my lifestyle. After doing some research I found out that there were a couple (not as many as today) of period-cups on the market. These are small cups, that you can insert in your you-know-what, and which you have to empty around 3 times a day. You'll never need tampons or sanitary napkins ever again! WHAT A BLESSING! And if you use them correctly they can last for 10 years. Imagine how much money and unnecessary waste you can save! I was convinced, so I decided to buy one. Since the Organicup had good reviews, is vegan and free of chemicals, this was going to be the one. 25 euros, but only the best for my.... since I wouldn't want to put any chemicals in there (I believe this can be the case with some of the cheap cups you can buy on AliExpress for example). Now there are many more options, of which probably a bunch are safe. The only way to know which one is best for you eventually, is just to try them out. Which was what I was going to do. Eventually, I found the Organicup quite stiff, which didn't work for me, but in Germany I bought a Fair Squared cup (which was also slightly cheaper) which was a lot more comfortable. Unfortunately I totally burned it because I was boiling it and forgot, so I had to buy a new one. It seems like there can be minor differences since this one works a little bit less well for me, but I'm still super satisfied and wouldn't want to go back to anything else anymore!

The first try

Within a couple of weeks the cup arrived. There are two sizes, the small one for women whom haven't had kids, and the bigger one for women who had. The thing looked a bit uncomfortable, and I couldn't imagine not feeling that thing the whole day even though that was what many women mentioned. After reading through the instructions of how to use it (boil it first, fold it double and insert and twist), I decided to give it a try. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, so I decided not to ditch my previous period-stuff immediately. I would definitely recommend to combine it with sanitary napkins or panty-liners on your first couple of tries, just to make sure you get a hang of how to put it in. The important part that I only found out after a couple of tries, is to twist the thing after putting it in. In that way you make sure it creates a vacuum, so that no stuff can pass it. Then, depending on how heavy your periods are, you have to empty it a couple of times a day, since it fills up. I believe it is recommended not to leave the cup in for more than 12 hours at the most, but emptying it more often is of course more hygienic. 

Cleaning 

This is where I started to appreciate the toilets with a little tab inside of the toilet room. What a lifesaver! Although I believe these cups shouldn't be a taboo anymore, I do feel slightly awkward walking around with a cup with my period blood and emptying it in the sink next to someone who's washing their hands. But well, sometimes there's just no other option. Every time you take it out and empty it in the toilet, you have to clean it before using it again. The best way is just to wash it with some water (and make sure the vacuum holes on the side are clean as well). I usually do this in the shower in the morning, which makes things a lot easier. However, if water is not at hand (which is the case in some washrooms), then there are three other options; (1) bring your own bottle of water and just wash it above the toilet, (2) clean it as much as you can with toilet paper, (3) use the Organiwash or Organiwipes. 

Before every first use, make sure to boil it in water for about 5-10 minutes as to fully clean it. This is the only real obstacle I found while travelling. During my last trip, which would be a packpacking trip through Asia for some months, I was mostly worried about this part. Staying in a hostel, there are always people around you, so boiling a period cup in a hostel pot can be a bit awkward. Or maybe there isn't even a kitchen available, if you're in the middle of the jungle for example. To work my way around this, I looked for other options. Eventually I found out about Organiwash and Organiwipes. I figured this would be a good way to clean the cup while not having access to a kitchen or anything, and whenever it would be possibly I would just boil it then. Eventually this worked out well, and makes travelling a lot easier!

The pros

For me this cup makes travelling a lot easier. I don't have to worry about where to buy sanitary products, or where to throw them out. It saves tons of money, and I can still take part in activities that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to, such as snorkeling, diving, surfing, or any other sport for that matter. Also, I'm happy that I don't have to use all these throwaway product anymore. So much unnecessary waste every month!! However, the most important reason why I'm happy with my cup is just because it makes life so much more comfortable. I hate the feeling of most sanitary products, it feels unhygienic, you have to change them quite often, and there's a possibility of ilnesses if you don't. With this cup, I really don't feel anything throughout the day (the only problem with this is that sometimes I forget that it is still inside), so yeah, it makes my life a lot easier.

The cons

Personally, I can't find many cons, but there are some. The biggest one for me is that every cup is a bit different and it can therefore be difficult to find the right one. If it doesn't go in correctly or doesn't entirely fit well, then it can leak a bit. This is not really a problem, but 100% leakproof is of course the best. On my worst days this isn't always the case with my current one (the previous one, the one I totally burned, was perfect though), so I wear panty-liners on these days anyway. I did recently buy washable ones though (yeah, they exist as well!! :D), since this eventually is cheaper and better. Another con is the washing, obviously. You can't simply throw it away and be rid of it (or well, you can, but this will cost you about 25 euro's every time). However, when you get used to washing it, you'll find your own way to deal with inconvenient situations. The last con I can come up with is that it can take some time to learn how to use it, but that is easily overcome by just trying. 

All in all, I'm super happy with my period cup. It is my most important travel companion (with the Organiwash) on longer trips and I wouldn't want to live without it anymore. It's definitely worth the money, since you'll save loads in the future, and it adds to your sustainable lifestyle as well! Of course, everyone has their own preferences, so I can only speak for myself, but if you're in doubt about getting one, just try it! And if you have any questions about my experience, just post them in the comments below :).