support crew

Environmental beliefs

We love getting outdoors; into the warm sun and exposed to the wind. Be it riding around our local streets, climbing our favourite crag, hiking a fresh trail, or exploring a new area of bush, there is something free and invigorating by being outside. Unfortunately the natural world as we know it is starting to show some cracks at the edges, with hype in the media about climate change. It is our firm belief that climate change is happening, and is due to human intervention on the natural environment. We also firmly believe that we as humans need to understand what we are doing may not be the best way, and is certainly hurting the outdoors that we love. Most people don't understand that what they are doing is harmful, for it has always been the way things have been done. This is why we firmly believe in not only doing the right thing as a company, but also educating everyone that we come in contact with. People haven't caused climate change because they are inherently bad, but rather because they dont know what they are doing is wrong, coupled with not knowing how to make it better. Environmental education is the key to making a difference.

It is our aim here at Brisbane Outdoor Gear to do the best we can by the environment. Unfortunately we have a lot of plates to juggle, such as being green, pleasing our local community, making durable gear, while also remaining in business. So occasionally it will mean choosing something at the expense of another. For example it may mean chosing a material which isn't as healthy for the environment, but will result in a longer life span of said product. Which is hypothetically better? A product which is initially better for the environment but isn't as durable, or a product which isn't as healthy for the environment initially but lasts twice as long? Whatever our decision be, we will always let you know why we chose to do things a certain way, discussing the positives and negatives so you can be fully educated.

How we are green

Design of an individual product plays a big part in its green lifecycle. Our designers not only have to think about the manufacturing phase and "in-use" phase, but also the disposal phase of an object. Each phase has to be analysed in accordance with our beliefs, while providing the best possible outcome. Below are some of the ways that our company tries to become green.

Green Energy

For starters, our design and manufacture studio is run on 100% accredited green energy. No burning of coal for us and our products!

Patterns

Our company goes through numerous product prototypes before finalising the end product. Doing so ensures that the product brought to market is the best it can possibly be. Unfortunately this also means that we go through a lot of patterns. To minimise the use of virgin materials we use old newspapers for the preliminary patterns. Older unused patterns are relegated to the recycle bin.
Once the pattern is finalised it is transferred to a reclaimed piece of MDF, acrylic, or heavy card (dependent on the design!). These hard patterns are not only easier to use, but also more durable, resuting in a longer lifespan.

Prototypes

All our initial prototypes are constructed from reclaimed scrap material. Once the design is finalised, a final pre-production prototype is constructed from the same materials as offered in our final range. For example we extensively use canvas off-cuts from camper trailer manufacturers in our prototypes. This is canvas that would have otherwise ended in landfill.

Materials

All materials are analysed prior to the first production. This analysis takes into consideration their impact on the environment, their lifespan, suitability to the task at hand, and ease of disposal to name a few. We try and use reclaimed materials as much as possible provided they dont impact any of the other material criterion. For example we use reclaimed car seatbelts in the non-critical areas of our shoulder straps. The remaining webbing in critical high-use areas is a different webbing chosen for its ability to not accidentally slip in our buckles.
Reclaimed materials have already lived a life, and as such we are essentially using a material that starts its new life with zero impact on the environment. This reclaimed material is also of a very high quality; it is technically "waste" but it isn't rubbish.

Colour

Is deliberately not using ‘in fashion’ colours a step to being green?  Not directly we believe.  But what about in two years time when purple and lime is no longer fashionable?  Some of the older folk may have those ugly jackets still in the bowels of their cupboards, but most likely it would have ended up in landfill. So we promise not to use the latest ‘in fashion’ colours.  Besides ‘fashion’ is open to interpretation and we reckon this guy looks like a royal twat.  That’s not to say we’ll be hippies and use skin, natural, beige or flesh.  We like colour so we use it in our gear.  We will just make sure it is a colour that is timeless.

Durable products

We want our products to last. Not because we are narcissistic and love to see our products, nor because we offer the dirtification guarantee and dont want returns. We want our products to last as it has a lesser impact on the earth. For example most electronic products are today designed with obsolescence in mind. A phone may reach the market yet already have its successor in pre-production. This causes a "throw away society" as people struggle to keep up with the latest trends. The thing is each time a product comes to market huge environmental impacts occur. A product may only be the size of a phone when thrown into the trash, but there is also the packaging into the trash when it is first bought. Most people dont realise but during manufacture of an individual product waste is created as well. Estimates have pre-consumer waste at around seventy times that of what is thrown in the trash at the consumers end. For an individual product that is a lot of trash; now imagine it multiplied across thousands of product units. This is neglecting to even mention other factors, such as the individual materials that go into the product, or the energy needed to manufacture and distribute.

Disposal / Closing the loop

We mentioned in the durable products note above that we want our products to last. When they eventually do expire we want them back. The reason for this is we want to close the loop and take responsibility for the entire life of our products from birth to death. We are already in the process of controlling our businesses impact on the earth through things that occur before you recieve a product. The only thing we cannot control in a products lifecycle is how it is disposed of, which is why we want it back. We can then do what's best for it.
This may mean repairing it and donating it to a local cause. It may mean cutting it up for parts in future products, or it may mean recycling or composting it. It also means we can analyse our products at their death bed to see what wears first. It will result in future iterations that are more durable and thus will have even less an impact on the environment!
We encourage you to still abuse our gear. Dirtify it till it has no life left. Make it more duct tape than material. And then send it back!

Specific product information

Courier bag range specific info

How you can be green

There are many ways that you can individually make a difference. Unfortunately there are so many ways that it would be impossible to list them all. Our suggestion is to do some research of your own. The websites below we follow regularly and believe their ideas are sound. The most important thing that you can do however is to control the things you cannot control. By this we mean ethically campaign businesses and companies to do the right thing. It is at the business end that you cannot directly control, but by voicing your concerns a difference can be made.

http://www.storyofstuff.com/anotherway.html

http://www.whatcanonepersondo.com/blog/tenthings.html