Shopping for Green Outdoor Gear

It seems like just about every outdoor company these days are touting some 'green' aspect to their product. Finding some truly eco-friendly gear or clothing can be difficult, and while no product can be truly eco 'friendly' there are definitely less destructive purchases you can make in your life that will lessen the impact on mother earth. Below are a few tips and explanations to help you make the informed choice when shopping 'green'.
Buy Local - Shipping is one of a products biggest contributing factors to the environment. So no matter what product you are buying, if it's grown or manufactured around you (better yet, both) then the less distance it will have to travel to get to your hands, meaning less use of petroleum.

Organic Cotton - Organic cotton is grown without the use of herbicides or pesticides so it's obviously better then regular cotton goods. But beware, cotton is still a water intensive crop so it's not ALL good.
All the Extra Packaging - It's just plain common sense that all the extra packaging that some of your favorite stuff comes in is just plain silly. See if there is an alternative purchase with less packaging or if it's something you must have, email a complaint about the packaging to the company. Also if it's something you get often see if you can but it ... (see next)
In Bulk - Food (and camping fuel for those adventures) are best bought in bulk where there is little impact on the environment directly because of the lack of packaging and indirectly by the fact you aren't going to be filling the landfill with packaging. And most often, it's better for the wallet too!