Excellent
Chances are, you’ve owned an Osprey pack, or at least seen one on the trail. This outdoor industry giant makes everything from backpacking to climbing to ski-touring packs, and, luckily, we think the brand is heading in the right direction with its sustainability initiatives. Osprey shines for its extensive use of recycled and Bluesign-approved materials, comprehensive repair services, and low-impact packaging. Still, it has room to grow in circularity initiatives, such as resale and recycling services. Want to learn more about Osprey’s journey to decrease its impact? We’ll break it down below.
This sustainability analysis evaluates both product- and brand-level initiatives to capture the full scope of Osprey's efforts to reduce its environmental impact. Our research draws from Osprey's published sustainability data, third-party certifications (a cornerstone of our process), and correspondence with brand representatives. We have independently researched over 20 Osprey products to date, giving us a broad understanding of the brand’s use of low-impact materials, chemistry, and manufacturing practices.
For more, you can explore our analyses of other outdoor brands, or use our advanced search to find products that align with your sustainability values.
Osprey receives an “Excellent” transparency rating. It clearly labels product sustainability information, making it easy for consumers to be well-informed about their purchases. However, while its parent company’s annual impact report incorporates information about greenhouse gas emissions, it lacks in-depth, brand-specific sustainability details compared to brands that publish their own reports. Still, Osprey publishes a number of data-rich, easy-to-navigate sustainability pages on its website. Additionally, representatives at Osprey have been highly responsive to our inquiries about its sustainability practices.
Osprey leads the outdoor industry with its extensive use of recycled materials, which have a smaller carbon footprint than their virgin alternatives, all while decreasing waste and dependence on petroleum. In 2025, the brand reported that around 97% of its products featured fully recycled main body and bottom fabric, and that 99% featured recycled lining. Compared to other brands, this is an incredibly high share of recycled fabric. Nearly every Osprey pack we’ve researched features recycled materials, and Osprey cites that its recycled fabrics have a footprint that's almost 50% lower than that of virgin fabrics. The brand states that it uses Global Recycled Standard- and Recycled Content Standard-certified materials to ensure its recycled-content claims are third-party verified.
Bluesign-approved materials are subject to high standards for chemical safety, environmental responsibility, and worker safety throughout the supply chain. Because the Bluesign system is highly comprehensive, participation in it has become the gold standard for brands seeking to reduce the impact of textile manufacturing. Osprey has been a Bluesign System Partner since 2021, and compared to other outdoor brands, it uses a much greater share of Bluesign-approved materials in its packs. It also manufactures more Bluesign Products than nearly any other brand in the outdoor industry.
Osprey launched its first Bluesign Products in spring 2024, and in fall 2025, it reported that 83% of its line was certified as Bluesign Products (which contain at least 90% Bluesign-approved materials and 20% Bluesign-approved components). Although the brand doesn’t report on its use of Bluesign-approved materials by weight, all of the Osprey products we’ve researched feature these low-impact materials, supporting its claims. All in all, Osprey leads the outdoor industry toward using responsible chemistry through its strong partnership with Bluesign.
Osprey finished phasing out PFAS in the spring of 2022. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, were historically used in outdoor gear to repel dirt and moisture, but are highly persistent in the environment and are associated with a wide range of adverse health effects. While Osprey was far from the first brand to eliminate PFAS from its products, it completed its phase-out before California and New York legislation banning PFAS use in textiles, which went into effect in 2025. Osprey uses Bluesign’s restricted substances list and regularly submits its materials for lab testing to ensure they are free of the harmful chemicals listed.
Unlike other brands, Osprey does not use natural fibers like cotton, wool, or leather. Instead, it uses synthetic fibers in its products. Because it doesn’t use natural materials, it doesn't partner with any third-party responsible-material certification programs, which ensures that natural fibers are sourced responsibly.
Osprey has a supplier code of conduct that emphasizes freely chosen labor, fair wages, and environmental responsibility. The code of conduct is based on the Ethical Trade Initiative, and Osprey states that factories are audited for compliance by the Worldwide Ethic Alliance. Unfortunately, we were unable to find much information about this audit program, and to our understanding, it does not publish public ratings describing Osprey’s progress. The code of conduct alone does not meet Better Trail’s standards for responsible manufacturing criteria. To do so, we require brands to participate in a third-party program that provides certification and regular factory audits to ensure safe working conditions, fair wages, and reduced environmental impact. Programs like Fair Trade, Fair Wear, and the Fair Labor Association audit factories against their standards to ensure compliance with fair labor practices and conditions.
While packaging accounts for only a small share of a brand’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is a major contributor to a brand’s total waste. Osprey has made good progress toward decreasing the impact of its packaging. The brand has replaced its virgin poly bags with fully recycled alternatives, reducing its reliance on virgin plastic. It also uses recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified shipping cartons and hangtags, although we were unable to confirm how much of each material type it uses, or whether it uses virgin or recycled FSC materials. The Forest Stewardship Council ensures that virgin paper products are sourced from sustainably managed forests, and also certifies a variety of recycled paper products. In addition, Osprey includes a How2Recycle logo on many of its packaging materials to help consumers dispose of packaging responsibly. All in all, while we hope to see Osprey implement programs to reduce its overall packaging, we’re impressed with its extensive use of low-impact packaging materials.
Osprey offers standout repair services under its All Mighty Guarantee, helping you keep your gear in the field for longer. Osprey guarantees that any damage or defect in a product will be repaired free of charge, regardless of the age of your pack or the cause of damage. If it can’t repair your pack, it will replace it. Compared to other brands, Osprey’s repair services are impressive in terms of their comprehensiveness, ease of use, and coverage. Most brands don’t offer free repairs for gear damaged by normal wear and tear, but Osprey does, making it a leader in this area. In addition to typical repairs, Osprey can build hipbelt or sternum strap extensions for people who need these modifications.
Osprey can repair torn fabric, worn-out buckles, broken zippers, and more. Typically, it tries to match the color of your product when possible and uses black thread for most repairs, but its primary focus is restoring functionality rather than exact color matching. Osprey also offers free replacement parts, such as buckles, zipper pulls, sternum straps, webbing, and hipbelts, for simple at-home fixes. Notably, a small selection of products comes with a five- to seven-year guarantee instead of a lifetime guarantee. These include child carriers, Soelden and Sopris Pro avalanche airbag packs, and Raptro Pro packs. If you do send a pack in for repair, be sure to clean it beforehand, as bags that are too dirty or smelly to repair will be returned unrepaired, and moldy items will be destroyed rather than repaired.
Unlike similar brands, Osprey does not offer resale or recycling services to help you responsibly retire your used gear. Competitors like Patagonia, The North Face, and Arc’teryx offer online resale platforms where you can return your used gear to find it a new home, or buy verified, used products (which have a significantly smaller carbon footprint than new products). Other brands, like Nemo, make fully recyclable backpacks that you can return to the brand for disassembly at the end of life. In order to do so, the brand designed a single-polymer material that can easily be recycled into new fabrics. Osprey has yet to make progress toward implementing circularity programs like these, and has not disclosed any plans to do so.
Osprey’s parent company, Helen of Troy, tracks its greenhouse gas emissions using Greenhouse Gas Protocol guidance. Because Osprey’s emissions are tracked by its parent company, its data is lumped together with Helen of Troy’s other brands, which include non-outdoor companies like Braun and Vicks. Helen of Troy plans to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 46.2% from its 2020 baseline by 2030, and to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 42% from its 2021 baseline by 2030. Its targets were approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative in 2021, meaning that they are aligned with Paris Agreement warming thresholds. We appreciate that it has set a substantial, absolute reduction target, and hope to see it set a net-zero target in the future.
In 2025, Helen of Troy emitted 197,573 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), most of which fell under Scope 3, or supply chain, emissions. Notably, this is a significant reduction from its location-based baseline measurement of 356,853 tCO2e in 2021. Unfortunately, because Osprey’s data is grouped with Helen of Troy’s other brands, we are unsure of what share of the total Osprey is responsible for. For comparison, Arc’teryx emitted around 189,000 tCO2e in 2021, while Fjallraven, a slightly smaller brand, emitted approximately 40,000 tCO2e.
Osprey’s parent company, Helen of Troy, publishes an annual impact report detailing sustainability data across its many subsidiaries (including Vicks, DryBar, Braun, Revlon, HydroFlask, and others). Osprey was acquired in 2021, the same year Helen of Troy began publishing an Environmental, Social, and Governance report. The report is clunky and difficult to decipher compared to those produced by other parent companies and brands, and it provides limited information about Osprey’s sustainability initiatives. Still, it includes total emissions data for all of Helen of Troy’s brands, a few sustainability highlights for each of its brands, and information about donations. Unfortunately, it does not include data describing year-over-year emissions, low-impact material statistics, packaging statistics, or other data we typically look for in such reports. In terms of data reporting, Helen of Troy lags behind other umbrella companies, such as Deckers (which owns Hoka, Ugg, Sanuk, and others).
Osprey supports various organizations focused on recreation, environmental conservation, and expanding outdoor access. To mark its 50th anniversary in 2024, the company committed to donating $100,000 annually to The Conservation Alliance. It also donated $50,000 to REI’s Cooperative Action Fund, which goes to grantees working to increase a sense of belonging and well-being in outdoor spaces. Osprey donates to Protect Our Winters, the Winter Wildlands Alliance, Leave No Trace, and other conservation organizations, as well as a range of access-focused organizations like the Venture Out Project, Latino Outdoors, and others.
Top Rated
Find Sustainable Gear by Brand
Deep Dive
Explore Osprey Gear
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 Norrøna?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Fjallraven?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is The North Face?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Cotopaxi?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Outdoor Research?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Stio?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Smith?Brand Article
How Sustainable is Outdoor Research?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is REI?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Arc’teryx?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Helly Hansen?