Hiking is a better activity than most for our Planet. But I’m no treehugger myself.
I grew cynical after hearing an NPR audiocast citing a study where 1,017 of 1,018 products that made environmental claims were found guilty of deceptive advertising.
What really makes me suspicious of strident environmental evangelists (I’m looking at you David Suzuki) is Greenwashing:
… (green whitewash) is the practice of companies disingenuously spinning their products and policies as environmentally friendly …
If I see a product with a green label, I normally avoid it out of fear of being duped.
Also, any product with a green label has an inexplicable mark-up in price.
Some good news?
The NY Times reports that the American” Federal Trade Commission is expected to crack down on “greenwashing” when it updates its environmental marketing guidelines for the first time since 1998.”
I hope this helps.
… letters were recently sent to retailers like Hanes, Jockey and Target as well as REI, Sports Authority and Altrec.com. Even companies like Bamboo Eco Wear, Footprint Bamboo and Green Earth Bamboo were included in the list. …
Greenwashing sins:
besthike.com 
Very informative.
Much to consider here…
DSD
I think there are far far more important things to fear than that of being duped.
There are trusted certification schemes for some products. These are usually issued by independent, non-governmental, not for profit organizations.
For example, products made from wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) have been made from timber that has not been sourced from illegally felled rain forests. The Soil Association certifies organic, and humanely reared food and the Marine Stewardship Council certifies seafood sourced from sustainable fisheries.
The soil Association does certify products made from organic cotton, but I am not aware of any other reliable certification scheme for clothing. Most outdoor clothing is made from synthetic fibres made from petrochemicals so they are not environmentally friendly. Some manufacturers now use recycled plastic to make some of their fleeces. The use of bamboo is currently being heralded as the new eco-friendly fabric, but whether it is or not really depends upon the procedure used to process the bamboo. More information can be found on this post Bamboo an Eco-Friendly Fabric or Not?, however I am not aware of any credible certification schemes for bamboo clothing.
Thanks Daniel. I’ll follow those links.