By Korrin Bishop

Waste is a global concern. It’s estimated that about 92 million tons of textile waste ends up in landfills annually, including roughly 15% of scrap fabric that gets discarded during the manufacturing process for clothing, bags, and other items. Meanwhile, around 11 million metric tons of plastics land in the ocean every year. 

At Gossamer Gear, we recognize that it’s our responsibility to reduce our environmental impact. Our slogan “take less. do more.” serves as a reminder to maintain our relentless drive to eliminate the unnecessary in life and focus on what’s important and worthy of doing to serve our customers, our community, and our wild places. 

In addition to continuing to support gear repair through our partnership with Rugged Thread, we’re excited to be quickly growing our transition to recycled fabrics and materials. These new options let us make the same great gear but with a lower environmental footprint. We invite you all to take less, do more—and reduce, reuse, recycle with us!

Why We’re Making the Switch to Recycled Fabrics

As part of our sustainability efforts, we are committed to remaining at the forefront of new strategies, innovations, and technologies that allow for safer and more sustainable business growth practices. Some of these initiatives include:

• ISO 9001:2015 certified facilities
• PE/EVA foam made from 50% recycled plastic resin
• OEKO-TEX certified umbrella fabrics
• Fabrics and trims sourced from bluesign® partners
• BetterWork certified backpack facility

Incorporating more recycled materials into our products is a logical next step that aligns with our values. As our CEO Jonathan Schmid explained, “The technology is finally here that enables us to lessen our impact and strengthen our commitment to conserving our wild places without sacrificing the durability of our fabrics.”

We launched this effort in 2023 with our Jet Line, including the Vagabond Jet Daypack and Bumster Jet Fanny Pack. These products were switched to recycled 210D Robic nylon, and are readier than ever for lightweight urban adventures, office commutes, and stylish travel. However, we knew these two fan favorites were just the start of our journey into recycled materials.

Recycled Fabrics 101: What We’re Incorporating

Many of our products are switching to recycled Robic nylon fabric that is certified as 100% recycled by the Global Recycling Standard (GRS). More specifically, the materials include:

• 70D fabric that is 100% post-consumer recycled Robic nylon from ocean plastics. Discarded fishing nets are gathered and repurposed into a new fiber that we can then use. You can learn more about this process in this short video. 
• 100D and 210D fabrics are 100% pre-consumer recycled Robic nylon. This means they are made from manufacturing waste. You can learn more about these fabrics here.
• All fabrics have C0 WR (PFAS-free) on the face and 1,500mm PU on the back. 

Our recycled fabrics have the same strength and durability as our past backpacks, but are now much better for the environment. 

In addition to using recycled Robic nylon, we’ve also committed to using the scrap fabric that results from making our packs for a variety of smaller lightweight products we know our community will love!

Our Odditty Bags use fabric left over from constructing our packs to offer lightweight storage sacks for use on and off trail. Enjoy fun color combos, high-performing materials, and the knowledge that you’re helping reduce waste through reuse—all while organizing your tent stakes, reading glasses, first aid items, and other trail needs.

Need a simple way to carry cash and cards while traveling or stopping in a trail town? Look no further than the Dollar Collar. This small, zippered wallet is attached to cording to wear as a functional necklace or trendy cross-body bag. A ring attached to the lanyard lets you connect your keys for easy finding. Designed with leftover fabric from constructing our packs, this wallet helps reduce and reuse for the planet!

Find Recycled Fabrics in These Gossamer Gear Products

As mentioned earlier, we launched our move to recycled fabrics with the Jet Line in 2023. Since then, we’ve been switching everything to recycled materials as we’ve placed new manufacturing orders. 

As of December 2024, all of our products have recycled fabrics except:

• Pre-2024 versions of backpacks and accessories
• Murmur
• Fast Kumo in S/M
• Minimalist in Gray
• Bumsters in Gray
• Feedbag
• Hipbelt Pocket
• Tyvek products
• All shelters

We’re looking forward to continuing to find innovative ways to reduce waste and reuse and recycle materials. You can always check out our sustainability page for the latest updates or reach out to the team at support@gossamergear.com if you have any questions!

Have a Lighter Impact and Lighter Load With Gossamer Gear’s Recycled Fabric Backpacks

As we continue to make updates to our line of backpacks and accessories, we’re always looking for where we can make the most impact with what we do.

Have any steps you’re taking to reduce your environmental footprint while enjoying our shared wild spaces? We’d love to hear about it! Share your insight with us by tagging Gossamer Gear on social media (@gossamergear) and using the hashtag #takelessdomore.

Looking for more outdoor inspiration? Check out some of our other articles on the Light Feet blog:

• 7 Popular Park Dupes for More Adventure and Fewer Crowds
• 5 Ways to Celebrate Nature This Earth Day
• Learn the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace
• Gossamer Gear Brand Ambassadors Show What It Means to “Do More”
• Los Padres Forest Association Shows How to Give Back to the Places We Love

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