Green Winter Clothing Redux: Merino Wool

I have already extolled the virtues of merino wool for green winter clothing before.  It is a superior fabric, both from a performance standpoint and an environmental impact aspect.  Although Patagonia is one of my favorite brands, they are not the only great company these days.  If you aren't able to find something second hand at a thrift store or online auction, there are several companies and pieces that I would recommend.

Below is a list of the items that are in my regular winter rotation, this post appeared previously on my other blog ATerrificLife.

I am a huge fan of merino wool.  It is warm, soft, comfortable, and stylish.  Not only that, but it is environmentally friendly! Only downside is the relatively high cost.  I think all considered it is worth it, especially if you are careful to shop during sale times!

First item is my Smartwool, gray stripe s/s 

This is a great, versatile piece and I am very happy with it, need to get more short sleeves for the slightly warmer months.

Ibex Zepher Zip - Ibex' thickest base layer.  Very soft! pretty warm and stylish, although it is a little bit big for me as it is a size large.  Certainly not a deal breaker.  Purchased on Black Friday from the Ibex store on Newbury St, Boston.

Icebreaker Mondo Zip Tee - Bright red, a favorite of my wife.  A very slim fitting piece, I think this has to do with the provenance of Icebreaker, people not from North America are just smaller!

Ibex Woolies - Thinner than the Zepher and more appropriate for wearing as a layering piece.  I like the black and white stripe design.  This is also the piece I sleep in most often!

Ibex Shak - given to me by my wife, its one of ATL Essential: Winter Edition because it is such a great piece!  Much thicker, not a base layer in any but the most outlandish locations.  This is an amazing mid layer and can even be worn as an outer layer on milder days.  I tend to pair this with my Smartwool short sleeve.

I sometimes wear synthetics too. Patagonia Capilene 3 and a Regulator Zip fleece mid layer.   Not as warm and tend to get stinky, but I got them awhile ago.

Green Winter Clothing

Clothing is one of the items that the US has such a ridiculous surplus of, yet we still continue to produce in the cheapest, most wasteful, least green methods.  That's what the market desires, low prices and coinciding low quality.  Winter is when we need clothing the most, especially here in chilly New England.  I am a huge proponent of thrift stores, although if I convert too many of you to shopping at these great second hand clothing outlets, all the great finds will dry up extremely quickly!  I am on the look out for some great blankets for winter and a heavy jacket at the moment.  A pair of boots would be nice as well.

There are however several brands that I can recommend in good conscience.  First of all, if you don't need a new item, don't buy one.  You can always repair your old things.  However, if you have identified a need, I follow a process like the following.

1) imagine the perfect item to fit my needs
2) reach out to people in my network for ideas and suggestions
3) search for more information about potential choices, Google is your friend
4) consider second hand outlets like eBay
5) buy the item and use it for many years

Some of my favorite brands, particularly for winter are Ibex, Smartwool, Icebreaker, and Patagonia.  I prefer wool for all weather clothing.  It is incredibly warm, soft and durable, a far superior fiber to cotton.  Don't even get me started on Polyester.  Not only is it a better performance fiber, it is much
more green.  Watch Ibex's video below.

   

Patagonia x eBay: Common Threads

As regular readers of this blog know, I believe one of the easiest ways to make a difference by going green is through used clothing.  I have advocated shopping at thrift stores and second hand shops before and eBay is a virtual extension of this, except that it allows you to get the exact items you want!

Patagonia, which is a great outdoors company, striving to do good in the world, through use of sustainable farming of organic cotton in its products has teamed up with eBay to create a new program called Common Threads.  The idea is to encourage people to buy used clothes and recycle their old ones, rather than wasting by buying new when used will do.

Here is the link to the webshop on eBay.  If you are in need of Patagonia clothing, make this your first destination.