How Sustainable is Mountain Hardwear?
Average Sustainability Score
Good
Mountain Hardwear is known for its mountaineering, backpacking, and hiking gear—but how does the brand stack up on sustainability? We took a deep dive into Mountain Hardwear’s sustainability efforts, and the results are mixed. The brand stands out in areas like comprehensive repair services, but there’s still room for improvement when it comes to tracking and reducing its carbon footprint. And when it comes to low-impact materials and chemicals, Mountain Hardwear falls in the middle of the pack compared to other outdoor brands.
This sustainability analysis evaluates both product- and brand-level initiatives to capture the full scope of Mountain Hardwear’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact. Our research draws from Mountain Hardwear’s published sustainability data, third-party certifications (a cornerstone of our process), and correspondence with brand representatives. We have independently researched 15 Mountain Hardwear products to date, giving us a broad understanding of the brand’s use of low-impact materials, chemistry, and manufacturing practices.
When you’re done reading about Mountain Hardwear, you can also explore our analyses of other outdoor brands or use our advanced search to find products that align with your sustainability values.
Mountain Hardwear receives a “Good” sustainability transparency rating. The brand publishes sustainability information like recycled content claims and PFAS labeling on its product pages, increasing material transparency. It also provides information about some of its sustainability initiatives on its website, but compared to similar brands, its sustainability webpage is less data-driven than the best we’ve seen. Mountain Hardwear’s parent company, Columbia Sportswear, publishes an annual impact report that provides an overview of sustainability across its subsidiary companies, but Mountain Hardwear’s data is lumped with other Columbia brands, making it difficult to isolate its impact.
Recycled materials have a smaller carbon footprint than their virgin counterparts, making them a key component of many outdoor brands’ emissions-reduction strategies. Although Mountain Hardwear states that it is committed to sourcing materials with high recycled content, the brand doesn’t report on its total use of recycled fabrics, trims, and fills. Still, we’ve found recycled fabrics in most of the Mountain Hardwear products we’ve researched. According to Columbia Sportswear, 73% of Mountain Hardwear styles contain at least one preferred material (which it defines as recycled, Bluesign-approved, or organic materials, as well as certified, responsibly sourced animal products like down or leather). Unfortunately, this statistic doesn’t reflect the use of recycled materials by weight, which is the most accurate way to report this metric, since products containing only a small amount of recycled content are included.
The Bluesign System helps brands manage their chemical impacts and water use by providing vetted restricted-substance lists to partner brands, certifying materials to its high chemical standards, and more. Bluesign-approved materials are produced in accordance with these high standards, and as a result, have become the industry standard for low-impact textile manufacturing. Mountain Hardwear was a Bluesign System Partner (the highest level of commitment to the Bluesign System) until 2024, but has since ended its formal partnership with the organization. Despite this, the brand uses Bluesign-approved materials in many of its products, including all of its down insulation, which comes from Allied Feather and Down. Mountain Hardwear doesn’t report on its total use of Bluesign-approved materials, but we’ve found them in several products, including the popular Ghost Whisperer down jacket.
Mountain Hardwear’s parent company, Columbia Sportswear, set a target to eliminate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (otherwise known as PFAS) from all its subsidiaries’ products by the end of 2024, but unfortunately, it did not achieve that goal. We have confirmed that as of 2026, some of Mountain Hardwear’s high-altitude mountaineering products (like those featured in its Absolute Zero collection) still contain these so-called forever chemicals. However, most other Mountain Hardwear products are free from intentionally added PFAS.
The vast majority of brands in the outdoor industry eliminated PFAS when California and New York legislation banned the chemical group from textiles and apparel in 2025, but brands producing expedition-level gear were given an extension, as engineering high-performance mountaineering gear with PFAS-free chemistry is more difficult.
When it comes to other harmful chemicals, Mountain Hardwear is making progress. The brand eliminated flame retardants from its tents in 2019, and since then, all of its tents have been flame-retardant free. For this effort, we applaud the brand.
Mountain Hardwear has made notable progress toward sourcing certified, responsibly sourced down in its products, but falls behind leading brands in other responsible natural fiber sourcing certifications. It exclusively uses down from Allied Feather and Down, a Bluesign System Partner that produces down certified to the Responsible Down Standard and the Oeko-Tex Standard 100.
While Mountain Hardwear does not use significant amounts of other natural fibers in its products, it does use some cotton and wool. Unfortunately, very little of the cotton that Mountain Hardwear uses is certified organic, which has a much smaller chemical impact than conventional cotton. Additionally, while the brand uses wool in some products, none of the wool it uses is certified to the Responsible Wool Standard or similar programs. Still, we appreciate that Mountain Hardwear solution dyes many of its Gore-Tex shells, which requires nearly 90% less water, over 60% fewer chemicals, and generates significantly less carbon emissions than traditional dyeing.
Many brands partner with third-party responsible manufacturing accreditation programs to ensure that their suppliers meet minimum standards for workers’ rights and environmental impact. Mountain Hardwear’s parent company, Columbia Sportswear, maintains a factory transparency map that shows the locations of its suppliers. The map includes a list of key initiatives at various factories, including Fair Trade Certification, Clean by Design, and the Carbon Leadership Project. However, Mountain Hardwear is not explicitly mentioned, and we could not confirm whether the brand's suppliers engage in responsible practices. As a result, Mountain Hardwear does not meet our responsible manufacturing criteria.
Although packaging accounts for only a small share of most brands’ carbon footprint, it generates significant waste and consumes resources. Mountain Hardwear ships products in corrugated cardboard boxes featuring at least 95% recycled content. Like other Columbia Sportswear brands, Mountain Hardwear uses 50% recycled poly bags, and some products are packaged in glassine bags—or thin paper bags—instead of plastic. Columbia Sportswear brands are also working to fold products into smaller shapes in order to decrease poly bag volume, but have not reported statistics on their reductions. Compared to competitors, Mountain Hardwear lands in the middle of the pack for packaging sustainability.
Repair programs help you keep the gear you love in use longer, and many brands offer such programs as part of their commitment to circularity. Mountain Hardwear offers a limited lifetime warranty program (valid for the practical lifetime of a product) and a dedicated repair team that fixes covered products free of charge. However, its warranty does not cover wear and tear, improper care, accidents, or the natural breakdown of materials over time. Still, we appreciate that Mountain Hardwear's repair team will also try to fix products not covered under warranty for a “reasonable rate,” though it doesn’t specify what repairs it can perform or what those rates are. All products must be washed before they are sent in for repair.
Unlike similar brands, Mountain Hardwear does not offer a resale platform or recycling service for used products. These programs help extend the life of gear while ensuring it is disposed of responsibly at the end of its life. Increasingly, outdoor brands are adopting circularity programs like these, with Patagonia popularizing secondhand outdoor gear through its flagship Worn Wear program. None of the brands owned by Columbia Sportswear offer programs like these, nor have they announced plans to do so.
Compared to similar brands, Mountain Hardwear’s carbon emissions reduction plan is mediocre. Columbia Sportswear tracks its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions using Higg Index tools, but these two emissions scopes likely account for only 5% of its total, with Scope 3 emissions likely accounting for the other 95%. In addition to not measuring its Scope 3 emissions, Columbia Sportswear has not set an emissions-reduction target, and its Scope 1 and 2 emissions increased between 2022 and 2024 (the only years it reports on in its most recent impact report). All in all, the brand has significant room for improvement in this important sustainability metric.
While Mountain Hardwear does not publish its own impact report, Columbia Sportswear publishes one that covers the sustainability programs of its several subsidiary brands. Annual impact reports provide transparency and insight into brands’ sustainability data, and are often our primary source of quantitative data on sustainability progress. While the Columbia Sportswear report covers most of our sustainability criteria, its greenhouse gas emissions tracking and data on sustainable materials are far less detailed than we’ve seen in reports from leading brands. Still, it covers Columbia’s responsible manufacturing partnerships, packaging, chemical management practices, basic materials data, and charitable partnerships.
Mountain Hardwear partners with several nonprofit organizations, including Leave No Trace and the American Alpine Club. The brand donates gear to the Collegiate Outdoor Recreation program, which helps decrease barriers to access to outdoor spaces by supplying students with outdoor gear. It also supports around a dozen American Mountain Guides Association scholarships each year.
![[object Object] photo](https://bettertrail.com/image/object-object-photo?hash=%2F4f8b939880f042eb9b2ddfa09a361cf0%2F603bc8ff1a0549beab1bcfedd2582620&width=1920&quality=80&format=auto&fit=scale-down)
Top Rated
Find Sustainable Gear by Brand
Deep Dive
Explore Mountain Hardwear 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 Big Agnes?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Black Diamond?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Cotopaxi?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Rab?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Osprey?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is La Sportiva?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Keen?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Stio?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Nemo Equipment?
Brand Article
How Sustainable is Patagonia?