Let’s Unpack Sustainable Packaging in Outdoor Gear

A deep dive on reduced and recycled packaging—and which brands are decreasing their impact through sustainable alternatives

ByJackie Florman

Updated:

May 07, 2026

Table of contents

The Packaging Problem

Sustainable Packaging Solutions

Recycled vs. Recyclable

Leading Brands

The Most Sustainable Packaging

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Picture this: Your new backpacking stove just arrived. You tear open the massive cardboard shipping box and find plastic bubble wrap holding another box in place. The second box is filled with even more plastic packaging and glossy tags, and you wonder—why so much? Sure, products require protection to avoid damage in transit, but excessive packaging consumes forest resources, feeds petroleum dependence, and contributes to massive amounts of waste. Thankfully, outdoor gear brands are decreasing their impact through recycled materials and packaging reduction programs. Here’s how.

The Packaging Problem

Beyond its aesthetic purposes, the primary function of packaging is to protect a product on its journey from manufacturer to consumer. If a product is rendered unusable due to damage in transit, it doesn’t matter how sustainably it was made—it ends up in the landfill. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping brands improve packaging strategies, sums the issue up well: “When a product is damaged or spoiled before it can be used, all of the energy and materials used to produce the product are also wasted.”

While 97% of paper-based packaging—such as corrugated boxes—is recycled, only 13% of plastic is, meaning that most plastic in the U.S. is destined for the landfill.

Plastic, cardboard, and paper are the most common materials used to package and ship outdoor gear. Typically, these materials are derived from non-renewable resources, such as petroleum and forest products from unsustainably managed woodlands. Plastic packaging poses a particular problem because it takes hundreds of years to biodegrade in the environment and can break down into microplastics that pollute the oceans and soil. Paper-based packaging materials from unsustainably managed forests drive deforestation, which accounts for 10% of annual global carbon dioxide emissions and consequential biodiversity loss. And while 97% of paper-based packaging—such as corrugated boxes—is recycled, only 13% of plastic is, leaving most plastic in the U.S. destined for the landfill.

Types of Sustainable Packaging Solutions

Reduced packaging minimizes the amount of material used to protect products. This can be achieved by eliminating or downsizing poly bags, swapping hefty plastic molds for paper wraps, or downsizing shipping boxes. Some brands also cut back on fill materials or use solutions like roll-packing to reduce waste. For our sustainability ratings, Better Trail staff score brands based on the extent of their reductions. For example, a brand that only shrinks hang tags will score lower than one that reduces box size, eliminates poly bags, and reduces fill materials.

Why it Matters: The best way to make packaging more sustainable is to use less of it. Case in point: In 2014, Patagonia found that if it folded products into smaller shapes, it could decrease the size of plastic poly bags, reducing plastic packaging use by 50% per product. Rab did the same in 2021, reducing poly bag size by 70%.

Recycled packaging incorporates pre- or post-consumer recycled content like plastic, cardboard, and paper fill. Not all paper packaging includes 100% recycled content, though some brands have achieved that benchmark. To score well under our criteria, recycled materials must make up a significant portion of a brand’s total packaging—generally 70-100%, though this percentage may be lower if the brand has made major packaging reductions.

Why it Matters: Recycled packaging reduces reliance on virgin materials like petroleum and forest products, thereby reducing a brand's environmental impact. When packaging is necessary, recycled materials are a more sustainable choice than virgin materials. That said, eliminating poly bags altogether is more sustainable than swapping virgin poly bags for recycled ones.

Packaging made from 100% recycled poly mailer

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a nonprofit organization that certifies forestry operations in accordance with sustainable management guidelines. It offers three certifications for wood-based products. Some FSC-certified packaging contains recycled content, but not all of it. We break down the types, below.

FSC Recycled: Indicates that packaging made from 100% recycled content

FSC 100%l: Indicates that materials are made from 100% FSC-certified, sustainably managed forests, but contain no recycled content

FSC Mix: Signifies a blend of materials from FSC-certified sources and recycled materials

Why it Matters: An FSC label ensures that packaging materials are made of wood from sustainably managed forests, recycled materials, or both. However, even when sourced sustainably, recycling existing materials is more sustainable than cutting down new trees for virgin fiber.

Forest Stewardship Council-certified packaging box

packaging made from FSC recycled materials

Recycled vs. Recyclable Packaging

While recyclability is part of circularity, it’s important to remember that recyclable packaging is not the same as recycled packaging. Recycled packaging is made from partially or entirely recycled materials—that is, materials that have been used, broken down, and made into something new. Recyclable packaging, on the other hand, can be recycled. Whether recyclable packaging gets recycled is up to the user and their access recycling infrastructure. While paper can be recycled in most municipalities, infrastructure for plastic recycling is not always available. Companies often market their virgin (read: non-recycled) packaging as recyclable to make it sound more sustainable than it is.

Altra shoe box post-consumer recyclced text on side

Recycled content information on shipping bag

Brands Leading the Way in Sustainable Packaging

Outdoor brands such as Prana, Rab, Patagonia, and Nemo are making impressive headway in sustainable packaging. Learn more about their progress, below.

Prana saved 20 million poly bags from being used between 2010 and 2020 (unfortunately, it has yet to publish data on its reductions between 2020 and 2026). In 2021, it eliminated plastic altogether, instead piloting a low-packaging “roll-pack” method to protect most of its products in transit. By 2018, over 80% of its products were packed with only a recyclable raffia tie instead of a poly bag. For especially delicate or easily stainable items, Prana supplements the roll-pack method with an FSC-certified paper bag with plans to move to recycled bags in the future (although it has yet to publish an update).

In 2022, it achieved its goal of using only FSC 100% and recycled content in its packaging. It now relies on 100% recycled paper labels, shipping envelopes and boxes, and recyclable (not recycled) paper tape to seal orders. Prana uses some FSC-certified paper in its paper poly bag replacements—used when roll-packing isn’t possible—but is working to swap these bags for recycled ones. While developing its own reduced-impact packaging solutions, Prana launched the Responsible Packaging Movement, which provides packaging sustainability resources to over 150 member brands, including Burton, GSI Outdoor, and Mountain Hardwear.

Prana the picture that changed packaging store sign

Patagonia has made impressive progress to reduce its packaging volume and transition its to low-impact materials. All of its bags, boxes, tags, product stickers, and paper mailers are made with FSC-certified materials or recycled post-consumer waste, and its poly bags are made from 100% recycled plastic, certified to the Global Recycled Standard. Notably, Patagonia collects these poly bags at its warehouse to send to Trex to recycle into plastic decking material. The brand also swapped its bundles of hang tags for scannable QR codes, reducing its total use of hang tags by over 40 million tags while avoiding 170,000 pounds of waste by 2025 (plus, it swapped coton strings for recycled paper to improve recyclability). All of Patagonia’s packaging is recyclable, though poly bags can only be recycled at select drop-off locations.

Patagonia and the Poly Bag

Even environmentally conscious companies like Patagonia have been criticized for their plastic packaging. Poly bags—the thin, polyethylene film bags used to protect garments in transit—are the number one target. In response, Patagonia conducted a study in 2014 to see if it could eliminate plastic poly bags from its supply chain. Patagonia concluded that if poly bags were eliminated, products would suffer—30% of the garments that went through its system without poly bags were “damaged beyond the point of being sellable.” In recent years, Patagonia has swapped virgin bags for Global Recycled Standard 100% recycled plastic poly bags. Many of the poly bags used in transit from global manufacturers to Patagonia’s warehouse are now collected and recycled into plastic decking material. As of 2025, however, the brand plans to phase out poly bags from the majority of styles sent from its Reno distribution center.

Rab has made impressive strides to decrease the impact of its packaging. Between 2021 and 2025, Rab reduced its upstream poly bag volume by up to 70% by rolling and folding clothing into smaller shapes. In the same timeframe, the brand also removed almost 8 metric tons of poly bags—equivalent to approximately 500,000 bags—from its customer shipments. It also collects poly bags from online orders at its distribution centers in the U.S. and U.K. to recycle them into plastic pellets, which can be made into new poly bags. In 2025, the brand swapped to paper and cardboard distribution packaging in lieu of plastic mailers.

In 2021, Nemo partnered with its pole manufacturer, DAC, to eliminate 100,000 poly bags from its supply chain by swapping them for recycled, reusable bags. Nemo is working toward eliminating virgin plastic from its packaging, and as of the most recent available data from 2024, it is 70% of the way toward its goal. Nemo is also working to ensure that there are end-of-life solutions (such as recycling) for all packaging materials. In 2024, it had done so for almost 40% of its packaging materials.

Recycled and reduced packaging sustainability box

What Packaging is the Most Sustainable?

Packaging’s environmental impact can be broken into two categories: 1) the energy and resources used to produce it, and 2) end-of-life disposal and waste. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition, which guides brands on reduced packaging design, use of recycled and renewable materials, and design for recyclability, acknowledges that there is no truly sustainable packaging. However, it states that “tradeoffs in the materials, format, and design of a package” can significantly affect its environmental impact.

Put simply, the most sustainable packaging is the most minimal packaging that sufficiently protects a product in transit. When packaging materials are essential, we think it’s best to make them from recycled materials rather than virgin ones to decrease reliance on petroleum and forest products. While many outdoor brands are making commendable progress toward packaging sustainability, further circularity initiatives and better recycling systems are essential to steer the industry toward more sustainable practices.