Green Gear Check for June

Uv Protection FabricRebecca Heaton, editor of RMS, joined Susie to talk about thefollowing cool gear: Wear-It, Plant-It Icebreaker's "baacode" lets consumers to tracetheir merino wool garment right back to a particular sheep stationin New Zealand. Now their new line of clothing allows buyers totake their garments back to the land. The idea? When you're donewearing it, plant it, and the shirt will break down and decomposewith no harmful byproduct. Plant It '08 Flight V $70. www.icebreaker.com Green Points: Beyond the Baacode, Icebreaker ensures all of itssuppliers follow strict rules for ethical treatment of animals andit keeps its production process transparent from start to finish. Eco Sensitive Longtime environmental steward REI has created a newecoSensitive line of clothing made from eco-friendly materialsincluding recycled polyester, organic cotton, organic wool, hemp,recycled PET from soda bottles and bamboo. A few pieces include theMuir Woods Jacket ($69) made with 53% recycled materials; the AsanaSkirt ($44) that's 59% organic cotton/41% recycled polyester; andthe Nikole Day Bag ($45) made with recycled PET polyester fromplastic bottles. www.rei.com Green Points: Since 1976, REI has donated more than $20 million toconservation and outdoor-recreation nonprofits and causes. In aNutshell Based in Boulder, Cocona Fabrics (part of TrapTek LLC)develops technology out of natural sources. One of their mostpopular products is made from, believe it or not, discarded coconutshells where the outer shell is transformed into a high-performingyarn and fabric that wicks, traps and removes odors, and providesUV protection. D.R. Outdoors is one company using Cocona in itsline of Active Compression Wear and Ultra-Lite Wear tops andbottoms for men and women. Check out www.droutdoors.com. For moreon Cocona, visit www.coconafabrics.com . Green Points: Cocona's technology is especially environmentallyfriendly as it derives from a virtually endless natural resource,coconut shells. Recycled Jewelry Tarma Designs makes sport- and outdoor-inspiredjewelry from recycled stainless steel and recycled polyester cord.The Running Spirit pendant ($25) will keep you motivated to put onefoot in front of the other. Dirt riders might enjoy the MountainBike earrings ($20). Other fun new designs include a two-tone Om,Mountain Spirit, Spiral and Heart Spiral. Several designs come inbottle openers (Mountain Bike $23), too. www.tarmadesigns.com GreenPoints: Tarma donates $1 of each sale of its Appalachian TrailSeries jewelry to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Track Your Shoe Known as a leader in environmental stewardship andgreen gear design, Patagonia is expanding its offering ofperformance and travel shoes, all of which have a green tale totell. The Sugar & Spice, for example, are made with 70% naturallatex uppers that are detachable and replaceable when worn out sono need to buy a whole new pair of shoes. $120. www.patagonia.com GreenPoints: On its Footprint Chronicles page, Patagonia tracks theenvironmental effect of a number of its products (including theSugar & Spice shoes). Check it out at www.patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp Love Your PET Golden-based Mountainsmith has expanded itseco-friendly offerings and now has 35 different bags made fromrecycled PET material including lumbar packs, backpacks, camerabags and travel cases. The ever-popular Tour lumbar is made fromapproximately 18 recycled plastic bottles. $70. www.mountainsmith.com GreenPoints: In 2006, Mountainsmith took a leadership position asthe first outdoor company to bring recycled fabric technology tomodern pack design. By 2009, their goal is to have all productsconstructed from recycled materials. Sleeping Green Camping in the great outdoors just got greener withhelp from Big Agnes. Their new Skinny Fish 20-degree sleeping bag($179.95) is filled with Climashield HL Green 100% recycled contentinsulation with a 100% recycled rip-stop nylon shell. Complete yourgreen dreams package with the Diversion Insulated Air Core SleepingPad ($89.95), made with 100% recycled rip-stop nylon shell fabric,Climashield HL Green insulation and a recycled aluminum valve. www.bigagnes.com GreenPoints: This year, Big Agnes expects to divert 500,000 16-oz.PET plastic bottles from landfills with its green line of gear. You can pick up a FREE copy of RMS at most health clubs, coffeeshops, and various restaurants in Denver and surrounding areas. Youcan also visit RMS on-line at www.rockymountainsports.com