Eco-Gear?

A recent supplement enclosed in Country Walking magazine has got me thinking..... how green is our outdoor gear?

I must confess that when I am buying outdoor kit for myself I am more influenced by performance than the environmental impact of my kit. I doubt I am alone in this but it did get me wondering about the environmental impact of the kids gear we sell at http://www.littlwideworld.co.uk.

After all, products that pollute, companies that exploit the environment, manufacturers that abuse their workers.... do not contribute to the kind of world I want my children to inherit.

As a parent I make active choices when buying my groceries that I hope will help make a small difference to the way the planet is managed - I look for fairtrade, organic, free range when I buy food and household products so I should be applying the same criteria to all my purchases. Therefore, as a retailer I should be expecting other parents to ask the same questions of the products I sell as I ask of other reatilers when making a purchase.

Where was it made? What is it made of? Who made it? Can it be recycled? Will it last a reasonable time period?

I believe that everything we sell in our online store lives up to quality expectations, I hope our customers agree. I select products that I have used myself or have been recommended to me and have been satisfied that the items I have personally used have lasted longer than they fitted my children - many of the items I have road tested have been used by both my children and then sold on ebay or freecylced for other children to use.

I am looking in to the environmental policies of the manufacturers that supply our stock to see how their green credentials stack up and will post my findings on our facebook fan page; http://www.facebook.com/CampingKidz