a comment that fits with the thread about making kayaking more sustainable. jacksonkayak.com/articles07/article.cfm?article=200612185 it's awsome that JK is using clothing from a company that keeps the envornment as a top priority. Patagonia uses only unbleached organic cotton because cotton growing is one of the most unsustainable and detremental process to the envrionment. If I didn't already have that exact same shirt I would certainly buy JK's version. By the way, Capilene is something special, it's not overpriced. Wear it under a polypro and you've go a killer cool weather combo. Wicking warmth. Alone is awsomr for not overheating on the river on a warm day with cool water. Anyway, I'm currently wearing a sickle organic sweater at the moment. Prana also uses a lot of organic threads. Boater got the money to afford boats and other gear so I think it would be awsome if they also helped support the environment. Anyway, got to go, no time to proofread, finish that euro paper.

Sorry, but talking about clothes and the good they do the envinroment. I read the JK site often and all I see are trips here, there and everywhere (Nile, Mexico, Europe) they fly/travel more than I have ever done in my life and by far planes aren't that eco friendly.

T-Shirts from an eco friendly source is a good start but cut down the travelling EJ if you really want to make a difference. I live in Ireland and I read once that on average if a family changes from a 1.6L petrol to a 1.4L petrol engine its the single biggest thing you can do, Americans use a 1.4L engine just to start the cars they tout as eco friendly - my car does 55+ mpg, I buy only what I need and travel places I only need to go to, don't need anyone selling me a t-shirt to make me feel better about doing my part.

Try the following:

Cutting down his travelling/and his teams travelling
Making his kayaks more local to the market with regards Europe instead of shipping them half way round the globe
Instead of adding $$ to the price of a boat to pass onto a fund, see what changes he can make to the manufacture of the boats, their distribution and so on, or maybe as much as his heart is on his sleve, margin and turnover still are the things that really matter.

It's all about $£$£$ in the end.

Big is right. How dare JK or anyone else call themselves eco-friendly when they own a car, fly in a plane, burn wood in their fireplace, pee outdoors, or pick fruit off of tree and eat it. There is no way you can call yourself a friend to the mother earth, if you use her resources. That's a double standard. We should all be ashamed. Shame on us!


...whatever.

We do what we can to conserve... however, before ya call your self a hard core tree hugger and start knocking others people way of life... you wouldn't be on a computer.... or enjoy paddling your PLASTIC boat now would ya... So, come out of your glass house and take alook in the mirror.

I'm not trying to act like I'm I have no eco foot print. But I highly resent your(any you guys) comments about how I'm not eco friendly because I have to live me life ( have a computer, use a plastic boat). Just because no one is completly sustainable doesn;t mean you have to point it out. It's completly abvious, it's like saying \"the sky is blue\". Save your breath with your obvious comments, they are obvious. I do what I can, obviously, I drive a prius hybrid and i eat all organic food. not some gas guxxling SUV POS. Even though I could use the space of another car. I have a 100lb dog and lots of friends. Thanks for your blatently obvious comments. I'm not confused why I had an 75 degree day yesterday when it should be closer to 25 degrees this time of year. Maybe you guys should reconsider your life style. If you enjoy spending time on the water I don't understand how any of you could not be environmentalists. Cool, peace guys. JK
-I honestly care about the environment and I support JK for using more sustainable fabrics and donatin 1% of its profits to the environment.

I don't think anyone was blasting you. It was the bigd942 guy who said JK should stop flying in airplanes. You were right on brother! The shirts are cool. I want one for Christmas.

I really wouldn't want one of those shirts with the Jackson logo on it, and am a bit disappointed since Patagonia started putiting their name on the front. Before that I could get away with wearing the long sleeve shirt as a semi nice (or better than tshirt) kind of thing.

But, I DO love the capilene fabric. I have several of teh older ones and they still work and feel great. That is a great part of the environmental issue: longevity of a product. You could save a few buck today, but just have to throw out a cheaper model and buy another one next year. Thus wasting money and filling up the garbage can. Or you could get something quality like capilene (regardless of logo or no logo) and have something last you several years.

Note all the negative comments are from the States.

Grow up you guys, you use more resources per head that any other country on earth and yet you make the biggest noise about the little token jestures you do, I bought a shirt that's eco friendly - whoop de do!

I'm no tree hugger but I do my part, true I have a plastic boat, a fibreglass one as well but I don't drive a 3 litre V6 the size of a house to nip down and buy a McDonalds. I live in a house and not a mud hut, I drive to work every day as well.

My point is, EJ could do more for the envinroment by making sure his boats are made in the most efficient way possible, are the ovens serviced regulary, can he use a blend of recycled plastic in the boats instead of 100% virgin material, can the use recycled bubble wrap to wrap them and so on, he'd do more good with stuff like that than he would selling a $20 shirt made in China, shipped round the world and sold to someone so they think they've done something.

You are right, it's America's fault. We suck. But we have sweet movies, you have to give us that. Our movies rule!

I'm going boating. See you all in January.

dude i'm not american. I'm from Canada.My family moved here so we could help this country, with environmental stuff. Both my parents are environmentalists. I do a lot for the environment. I have a hybrid, almost no pollution. I eat all organic, no pesticides. My house is on wind power.. completly clean. If buisness don't think that people care then, they would make absolutly no effort. I understand that his schwag T-shirts don't change shit, I just want him and other companies to do that plus some other good shit. Then a difference has been made. I don't care if you hate americans, I used to. Just understand that we have very little time before we reach the point of no return. Positive reinforcement works on dogs and companys

bigd942 wrote:

Try the following:

-Cutting down his travelling/and his teams travelling
-Making his kayaks more local to the market with regards Europe instead of shipping them half way round the globe
Instead of adding $$ to the price of a boat to pass onto a fund, see what changes he can make to the manufacture of the boats, their distribution and so on, or maybe as much as his heart is on his sleve, margin and turnover still are the things that really matter.

- Become a 1% for the Planet Company
- Supporting AW who aim to 'conserve and restore America's whitewater resources'
- Recyling Boats
- Making them more durable (meaning both less breakages/wasted boats and increasing resale value).
- Doing good while at the far off places, Soft Power Health etc.

mm wonder if he and his team do that stuff:?:



Yeah nice job jackson kayak, i love my boat and the ethic that they work under.

Merry Christmas Everyone

By becoming a 1%er and the other good things that Jackson does he has got people in kayaking talking about the environment (and he is not the only high profile kayaker doing so). Jackson has taken an initative to do something which more of us need to do (and many of you already have), and I suspect Jackson knows he can make other changes, is looking for better technology, and will make other changes. He is not just talking the talk. I don't see any other kayak companies taking big huge steps towards sustainability (please let us know if you are...Astral PFD's have also taken environmental actions so accessory companies count too).

Jackson has inspired us to talk, talking leads to ideas, and hopefully those ideas lead to action. So, maybe Jackson could do more, but maybe he has inspired 200 kids, 50 suv owners, and thousands of playak readers to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable. That rocks.

The finger pointing doesn't motive people. People know that the U.S. has huge energy expeditures, Canada follows this trend and only has less impact because of its smaller population, China and India are having and will have huge impacts, and several countries are having huge population booms. The problem belongs to all of us, and so do the solutions. Europe has some really good examples, the US and other places will too.

Watch Al Gore's \"An Inconvienient Truth,\" share it with your paddling friends, write the companies that help you get to and on the river and get them to be more environmentally friendly. Boycot those who won't. Keep talking, keep coming up with good ideas like those you have allready generated, and act on them.

I not flown in about 7 years, spend more time at one spot to try and minimize my driving, am downsizing a car, try to ride my bike to work when I can, have changed the light bulbs in my house, buy energy star appliances when I replace them, and recycle/reuse/ and reduce...and can still do more.

Merry Christmas

Not everyone is as environmentaly friendly as I and others would like, but the worlds not perfect and i think we all know that, if main-stream companies such as JK. start doing stuff it's a step in the right direction, no matter how small.
The fact that JK. and other companies are doing all these things really says something, at this point it may not seem like an awful lot, but if other companies and chains etc. start with this aswell (which alot more are these days) it will make the difference.
Bigd942, i think your comments about the US were pretty uncalled for, yes the States isn't exactly the most eco friendly country on the planet, but not all americans drive huge SUVs and have Mcdonalds day and night, it's a big country and there's alot of environmentaly aware people over there trying to do good.
I think if anyone needs to \"Grow up\", it's yourself.

The awareness is being raised and if people act on things they hear about, see or experience, it's for the better.
Do the things you can, switch off unused lights, change the type of light bulbs you use, recycle, reuse etc. It's the little things that count!

Yep and merry christmas everyone, lets try and see a better new year for the world.

Kicks

Plans are under way to dam my local river in order to produce more power to sell to Germany so Austria can buy back more power at other times. The sad fact is that two power stations in Austria are used just to suppy power for items on stand-by. If people moved their arses & switched off their electronic devices, instead of using 101 remotes that lie all over the house nowerdays, then mankind would not have to dam every last river on this planet.

A lot of TV's, computers & printers use power even when they are switched off. Turn the plug off to stop their wastage of power.

Seeing rivers dammed is a sad thing in my mind, but it is a hopefully a sustainable source of power (beats the hell out of coal, oil, or nuclar power). Many of us already paddle on dammed rivers and fear losing great rapids to them or having poor flow times. Fight the dam, but do it positively. If the dam must go in work with the damn dam people to achieve the best possible relationship for boaters in your neck of the woods. The Kananaskis River near Calgary, Canada may be a good example. Best of luck.

Damming rivers deffinatly does not beat nuclear power, it produces huge amounts of energy per kilo of fuel with no nasty waste gasses on only a small amount of radioactive waste, and with hydrogen fusion \"hopefully\" on the way its like energy on tap! A long way off that is though. until then any kind of energy saving and recycling is a step in the right direction. I find most people who take part in ourdoor sports such a kayaking appriciate how fantastic nature is and want to preserve it, we're all on the same side people. Nathan does your house run completley on wind power? thats quality

Peace