Happy Earth Day! I'm sure you've seen the slew of posts on why cycling is great for the earth and green products that have you thinking about turning a new leaf in becoming an all around eco friendly bike warrior. But when it comes to cycling gear and kit, even with new products like cardboard helmets and organic cotton bike seats, cyclists are more interested in performance and function than eco-friendly cycling products. As a culture, we want to be difference-makers, but don't know how our products impact the planet when we dispose them. So where are we supposed to begin? Luckily for us, many cycling manufacturers out there are taking steps on our behalf to create products that will keep our planet a bit more sustainable and ethical for the generations to come.
In honor of Earth Day, I’ve rounded up six eco friendly cycling products for your world-saving pleasure. Learn more about them and consider incorporating at least one or two into your ride. Swapping in products like these is a great way for us to show solidarity with this beautiful planet of ours.
Vegan Athletic aims to develop and distribute the highest quality, ethically made and sourced athletic apparel in the world. They use ethical and sustainable practices throughout the entire manufacturing process and have teamed with a number of best practice companies from around the world to help them achieve this standard within their business. From jersey's, bibs, base layers, arm warmers and more, they'll have you looking sleek and riding with confidence knowing your kit is pushing cycling fashion forward to a greener future.
BRANDT-SORENSON Luxury Sport Apparel is proud to offer world-class sustainability for athletes. Americans on average discard approximately 80 lbs. of clothing into landfills prematurely each year due to poor fit, quality or changing trends. Every garment is made-to-measure in their Los Angeles atelier and shipped directly to the athlete. Fit, quality and durability are the key components of a sustainable garment. A single, well made piece can take the place of a dozen fast fashion garments, which often are discarded prematurely into landfills. The greatest social and environmental impact BRANDT-SORENSON can make is through quality. There are no magic sewing robots, and clothing is labor intensive.
Klean Kanteens products are designed to replace a single-use alternative or improve on an existing solutions in the market that may not have considered end of life, recyclability, disassembly, versatility, modularity, easy cleaning and materials safety. By replacing plastics with their steel lifetime products, you're making a difference that directly (and positively) impacts the planet. Not only do they create the highest quality reusable products, they work hard to bring benefit to the people and places they touch—and do everything they can to keep single-use waste from trashing the world.
Thousand knows that helmets are an age-old industry with limited planet-friendly options—and they want to change that. They use environmentally-friendly alternatives, track the origin of their materials, and use manufacturers with integrity. With direct-to-consumer packaging, they've managed to reduce cardboard usage by more than 50%. Fun fact: one way they were able to do this is by designing helmet boxes as shippable cartons- helping minimize waste and deforestation. Their program focuses on 3 main areas - US Renewables + Energy Efficiency, Amazonian Basin + Brazil Avoided Deforestation, and International Wind Energy focused in East Asia.
Giro's Silo Helmet is completely recyclable, composed of E-PLA foam within the shell, offering the same measure of protection in a compostable form. The straps and webbing are made from coconut fiber. When it comes time to retire the Silo, break it up. No part of it will end up in the trash bin. A very good, eco-friendly, helmet.
Pixio by Rydon; these little illuminators are solar-powered, meaning every time you go for a daytime ride you're powering up for after hours. On top of that, a little solar panel on top is constantly collecting energy, and apparently it just takes five cloudless days to power up again. Once they're on, you need a special, Pixio-specific tool to take them off, meaning that you'd have to get super industrious to steal them—and after all, most thieves are looking for an easy get. Definitely beats having to replace batteries or usb chargers that are impossible to recycle.
Green Oil bike cleaning products do exactly what it says on the tin, it is 'green oil.' Where most lubricants and cleaners are petroleum based and use many different man-made chemicals for varying applications. Green Oil products are 100% plant-based and PTFE free. All the products are made in the UK, use recycled bottles, and are 100% biodegradable. There's lots of interesting information on www.green-oil.net about the oil based products we use on our bikes and how we can protect our water ways from polluting oils. And while others may claim to do the job of keeping your bike clean and well oiled, these products actually do the job just as well as other high rating bike cleaning and bike lubricating products.
Do you have a favorite eco-friendly cycling brand? Tell us about them in the comments!
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