Steal the packs of some AT thru hikers as they’re cooling off in a swimming holeor maybe using the privythen dump their stuff on the ground and take inventory with an enviro-minded perspective. You’ll probably find a plastic mug and food containers; maybe a plastic whistle and compass; petroleum-based fleece clothes (most likely not made from recycled materials) stuffed tightly into Ziploc bags to stay dry; a non recyclable gas-burning stove; a sleeping bag stuffed with synthetic insulation; and a shell jacket made from some kind of mystery proprietary waterproof membrane invented in a chemical company’s evil laboratory. In other words, a hard core hiker’s backpack is basically a big giant bag of global warming. With straps.
This situation is beginning to change, though, as a steady trickle of new outdoor products is being introduced that come from 100-percent recycled materials. Two notable tents fit in this category, the Nemo Nano Oz and the Big Agnes Salt Creek 2.
The body of the yellow-and-gray single-wall tent is made exclusively from recycled post-consumer plasticfrom the floor to the top of the shell. Its aluminum DAC Featherlite poles are anodized using non-toxic methods. It weighs 4 pounds 3 ounces, fits two people, and sells for $449.
The roomier and heavier (6 pounds, 5 ounces) uses all-recycled polyester for its fly and body–and as its white color indicates, no dyes were involved. (Good luck keeping it white for long in the backcountry, though.) Even the zippers are recycled. Price: $349.