Tip Sheet

Looking for outdoor equipment and clothing that match your environmental principles? Sustainable Travel International simplifies the search with its annual green gear guide. Here are some of its tips:

• Buy bulk organic foods and cook them on the greenest stove that meets your needs. Some interesting options include a superefficient wood-burning backpack stove and a pollution-free solar oven.
• Suit up in ecofriendly materials like hemp, soy, or organic cotton and wool. Fabrics fashioned from recycled soda bottles are especially durable, while bamboo fibers are lightweight and quick-drying.
• Look at new options such as solar backpacks that can charge a satellite radio, snowboards with lightweight organic-cotton top layers, or skateboards with extra-flexible bamboo decks. Surfers, boarders, and bikers can maintain their gear with biodegradable and vegetable-based degreasers, lubricants, and waxes.
• Pick items with minimal, recyclable, or biodegradable packaging that's printed with soy-based inks.

For a list of recommended products, visit sustainabletravel.com/greengearguide.pdf.