We gotchu.

So you have gear: coats, hats, scarves, snow pants, boots, etc, that you don’t need anymore. Kiddos outgrew them or you found a new style you like more. Or you didn’t like the gear and are trying to find the right fit.

Avoid the landfill if possible. Say no way to the garbage. Most of these items are made of synthetic materials and therefore, cannot breakdown in the landfill.

What can you do with it instead?

Here are a list of ways to productively get rid of your excess gear (or recycle):

1. Hand-me-downs – if the gear is still in decent condition see if family members, friends or neighbors are able to use them
2. Sell pieces on marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace or Ebay
3. Local trade/swap program
4. Donate to a local second hand store (Goodwill or Salvation Army)
5. Donate to local women’s shelter, homeless shelter, road home, Foster Care
6. Reach out to your children’s school or a local school and ask if they are aware of students that are in need of the gear
   • Find local Title I schools
   • Find local outdoor preschools/schools who need outdoor apparel extras for their students
7. See if the brand of apparel or gear has a buy back program (wool can be recycled and re-used several times!)

We’ve been researching lots of brands, materials, technical specs, designs of outdoor apparel for a long time. Obviously, it’s kinda why we exist.

A majority of the gear and apparel available is made out of synthetic materials and manufactured overseas – great for cost, durability, and waterproofing (amongst other things) but it’s synthetic. Not natural. Even if the material is made out of recycled plastics, it’s still typically a product not easily broken down in landfills once the item has run its course.

So we’ve been really thinking about how to keep these items out of the landfill as much as possible.

Especially with the unfortunate reality that fast fashion has infiltrated the outdoor brands space. Brands drop new apparel lines every season. They drop multiple options for a single item (ex. Snowboard Coat is a category that lists 10 different snowboard coats). Why do we need so many? How do I choose which one? It can be daunting to try and figure out what to purchase and no one needs all 10 coats.

As the self proclaimed outdoor lovers and land stewards that we are, we as a community sure end up buying a lot of clothing and gear made of NON natural fibers that ends up in our land fills. But that’s a conversation for another day. We have a very exciting announcement coming soon!

For now, NoBads, let’s be extra mindful of how we treat our gear and how we handle said gear when we are done with it.

Don’t cancel plans, make more (and take care of your gear!).

Outdoor Responsibly,