Living out of carry-on travel packs year-round, we have researched (almost) all our gear. Whatever we purchase meets our needs as location-independent, minimalist travellers and will stand the test of time. Quality over quantity is not just a snappy phrase but a necessity. But with sustainability among our core values, we want our gear not only to be technically the best gear for our lifestyle but also to be made in a way that does not harm our environment or the people and communities involved in its manufacturing.
This article might be for you if you’re in the same boat. We’ll talk about how to learn more about the brands you wear, and we’ll share what brands we use and how they stack up when it comes to doing the right thing for people and the planet.
Where to learn more about your clothes and how they’re made?
If you, too, want to ensure that what you buy wasn’t manufactured by poisoning rivers in India or forcing seamstresses in Bangladesh to work in an unsafe building, start asking where your clothes came from (and I don’t mean the department store three blocks away).
Unfortunately, manufacturers are not always forthcoming with that sort of information, and there is no single global, independent body that monitors the manufacturing industry and assures us that they are doing (and we are buying) the right thing. So, how do you know?
Independent bodies
Firstly, there are a bunch of institutions out there that have made it their mission to find out. While their methodologies cover different aspects and thus don’t always come to the same conclusion, their databases and reports are a good starting point:
- B Lab
- Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
- CSRHub
- Ethical Consumer
- Fair Labor Association
- Good on You
- Know the Chain
- Shop Ethical!
- Tear Fund.
The databases also allow us (consumers) to compare brands with each other (using the same assessment criteria).
If you want those who make your gear to work in a safe place and earn a fair wage ask how and where your gear is made | Photo on Wikimedia Commons
Manufacturers directly
The other port of call is the manufacturers themselves. Many publish Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Statements (and other information). But if you spend some time reading them, you can tell which ones are just marketing gimmicks/greenwashing tactics and which ones genuinely address the sustainability and ethics of their supply chain:
- Signs they genuinely care: Full transparency of the supply chain, standards of conduct and sustainability policies, regular (unannounced) visits of manufacturing plants, use of recycled materials and eco-friendly manufacturing methods, regular reporting
- Greenwashing indicators: Empty marketing statements without a (meaningful) proof (or with evidence relating to a small portion of products only), no transparency, no (regular) reporting, token charity projects to distract from shortcomings
Other public domain information
Another data point is search engines. Simply searching for “{brand} worker payment/safety/{whatever else you want to know}” may return something (and if there is nothing, it’s usually a good sign). I just did that for Nike, a brand sadly still in the news for its worker mistreatment and environmental pollution.
Search engines serve as effective testing grounds for assessing whether a company engages in greenwashing or if a previously criticised brand is making genuine efforts to improve.
Use public domain searches to confirm if manufacturers are walking the talk | Photo on Wikimedia Commons
How sustainably and ethically made is what WE own?
We were curious to establish a baseline a few years ago and started researching the companies that manufacture our gear. Some of our initial findings were mere confirmation of what we already knew, while others were eye-opening (and not in a good way)—incentive enough for us to look for alternatives once these items reached their end of life.
We review and update our assessment (at least) annually as we add and remove items from our packing lists (Female packing list | Male packing list).
So, how does our gear stack up? The below table lists all the brands we currently own. We include links to the companies’ sustainability statements/policies for brands without independent assessment.
Brand | Owner | B Lab | CSRHub | Ethical Consumer | Good On You | Know The Chain | Shop Ethical | Tearfund |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bellroy | Privately Owned | 83.8 | N/R | N/R | 3/5 | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Boody | Privately Owned | 101.6 | N/R | N/R | 4/5 | N/R | B | N/R |
Buff | Privately Owned | 105.7 | N/R | N/R | 4/5 | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Corkor | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | 4/5 | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Fox River | Standard Merchandising Co | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Hammamas | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Icebreaker | VF Corporation | N/R | 95/100 (VFC) | 5.0/15 (VFC) | 3/5 | 62/100 (VFC) | C | 54 (VFC) |
Kuhl | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Marmot | Newell Brands Inc | N/R | 71/100 (NB) | 3.5/15 | 2/5 | N/R | F | N/R |
Matador | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Mitch Dowd | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Mons Royale | Privately Owned | 83.1 | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Osprey | Helen of Troy Ltd | N/R | 76/100 (HOT) | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Outdoor Research | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Packtowl | Cascade Designs Inc | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Pacsafe | Outpac Designs Limited | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Patagonia | Patagonia Purpose Trust | 151.4 | 98/100 | 11.0/15 | 4/5 | N/R | A | 68 |
PrAna | Columbia Sportswear Company | N/R | 71/100 (CSC) | 4.0/15 (CSC) | 3/5 | 39/100 (CSC) | F (CSC) | N/R |
Proviz | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Ron Hill | Bollin Group Ltd | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Salomon | Amer Sports | N/R | 99/100 (AS) | 6.5/15 (AS) | 3/5 | N/R | F (AS) | N/R |
Sea to Summit | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | A | N/R |
Smartwool | VF Corporation | N/R | 95/100 (VFC) | 5.0/15 (VFC) | 3/5 | 62/100 (VFC) | C (VFC) | 54 (VFC) |
Toad and Co | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Unbound Merino | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Xero Shoes | Feel the World Inc | N/R | N/R | 10.0/15 | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Zpacks | Privately Owned | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R | N/R |
Ratings Explained
Rating | Meaning |
---|---|
B Lab | As score of 80 and above qualifies for B Corp Certification (maximum possible score: 250+) |
CSRHub | Benchmarks companies based on their overall environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance; from 100 = Best to 0 = Worst |
Ethical Consumer | Scores brands on 300 topics in 5 main areas (animals, environment, people, politics and product sustainability). Every company starts with a score of 14. Points are being deducted when the company lacks in an area, but it can also earn points for product sustainability or company ethos; from 15 = Best to 0 = Worst |
Good On You | Rates brands based on their impact on workers across the supply chain as well as resources use and disposal; 2/5 = Not Good Enough, 3/5 = It’s A Start, 4/5 = Good |
Know the Chain | Benchmarks companies based on the forced labour risks within their global supply chain; from 100 = Best to 0 = Worst |
Shop Ethical! | Rates companies considering their environmental and social impact, including the treatment of animals; B = Some Praise/No Criticism, D = Criticism/Some Praise, F = Criticisms |
Tearfund | Grades manufacturers on the strength of their systems to mitigate against the risks of exploitation in their supply chain; from 100 = Best to 0 = Worst (* indicates that company was assessed on public information only) |
N/R | Not Rated |
How important are a brand's eco and ethics credentials when you buy?
What resources have you found useful for making informed consumer choices? And which (travel) clothing and gear brands that genuinely care about people and the planet can you recommend? Please let me know.
Before you go, if you liked our article and found it helpful, we would appreciate it if you could share it with your friends and family via the Share buttons below. Even better: Leave a short review on Trustpilot or Google, which would help us further build our online reputation as a (trustworthy and helpful) travel and lifestyle blog.