Blogs & boodschappen over tweedehands kopen en consuminderen

Leven en shoppen op een eerlijke of duurzame wijze

Heb je tips, ideëen of een mening over duurzaam shoppen en eerlijke handel, of weet je van het bestaan van leuke faire artikelen? Deel het in op je Worldsupporter profiel. Inspiratie nodig? Kijk eens bij Hannah voor een aantal leuke blogs over duurzaamheid. Onderstaand verzamel ik blogs en tips over minder kopen en kopen met minder impact op je omgeving of de omgeving van de makers.

Sometimes LESS is more

Supporting content on WorldSupporter

Reiskringloopwinkel, een win-win situatie

Het is weer gelukt! De vakantie voor aankomende zomer is geboekt. En deze keer is het een bijzondere reis. De afgelopen jaren ging ik elke zomer met een vriendin of alleen naar Azië om te backpacken en de mooiste en kleinste plekjes te ontdekken met toch wel zuid Sulawesi vorig jaar toch wel als één van de hoogtepunten. Aankomende zomer gaan we het anders doen, ik heb een reis “ontworpen” voor ons gezin. Deze zomer kan ik mijn ouders en zusje alle mooie plekken laten zien en zelf nog een aantal nieuwe plekken ontdekken. Ook zullen zij het project bezoeken op Bali waar ik al sinds 2010 actief voor ben, super! Aan het eind van onze reis zal ik zelf naar de Filipijnen vertrekken voor het 2^e deel van mijn stage, kan slechter toch?

Een belangrijk “dingetje” tijdens mijn reizen is dat ik zoveel mogelijk rekening probeer te houden met de lokale bevolking , cultuur en de natuur. Ik geef graag een donatie voor het behoud van het koraal, zorg dat ik geen afval achter laat, koop zoveel mogelijk bij de lokale bevolking en wordt oprecht gelukkig van eco-verantwoorde hotels en restaurants. Zo kwam ik vorig jaar na een lange wandeling terecht in een kleine plaats in Zuid Sulawesi. Hier zag ik hoe de houten cruise (zeil)-schepen met de hand werden gemaakt. Ik raakte (oke, ja ik had hier het voordeel dat ik Indonesisch spreek) in gesprek met één van de bouwers die mij een rondleiding gaf op dit schip. Het uitzicht vanaf het dek was echt adembenemend. Na de rondleiding ben ik wat gaan drinken bij een lokaal tentje. Voor mij een ervaring om nooit te vergeten. Tijdens mijn stage op de Filipijnen hoop ik nog veel meer mooie mensen tegen te komen zomaar spontaan op straat of via een tour van Smokey Tours.

Een ander leuk initiatief wat goed past binnen mijn 'Fair-travel' idee is de Reiskringloopwinkel waar je zelf spullen aan kunt doneren of gedoneerde reisartikelen kunt aanschaffen. Op deze manier worden reisartikelen hergebruikt en de projecten van JoHo (onder andere op de Filipijnen) gesteund! Daarnaast scheelt het mij veel in kosten, wat voor mij als student natuurlijk ook niet geheel onbelangrijk is. Ook mijn moeder was erg blij met dit initiatief want nu was er eindelijk een goede reden om de zolder op te ruimen...Een aantal uur later hadden we samen heel wat spinnenwebben verwijderd, vakantie herinneringen opgehaald, veel gelachen en een stapel spullen voor de reiskringloop winkel verzameld. Want tja waar wij vroeger als gezin vaak gingen kamperen, kozen mijn ouders nu (vaak zonder kinderen) toch liever voor een huisje aan de kust of zoals dit jaar een mooie verre reis met het gezin. De thermoskan, het strandmatje, jerrycan, opvouwbare krukje en camping speelgoed waren voor hen dus overbodig. Hopelijk zijn er andere mensen die hier nog wel wat aan hebben en krijgen onze (toch wel geliefde) reisartikelen een mooi tweede leven.

Daarnaast is de reiskringloopwinkel ook ideaal voor iedereen die vrijwilligerswerk gaat doen. Zo vond ik er een baby-klamboe waar ik één van mijn Balinese vrienden aankomende zomer erg blij mee kan maken. Zijn dochtertje is namelijk niet alleen bij hem erg geliefd maar helaas ook bij de muggen.

Voor mezelf doe ik volgende week nog één laatste reisartikelen check en dan... dan kan voor mij de vakantie beginnen, ik heb er zin in, laat de zomer maar komen!

Hoe kun je minder plastic verpakkingen gebruiken bij het boodschappen doen?

Minder plastic gebruiken. Ondanks dat veel mensen hier achter staan lijkt in de praktijk moeilijk te verwezenlijken. Probeer maar is je dagelijkse boodschappen te doen bij de supermarkt zonder plastic verpakkingen mee naar huis te nemen. Het ING Economisch Bureau heeft uitgerekend dat iedere Nederlander zo'n 1500 plastic verpakkingen per jaar gebruikt, dat zijn er zo'n vier per dag, en een groot deel van deze verpakkingen wordt niet geryclet. Gelukkig zijn er verschillende dingen die je kunt doen om minder plastic te gebruiken bij het boodschappen doen. Hieronder een aantal tips:

Koop groter in. In plaats van iedere week een kleine zak pasta of rijst te kopen kun je ook een grotere verpakking kopen waar je langer mee doet. Pasta, granen of rijst zijn namelijk lang houdbaar en zo gebruik je relatief minder verpakking.
Neem je eigen verpakking mee. Bij veel plekken kun je gemakkelijk zelf je verpakking meenemen om je boodschappen in te vervoeren. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan de markt, de groenteboer of de bakker waar veel prodcuten nog niet verpakt zijn. Maar ook bij de supermarkt kun je producten in je eigen verpakking meenemen zodat je geen plastic wegwerpzakjes hoeft te gebruiken. Koop een aantal herbruikbare zakjes, potten etc. en neem deze mee bij het boodschappen doen.
Doe boodschappen bij een verpakkingsvrije supermarkt. In Nederland zijn er steeds meer verpakkingsvrije supermarkten waar je je eigen bakjes, potten etc. kunt meenemen om boodschappen mee te doen. De blog de Zero Waste Project heeft een kaart gemaakt waarop je kunt zien welke winkels bij jou in de buurt zijn. Sinds kort is er zelfs een online verpakkingsvrije supermarkt, Pieter Pot, die je boodschappen aan huis bezorgt in glazen potten. Ze bezorgen al in meerdere steden in Nederland!
Neem je eigen eten/drinken mee. Veel plastic verpakkingen zijn voor gemaksproducten die onderweg, bijvoorbeeld op het station, worden gekocht. Als je je waterfles, broodje of snack van huis meeneemt kom je minder in de verleiding om onderweg wat te kopen en zo onnodig plastic verpakkingen te gebruiken. Ook voor koffie geldt dat je bij veel stations je eigen koffiemok of thermoskan kan meenemen (en daarvoor zelfs korting krijgt).
Indien je wel een plastic verpakking gebruikt, zorg dat je deze recyclet. Iets minder dan de helft van de plastic verpakkingen wordt nog niet gescheiden ingeleverd en belandt dus meteen bij het restafval.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS NOTHING

Too Good To Go

In case you have not heard of Too Good To Go, you have now.... It is an application to connect supermarkets, stores and restaurants with buyers.

The goal is to sell the surplus onsold food. All stores have their own kind of food, their own time of pick up and their own packages.

For example you can get left over breakfast food from the buffet from the Marriot Hotel, or Novotel or Hotel Ibis. More and more hotels join. You can get food packages of pizzaplaces or traiteurs, take out places. More and more restaurants join. Or vegetable or grocery packages from the supermarket.

You just have to eat the food the same day or put it in the fridge. And there is a difference how long you can use different food, just check.

I love it, in the pandemic time, it was my way to be adventurous, since you never know what you get, you are surprised and have to wing it. The app works in major European cities and in North America. Try it, it never failed. Too Good To Go makes me happy, thank you TGTG.

Recycle-pong

Education Category: Games
Ages:

De perfecte combinatie van plezier en lesgeven is een spel waarbij je de kinderen ook nog iets extra meegeeft. De naam zegt het al een beetje: in dit spel leren kinderen wat over Recyclen. Misschien kennen jullie het spelletje Beerpong. Dit is ongeveer hetzelfde alleen dan gebruiken we uiteraard geen bier, maar in dit geval gebruiken we een beetje zand. Voor dit spel hoef je geen nieuwe dingen aan te schaffen. Het enige wat je nodig heb is 12 keer 1 liter flessen.

Om het spel voor te bereiden zorg je dat je de liter flessen allemaal horizontaal door de helft knipt. De bovenkant waar het schenkgedeelte zit heb je niet meer nodig. Hiernaast is een klein balletje nodig, als dit er niet is kan je desnoods de dopjes van de flessen gebruiken. Het spel kan het beste gespeeld worden op een verhoging. Wij hadden twee tafeltjes naast elkaar gezet. De flessen zet je als bowlingkegels in een drie-twee-een positie aan beide kanten van de tafel. Dus aan beide kanten staan nu 6 halve liter flessen. Deze flessen vul je een beetje met zand, zodat de flessen recht op blijven staan.

Nu kan het spel beginnen. Aan beide kanten van de tafel gaat iemand staan. Met het balletje moet de gene aan de linker kant van de tafel het balletje in de flessen aan de rechterkant van de tafel gooien. Je kan afspreken om het met of zonder tip op de tafel te doen. Omstebeurt proberen de kinderen dus het balletje in de flessen van diegene tegenover hem te gooien. Als het balletje in een van de flessen komt, wordt deze fles op de grond gezet naast de tafel en gaat het spel verder. Het spel is afgelopen wanneer van een van de kinderen alle flessen op de grond staan en dus geen flessen meer aan die kant van de tafel staan. Dan heeft degene aan de andere kant van de tafel gewonnen. Hierna kunnen twee nieuwe kinderen het spel proberen.

Het leuke aan dit spel is dat je niet veel spullen nodig hebt en dat kinderen leren dat je sommige spullen kunt hergebruiken door er bijvoorbeeld een leuk spelletje van te maken

Blogs and contributions of WorldSupporters on Sustainable Shopping & Recycling:

5 easy things you can do right now to help better your environment

In countries like the Netherlands we are lucky to have efficient systems for processing and recycling trash. Many homes have efficient heating systems that limit the amount of resources we use when we're at home. All passenger trains are powered by stored wind energy and electric vehicles are on the rise in 2019. Still, we impact our environment and its health every day and while we can't prevent it, we can certainly take steps to limit the damage we're doing.

If you want to help better the environment but you don't know how you can start contributing, this list is a good place to start.
You can help the environment by doing these 5 simple things, and on the plus side, your wallet will thank you later!

1. Limit your water usage

People who have traveled to countries where water is a limited resource will all tell you that, upon returning to their home country, started taking shorter showers. Our world's population is increasing and so is our usage of water. Don't leave the tap running when brushing your teeth. Wet a towel and wash your face with that instead of with tap water. By taking shorter showers you save yourself some money at the end of the month too!

Watch: "Take shorter showers"

2. Turn the lights off in the rooms you're not in

Easy to do, hard to remember. By turning the lights off in rooms you're not in, you're saving yourself some unnecessary power usage. Sure, leaving that light on in the bathroom once or twice isn't that bad... But imagine what it adds up to over the course of a whole year. You can even invest in sensors so you won't have to hit the switch every time.

Watch: "3 Ways to Turn Off the Lights (Without getting out of bed.)"

3. Use less paper

Did you know that around 40% of the world's timber is used for the production of paper? You do now! The production of all this paper endangers forests and natural habitats. So before you print that ticket for your concert, boat ride or your curriculum vitae for a job interview, ask yourself "Do I really need to print this?"

Watch: "Save Paper to Save Forests"

4. Buy reusable products

Try to limit the amount of disposable products you buy. Get yourself a refillable water bottle or reusable tupperware, and buy a quality grocery bag instead of the plastic disposable ones.

5. Wear a sweater

Especially in winter, it can be quite cold outside. We're humans and we're inclined to turn up the heating when we want to warm ourselves up. Instead, try putting on a warm sweater and those nice-looking winter socks with the funny print on them that you got for your birthday three years ago. By dressing up warm you'll save yourself heating costs at the end of the year and, over time, you'll get used to it!

Watch: "National Sweater Day"

Duurzaamheid: wat kun je doen en waar begin je?

Eco-Friendliness, Fair Trade and Sustainability

This is a bundle of my favorite articles that address Eco-Friendliness, Fair Trade and Sustainability

Great gift ideas (The one in Dutch is about the store WAAR at various locations in The Netherlands, where you can buy unique Fair Trade goodies!)
Stories and tips
Recipes (These recipes are vegetarian or vegan friendly and, of course, you can make sure to use organic and fair trade products)

How to use a Tulip Water Filter

Demonstration of the Tulip Water Filter

Visit the author's profile page.

Watch a demonstration how you can use the Tulip Water Filter to create drinkable water wherever you need it. Ideal for people living or working in isolated locations or countries without drinkable tap or well water.

Sustainability and Social Impact

Sustainability

Looking back at 2017, focussing on the positive. I have been asked to talk, and sometimes even as a Keynote Speaker on Conferences.

My talks are about Sustainability (which is the key of Social Impact) and about Social Impact. I did some research and taught myself all about Sustainability. It was a journey and I would like to share that with you in parts. Why am I thinking about that now? Because one of our interns, who was with us 2 years ago, visited us all the way from Belgium to the Philippines. She graduated Tourism and decided because of her Internship with World Experience Philippines to study more about Sustainability.

Today she helped me, what is Sustainability and what are the Measurement Tools? For me Sustainability is if you like to make the world a better place and you dont only think about yourself. The official description is: it has to do with lagom (yes the "trendy" word from Sweden) balance, to sustain the world that generaties after us, who will follow us, have gain. Wow. So how do we do that? I am studying again, check out: The Feeling Responsible Platform of Koning Aap, Joker Reizen, check the trends on the newsletter of Travel360. I was inspired today. I wish you too.

What is Social Impact?

‘A significant, positive change that addresses a pressing social challenge.Having a social impact is the result of a deliberate set of activities with a goal around this definition.’(Center for Social Impact, University of Michigan, n.d.)

Social impact can be defined by the net results of the effects of activities on a community and the well-being of individuals and families. Sustainability is key in reaching social impact. The aim is to create positive, meaningful and long-term change for the benefit of the community.

We focussed on the following log frame: input – output – outcome – impact. Via activities, community work for example, you inject input which causes direct output. The outcome is the longer-term effect or change in broader context which hopefully turns into social impact; the sustainable effect or change on the community.

Smokey Tours and Social Impact. When we started doing projects in the slums and giving donations, our goal as to give all to the community. We would give all our income to the Foundation active in the Slum, so it could be directly put in projects. At one point we decided to go on with our tours in a professional way. Thus we had income, expenses, payment of tour leaders, transportation, meetings, a bookkeeper, business registration and “profit”. At that point, also due to transferring to another area where we did our Slum Tour, we started with Quarterly Events together with Crest. The goal was to organize an event with an educational twist, so all people would learn and most people on our route would benefit of the tour.

In the past we have organized: giving out Raincoats to children, giving out Christmas packages, Disaster training, Haircuts, Nutritional Education, Tooth brushing events, a Faucet was built in the Daycare in Happy Land.

More and more we feel like that it is good that the community is trained and organized, so they can be empowered and get more easily a job. We started in Happy Land with the Buddy system. We had 4 extra buddies from the community, as paid tour leaders in training at the back of the tour. After 2 months pilot, we had to wait too long for the buddies, they were late. They were fighting over schedules, and we decided, together with them to stop. Due to our many visits to Happy Land and our close working relationship with Crest, we discovered there was a need for a Basic Health Center. Setting it up, took a lot of time. Last moment the community has backed out and we decided due to the War on Drugs and relocation of the community to other areas to transfer our Slum Tour to Baseco with the help of Crest.

In 2017 we started with Quarterly Events, and more and more the wish of the community came forward to open a Health Center in Baseco. The local Health workers were already trained, but out of a job! It was too good to be true. We found a place, we helped 737 people in our pilot time. The Health Workers were trained by the hospital and trained by MCC of the Netherlands. We wanted more information and data of the needs of the people in Baseco in Aplaya, in the poorest area in Baseco. After 6 months, we became more and more like a Pharmacy. So we are back on track helping malnourished children (Vitameal), pregnant mothers with vitamins and education. As well as Holiday English classes, by one of our tour leaders. That is real empowerment.

We are in the middle of setting up projects sponsored by one of our former guests. With an extra new partner, besides Crest, PRRC, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission. Our focus has always been, and will always be, to help the people, who want to be helped and to empower people with knowledge and training.

During our tours, our guests are shown the other side of Manila, and we are so thank full of so many donations in cash and in kind. Our key focus is still that we can connect organizations and groups to the Baseco Community and we can do projects together, we had Rotary events, Events with a cruise line, Food packages of individuals, Art classes, Janice slipper and dancing event. Francis Anderson School supplies bag event, Typhoon relief.

A special thanks to: JoHo, Paswerk, Co van der Hoek, Marrigje Pieters, Jenneke, Harry en Eldrid, Fenna, Yvonne S.E van Eck- Remmers van de Diaken Remonstrantse Gemeente Den Haag, Martina Locher, Lucylle, Zoe, Tessa Diamse, Yew Chie, Burn, Mowen, Jos Pepping, Leon Harbers, Daniel Frances. And all the people who are not mentioned and/or don’t want to be mentioned.

Smokey Tours 2014

Lady razor on the go - Plastic or sustainable?

As I started preparing myself and my bags for a 3-day-weekend in Berlin, I stumbled across lady razors in travel format. Really easy to take with you, in your carry-on baggage, to the gym, etc.

The one I ended up buying this morning is from Gilette, Venus: On the go.

Then, I thought... Ay so much plastic, is there no better sustainable alternative? So I searched the internet and come across some bloggers writing about sustainable razors.

Check out:

I think I'll get one myself for home use. :)

4 tips for sustainable travel products

Hi everyone!

As you might have noticed, lately I've been trying to figure out how to live more sustainably. However, while I'm getting better at it at home, my travels could do with a sustainability upgrade as well. Therefore, I've been gathering some tricks I use at home, that could also be used for travelling.

1. Get a safety razor
This is definitely one of my favorite lifestyle changes and it could easily be used for travelling as well. I have been using disposable razors for so long, and never really thought about how damaging they are for the environment due to packaging and all the plastic used for the razors themselves (I'm not even talking about production emissions etc). Recently I saw a post somewhere about a safety razor, which made me wonder whether this would be a good alternative. It turns out, many people before me have asked the same question and hundreds of blogs are written about it. Great! So after reading some experiences of other bloggers, I decided to buy one. Without putting too much effort into it, I choose the "Feather safety razor populair" at https://www.thealphamen.nl/feather-safety-razor-populair-2-mesjes.html which costs 20 euros and comes with 2 blades. I didn't want to spend too much money on one in case I didn't like it, but in hindsight, it would have been better if I bought a safety razor that was 100% metal and maybe a little bit more expensive.

I'm very happy with my safety razor (maybe I'll write a whole blog about it sometime as well..). I was a bit scared when I used it for the first time, because it's such a sharp razor and a new experience, but this turned out to be totally unnecessary. It's super easy and it's so much better than disposable razors with 2,3,4,5 blades. You can use the razor everywhere (just be a bit more careful in sensitive areas), and you really get a clean and good shave which lasts much longer. For a sustainable shaving cream, especially when travelling, it's easiest to have a soap bar with you, or some coconut or olive oil. This works really well and is super easy. You can just bring a bit of oil with you on your travels and only use a little bit every time you shave.

By the way, the disposable razor blades last about 1-2 months depending on how often you use it, and are recyclable.

2. Rice water hair boost
One of the things I really dislike when I'm travelling, is when my hair gets dry. Certain climates can be really tough on your hair and damage it, and usually spending much time on revitalising your hair is not a priority when travelling. So recently, I found out about an easy trick to give your hair a little boost, and it can be done almost everywhere!

What you do is you boil rice with 1.5 or 2 times the amount of water you would have actually needed for cooking the rice. When it's finished you drain the excess water and keep it separate. Let it cool down until it's colder, cover your hair and scalp in it (for example by putting the water in a bowl and dipping your hair and head in) and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. Then rinse it out and your hair will be super soft again!

If you use conditioner as well, do this after conditioning - You can also mix the rice water with green tea to make your hair more shiny - if you have too much rice water, store it in the fridge so you can use more later - you have to figure out yourself how much to use it, I think most people say once a week/two weeks/month. Or you can just use it whenever your hair feels like it needs a boost.

3. Bring a water bottle and/or sustainable cup with you on your trip
Just like at home, you can bring your own water bottle or coffee cup when you go somewhere. This can safe millions of plastic or paper alternatives. Always ask people to use your cup for a drink your ordering, and fill your own bottle with water. A Stojo cup (https://stojo.co/) is a very good option for travellers since it is foldable and therefore takes up less space in your bag.

4. Bring your own chopsticks
Okay, maybe this one doesn't count for all your travels, but mainly relates to travelling in south-east Asia, but it really helps save on wooden products. I have experience travelling in Japan and everywhere you buy some food, you get disposable wooden chopsticks in plastic packaging. Imagine saying no to all of these and just using your own chopsticks? It's so easy! I think on the worst days I could have saved over 8 pairs of chopsticks if I did this, and that would be only in one day. So from now on, I'm gonna bring my own and say no to the disposable ones :).

These are just some simple tricks and tips for more sustainable travels. There are lots more to be found on the internet and more blog posts by me will follow in the future as well. But for now, you can read my blogpost about reducing your carbon footprint while travelling here, about sustainable and ethical travelling here and flight compensation here.

Cheers,

Hannah

Sustainability, ethics & travelling

Travelling sustainably and ethically: tips & tricks

Choosing sustainable outdoor gear

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

4 tips for sustainable travel products

Sustainable use of the ocean by fisherman