Excellent
Cotopaxi is best known for its colorful backpacks and apparel, but the brand is also gaining a reputation for designing low-impact outdoor gear. Founded in 2014, Cotopaxi became a B Corp in 2015, showing its early commitment to fair business practices. Since then, it has partnered with Fair Trade to ensure fair labor practices in its supply chain, launched a resale program to help extend the life of Cotopaxi gear, and replaced all of its conventional fabrics with recycled, repurposed, or responsibly sourced ones. Cotopaxi’s marketing centers on sustainability: Let's take a deeper look to see if the brand’s practices live up to its claims.
This sustainability analysis evaluates both product- and brand-level initiatives to capture the full scope of Cotopaxi's efforts to reduce its environmental impact. Our research draws from Cotopaxi's published sustainability data, third-party certifications (a cornerstone of our process), and correspondence with brand representatives. We have independently researched over ten Cotopaxi products to date and counting, giving us a broad understanding of the brand’s use of low-impact materials, chemistry, and manufacturing practices.
You can explore our analyses of other outdoor brands, or use our advanced search to find products that align with your sustainability values.
Cotopaxi receives an “Excellent” transparency rating. The brand features a sustainability information section on each product page on its website, providing detailed information about product sustainability attributes. Cotopaxi publishes a highly comprehensive annual impact report, which includes statistics outlining the brand’s progress toward its many sustainability goals. We love that the report clearly displays Cotopaxi’s greenhouse gas data for each emissions scope. In its most recent report, it only includes 2023 and 2024 emissions data rather than a long-term data set; even so, its reporting is better than that of the majority of brands we’ve researched. Additionally, Cotopaxi’s website provides clear, digestible information about the brand's sustainability initiatives, and its representatives have been responsive to our questions.
In fall 2023, Cotopaxi achieved its goal of ensuring that every product in its line features materials that meet at least one of its “3 R’s” of sustainable design: recycled, repurposed, or responsibly sourced. These materials—often referred to as “preferred materials”––come with a smaller environmental footprint than their conventional alternatives, making them a key component of Cotopaxi’s greenhouse gas reduction plan. Recycled materials comprise a significant share of these low-impact fabrics. Although the brand does not specifically report on its use of recycled fabric by weight, all of the Cotopaxi products we’ve researched feature it.
Unlike many other outdoor brands we cover, Cotopaxi prefers to use deadstock—existing fabric that other brands didn’t use—over recycled materials whenever possible. The brand has been sourcing deadstock since 2016, a practice that helps divert material away from landfills, reducing waste in the textile industry. Cotopaxi used well over 100,000 yards of deadstock in 2024, aligning with its plan to decarbonize its supply chain. In its 2024 impact report, the brand cited that using recycled fabrics alone was not enough to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Bluesign-approved materials are subject to rigorous standards for environmental and chemical impacts throughout the supply chain, and a formal partnership through the Bluesign system signifies a brand’s commitment to minimizing its environmental impact. Although Cotopaxi is not a Bluesign System Partner, the brand uses Bluesign-approved materials in some of its products—though only a handful of those we’ve researched incorporate them. Still, the brand’s preferred material guidelines state that it prefers to use Bluesign-approved fabrics over conventional materials wherever possible. In this area, Cotopaxi lags behind Bluesign leaders such as Helly Hansen, Osprey, Outdoor Research, and Patagonia (which all use these low-impact materials in most of their products).
Like many outdoor brands, Cotopaxi set the goal of eliminating PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, from its products by 2025. PFAS—also known as “forever chemicals”—were once the industry standard in durable water-repellent treatments and waterproof membrane materials for their unmatched water- and oil-repellent properties. Unfortunately, PFAS are also environmentally persistent (meaning they don’t break down), and come with a wide range of adverse health effects, leading states like California and New York to ban their use in textiles in 2025.
Cotopaxi phased PFAS out of nearly all of its products in spring 2024, but because the brand uses deadstock fabrics in its Del Día collection, it took longer to ensure that all of those fabrics (many of which were produced years earlier) were also PFAS free. By the end of 2024, Cotopaxi announced that it had eliminated intentionally added PFAS from all of its products. The brand was on track with most of the outdoor industry’s major players in its PFAS phase-out (notably, Fjallraven and Keen removed PFAS from their products in 2015 and 2018, respectively).
Unlike many outdoor brands, Cotopaxi uses very few animal-derived materials in its products. The brand began using down insulation in jackets in 2021, and ever since then, all of the down Cotopaxi sources has been certified to the Responsible Down Standard. This industry certification ensures that ducks and geese are not subject to excessive harm, while increasing traceability from farm to product. Cotopaxi does not use leather, fur, or exotic skins in its products. It does use merino wool in a small selection of gear, but unfortunately, the wool is not certified to the Responsible Wool Standard or the ZQ Standard. Still, the brand requires that the sheep providing their wool are non-mulesed, which is a step in the right direction when it comes to animal welfare.
Although many of the materials Cotopaxi uses are synthetic, it incorporates some cotton into its products. The brand prefers to use organic cotton, which is grown using fewer pesticides than conventional cotton. Cotopaxi plans to phase out conventional cotton in favor of organic alternatives moving forward.
Cotopaxi partnered with Fair Trade USA in 2018, and now, the brand works with seven Fair Trade Certified factories (where nearly 35% of Cotopaxi’s products are made). Fair Trade certification ensures that factories adhere to rigorous social and environmental standards, including fair wages, safe working conditions, and sustainable resource management. Brands also pay a premium on each item produced in a Fair Trade-certified factory, which goes to the Fair Trade community development fund. This fund is allocated to workers at Fair Trade factories, who collectively determine how to use the funds to benefit their communities. Additionally, Cotopaxi works with Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) to certify some of its factories. The WRAP program certifies that manufacturing facilities adhere to safe, lawful, humane, and ethical standards, with each factory undergoing rigorous social compliance audits every one to two years. These audits assess factories against multiple principles, including the implementation of environmentally conscious practices.
In 2025, Cotopaxi revised its packaging standards to reduce waste associated with its products. The brand is working to reduce packaging volume, although it has not specified what types of reductions it has made. Still, we appreciate that Cotopaxi prefers to use Forest Stewardship Council-certified, 100% recycled paper packaging materials to ensure traceability. However, in select cases, it uses non-certified, recycled paper. The brand’s standards also outline a preference for using curbside recyclable materials whenever possible, and many of its packaging materials include a How2Recycle logo to help you dispose of them properly. Notably, Cotopaxi also includes certified at-home compostable materials and certified biodegradable materials in its preferred material list. As a result of its comprehensive approach to packaging sustainability, we regard Cotopaxi as a leader in this area.
If your Cotopaxi is damaged, the brand has your back when it comes to repairs. If the product is covered under warranty, Cotopaxi will repair or replace your gear at no cost. As with most brands, rips, punctures, pilling, and accidental damage are not covered under Cotopaxi’s warranty, but luckily, the brand offers repair services outside of warranty as part of its commitment to sustainability. Since 2018, Cotopaxi’s own “Mama Marge”—the brand’s in-house repair expert— has revived over 2,000 products in need of a quick fix—mending small tears, patching holes, and replacing buckles. For more complex repairs (like zipper replacements, panel rebuilds, or large patches), the brand partners with Rugged Thread to help you get your gear back on the trail. All in all, we think Cotopaxi is on the right track in keeping its products in circulation longer.
We’re impressed by Cotopaxi’s progress toward increasing the circularity of its supply chain through its resale platform, launched in 2024. By the end of its first year, the brand credited the program with extending the lifespan of 9,000 pounds of gear. Cotopaxi also partnered with ThredUp in 2025 to rebrand the program and expand its capacity. Through this program, you can buy used products or exchange your pre-loved Cotopaxi product for store credit. The brand only accepts products that are fully functional and in good condition, with no pilling, shrinkage, or discoloration. ThredUp takes gently used clothing, handbags, shoes, and accessories from any brand, so you can clean out the rest of your closet when you send your Cotopaxi gear in. Gear that is too worn for Cotopaxi to sell on the platform is either donated, repurposed, or recycled.
In 2024, Cotopaxi also launched its Renovo Collection in partnership with the Portland Garment Factory, a line of products made entirely from upcycled Cotopaxi gear. Unfortunately, the program’s stock was limited, resulting in it selling out quickly. We are unsure whether the brand has plans to continue the program into the future.
Cotopaxi tracks its greenhouse gas emissions using The Change Climate Project’s Brand Emissions Evaluator tools. It is also in the early stages of using Higg Index tools. In 2023, Cotopaxi announced its Science Based Targets Initiative-verified goal to reduce its absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 42% and to measure and reduce Scope 3 emissions, though no specific percentage is indicated. It also committed to reducing its Scope 3 emissions by 90% by 2045 compared to its 2023 baseline. Cotopaxi resubmitted its updated baseline measurement and reduction strategy to the Science Based Targets Initiative in 2025. In 2025, the brand decided to take it a step further, targeting net-zero emissions by 2040. Notably, Cotopaxi is making progress toward its greenhouse gas reduction goal: Between 2023 and 2024, it reduced its total emissions from 33,665 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) to 32,358 tCO2e.
Brands use annual impact reports to report on sustainability goals and progress toward initiatives ranging from emissions reduction to recycled material use. We think that Cotopaxi’s impact report is one of the most comprehensive ones in the outdoor industry, detailing Cotopaxi’s material sourcing, PFAS elimination process, circularity initiatives, greenhouse gas tracking efforts, and supply chain information. The report includes extensive data and a high level of transparency about Cotopaxi’s sustainability progress, social initiatives, and more. The brand’s 2024 report also breaks down its circularity data, with information about carbon savings associated with buying used gear, waste-to-energy incineration programs, and upcycling initiatives. Taken together, Cotopaxi’s report sets a high bar for other brands to follow.
Cotopaxi has been a certified B Corp since 2015. Companies that are certified as B Corps are regularly evaluated by B Lab for their social and environmental practices and performance. B Corps must also work to achieve benefit corporation status, if possible, and exhibit a high level of transparency. In Cotopaxi’s most recent evaluation, it earned a B Impact score of 125.6—for comparison, a company must score 80 points to qualify as a B Corp.
The brand is also a member of the Outdoor Industry Association Climate Action Corps, a group of brands that collaborate to develop sustainability initiatives, engage in policy, and advocate for the outdoor industry to measure and reduce its carbon footprint. The group aims to cut the outdoor industry’s carbon footprint in half by 2030, with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.
In 2019, Cotopaxi launched the Cotopaxi Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization geared towards expanding Cotopaxi’s philanthropic mission. As of 2024, the brand has contributed over $4.5 million to the foundation, supporting non-profit organizations dedicated to education, healthcare, and climate solutions. The foundation is a member of 1% for the Planet, meaning that it contributes 1% of sales revenue to non-profit partners.
Top Rated
Find Sustainable Gear by Brand
Our Sustainability Ratings Explained
These products are among the most sustainable on the market and earn our Better Trail Certified distinction. They often meet 80% or more of our sustainability criteria for their category.
These products are solid, middle-of-the-pack options for sustainability. In general, they meet at least half of our sustainability criteria for their category.
These products are among the least sustainable in their product category and have significant room for improvement. Most meet about 25% or less of our sustainability criteria.
Better Trail Certified Process
The world of sustainability can be murky, but Better Trail is here to help bring clarity. We’ve exhaustively researched thousands of outdoor gear products, communicated with brands, and created a detailed and rigorous ratings system to bring it all together for you. At the pinnacle is Better Trail Certified.
Better Trail Certified products score 4 out of 5 or higher in our sustainability ratings and generally meet around 80% or more of our criteria. While it’s true that no product is 100% sustainable—all take resources to create and arrive at your doorstep—these products are industry leaders and among the most sustainable on the market.
Read More Brand Analyses
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Stio?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is REI?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Fjallraven?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Black Diamond?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Columbia?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Smith?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Nemo Equipment?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is The North Face?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Arc’teryx?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Patagonia?