Icebreaker, a New Zealand company, is proving that wool can be worn in warm weather. They have released a new line of  “ultra-fine” merino wool T-shirts.  I’ve been testing their Tech T Lite while biking, it has performed quite admirably in the heat — it keeps you cool, and retains less odor than a cotton shirt. I am prone to be aggravated by materials that make you itch - but I didn’t find Icebreaker’s merino wool itchy. Icebreaker now has a entire range of men’s and women’s summer clothing. (more…)

Steve Nash is the All-Star guard for the Phoenix Suns has forged a partnership with Nike to create the Nike Trash Talk, a basketball shoe made from manufacturing waste. The “waste” comes Nike’s own production facilities—scraps that would otherwise have been discarded. The Trash Talk is modeled after Steve Nash’s current shoe, the Nike Zoom BB II Low, and meets Nike’s Considered design standards for taking a sustainable approach to performance footwear innovation.

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Cocona is a natural fabric enhancer that is made with activated carbon. The activated carbon is derived from coconut husks — it is a “waste” product of the water filter industry. But what does Cocona do exactly? It is said to help traditional fabrics resist moisture, control odor and shield ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Activated carbon has a huge absorbing area — one gram of it has a surface area the size of two tennis court. Some 40 outdoor clothing manufacturers, including GoLite, Marmot, Sierra Designs and Royal Robbins, are incorporating Cocona into their 2007 product lines. (more…)

Patagonia is really a leader in effective, green manufacturing. Now the company is making its manufacturing processes as transparent as possible. Patagonia has created a web site called the Footprint Chronicles, where you can track the eco “footprint” of several pieces of Patagonian clothing. Also listed in the amount of waste and CO2 generated as the garments are produced — quite elucidating.

Merino wool is an optimal green material for use in winter. In contrast to most other synthetic materials that are commonly used to make winter garb, it is quite sustainable. It’s softer than regular wool, resists wind, regulates body temperature, and warms better than synthetic material. Some good maker of natural merino wool clothing are Smartwool, Patagonia, Ibex and Icebreaker (pictured here).

Clothing hangers should not be made out of plastic. These Earthsaver clothing hangers are made from 100% corn grown in the U.S., and they are manufactured in the U.S. by Merrick. However, conventionally grown corn involves the use of many of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Organically grown corn would be more effective. Better still would to build them out of locally grown bamboo or wood grown in managed forests in the U.S.

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This shoe, the Greenley 2 by Lafuma, is built with highly effective and sustainble materials. The uppers are made of hemp and the lining is a cotton canvas. The shoe also has a removable footbed of tanned leather (made without VI chromium or latex), and natural rubber sole. It is part of Lafuma’s Pure Leaf Collection. The shoe is currently on sale at Amazon for $22:  Lafuma Greenley II Sneaker, and they have a similar hemp shoe available, the Lafuma Active Hemp Sneaker.

If you want to see more green shoes and backpacking gear, check out these reviews by Trailspace.

A Japanese company is making jeans out of a blend of sugar cane and selvage denim. The cane used is Sweet Sorghum, otherwise known as Sweet Millet. It’s a type of grass grown all over the world for making a molasses-like syrup and animal feed. The Sugarcane jeans that feature this fiber have a faint sweet smell and may have occasional woody tufts poking out of the fabric! Some of the jeans are dyed with persimmon.

They are available from: Rakuten (Japan), Saddlemen (Japan). They can also be found at Amazon.

See also these hemp jeans and another version, and jeans dyed with natural indigo, like the original ones were.

Good news: Nau just opened their online store. Nau is a company that uses only eco-effective materials to construct their clothing, including a number of materials that they developed themselves from the ground up. Nau also closely monitors the production process of the clothing, to ensure good labor practices and environmental standards. Via Groovy Green

SmartWool specializes in creating 100% merino wool activewear. I’ve worn some Smartwool clothing for a couple of years now, and it still looks new — it’s hasn’t piled or worn. The merino wool is much softer against the skin than regular wool, it feels similar to thick silk. Here’s some other reasons why I think merino wool is efficient: it’s an excellent insulator, it’s lightweight (warmest material by weight), it’s naturally moisture wicking, it doesn’t smell when wet (anti-microbial), it’s durable, washable, quiet (it doesn’t rustle when moved), flame-retardant, self-extinguishing, renewable and biodegradable.

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Fair Hemp has released some new women’s tees priced at $14.95. The shirt are made with 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton, and colored with eco-friendly dyes. They are soft, stylish and comfortable, and sweatshop and pesticide free. Fair Hemp says the fabric is pre-washed for broken-in softness and shrinkage control, so these shirts won’t shrink up and the side seams won’t twist out of shape over time. Available from GoodHemp.

Hemp is the most efficient material for socks: it’s durable, it breathes better than all other plant fibers and it’s more resistant to bacteria than cotton. It’s also grown a environmentally sound manner without pesticides. All of these factors give it the edge in terms of sock efficiency. Usually, the hemp fiber is blended with cotton and spandex for support.

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What’s the perfect T-Shrit? Is it this one? Better Thinking, a product think-tank in the UK, has set a challenge to create a garment with world’s lowest eco-footprint, taking everything into consideration to create “‘The Perfect T-Shirt“. They’ve set up a forum to share ideas, knowledge and opinions. They also have a blog which tracks their progress.

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Merino wool qualifies as a metaefficient material. It’s softer than regular wool, resists wind, regulates body temperature, and warms better than any synthetic material.

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The Colorado Trading Company has created a fabric they call “Soybu” which is a blend of bamboo fiber and soy fiber. The fiber feels like cashmere — it’s soft and buttery. I haven’t tried Soybu, but I have a bamboo fiber blanket. I’m impressed by the warmth and texture of the material. Two Soybu products are available: this Soybu Micro Chenille Robe and a Soybu Blanket Throw. The robe is priced at $120 at Colorado Trading Company.

The Ribcap is a soft, flexible cap that hardens on impact to protect the head from damage. The secret lies in the use of an elastomeric compound called d3o. It was discovered by researchers at University of Hertfordshire. It’s a shear thickening material, which is flexible when moved slowly, but when it is compressed by an impact, its molecules lock together.

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Here’s something that allows you to get traction on snow or ice while wearing your regular shoes. These Yaktrax grips are essentially a thick rubber bands, equipped with steel coils, that fit over the sole of your shoes. Apparently the idea was borrowed from the Tibetans. Priced around $20 per pair, available from Amazon. Story via productdose.

This newly released Outer340 Clipper jacket from Icebreaker is made out 100% New Zealand merino wool. The “Outer340″ refers the the weight of the wool (340 grams per square centimeter). It costs about $230 USD. See this previous post for details on why we think their clothing is metaefficient. This page has a guide to where to buy Icebreaker clothing.

This boot’s upper and laces are made of a blend of 50% hemp and 50% cotton for durability. The soles contain 40% recycled hospital gloves (or car tires in the black soled version) and the tongue padding and insole are recovered foam from upholstery manufacturing. The removable insole padding and tongue are 100% recycled foam (from seat cushion manufacturing).

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Bamboo socks are efficient because they don’t retain odor and are very comfortable to wear. But we’ve also learned that producing bamboo fiber involves a great deal of chemical treatment. Socks made with hemp or organic cotton are the most efficient overall. (more…)