Behind the Scenes of an Eco-Friendly Travel Gear Revolution
At Natural Habitat Adventures, we’ve always believed that responsible travel means more than treading lightly on the planet’s wild places. It’s also about taking responsibility for the tools we use to explore them. Each year, we issue hundreds of jackets, backpacks and field essentials to our guides, field staff and partners—gear that carries the Nat Hab name into the world’s most spectacular landscapes.
But what happens when a zipper breaks, a seam unravels or a logo patch fades? Too often, even slightly worn items end up discarded. We have changed that with our new “Rescued Gear Program.”
“This gear has our name on it, and we need to be responsible,” said Rachel Milton, Director of Adventure Fulfillment, who devised the program with colleagues. “We issue a massive amount of gear each year—to guides, field staff, operators and partners—and we want to be more circular, to take ownership of the gear for its entire lifetime.”
The Nat Hab Rescued Gear Program Begins
The new Nat Hab Rescued Gear Program is now our in-house system for eco-friendly travel gear recycling and sustainable travel gear repair. The mission is simple: repair, reuse or recycle Nat Hab-issued gear so nothing usable goes to waste.
Phase 1 focuses on our U.S. National Parks operations. As vans return from Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier and other field sites, they now bring back damaged or retired gear alongside returning supplies. Back at our Colorado office, each item goes through a detailed evaluation process:
- Wash and inspect: Every piece is laundered and checked for condition, fabric integrity, seams, zippers and logo visibility.
- Rate and record: Using a 1–5 condition scale, our team logs each item in the Rescued Gear Inventory.
- Rescue decisions: Gear is then routed for repair, recycled responsibly or reissued to guides and field staff.
Repair, Reuse, Reimagine
Rescued gear doesn’t just save money—it saves resources, reduces waste and extends the life of materials designed to endure the elements.
- Repair: Our in-house sewing and gear repair team restores wearable items, from patching elbows on rain jackets to fixing zipper pulls.
- Reuse: Quality gear is cleaned, inspected and reissued.
- Recycle: If an item is beyond repair, its components are responsibly recycled to keep textiles out of landfills.
Why It Matters
In the outdoor industry, the environmental cost of gear production—from fabric manufacturing to shipping—is significant. By rescuing gear, we reduce new manufacturing demands, lower our carbon footprint and set a new standard for travel sustainability programs.
This is just the beginning. Ultimately, we aim to reuse or recycle all of the apparel and gear we distribute.
This program is our promise to our guides, guests, and the wild places we explore that we will take responsibility for the resources we use. This is one more way we’re working toward a future where eco-friendly travel gear recycling and sustainable travel gear repair are the norm, not the exception.
