In 2024, the world generated an estimated 120 million metric tons of textile waste.

That's the equivalent of every person on Earth throwing away about 33 pounds of clothing and other textiles in a single year.

If it’s easier to picture, 33 pounds- that's equivalent to roughly 30 to 50 pieces of clothing per person in a single year.

And the vast majority of those textiles will never become new textiles. Most ultimately end up in landfills or are incinerated.

But, like I just did a few moments ago, we often talk about textile waste through the lens of fashion. Strictly the clothes we wear every day.

The problem is that this textile problem extends far beyond our closets. It includes textiles used in furniture, carpets, cars, footwear—and yes, that includes outdoor gear and even our pet products like our dog’s harness.

It's easy to hear this and think the solution is simply to buy less.

And while our purchasing decisions do matter, the bigger issue is one of design and production. If products are built to fail, impossible to repair, or quickly replaced by new versions, waste is baked into the system from the start.

So what happens when a company takes the opposite approach?

What if, when designing a product, it isn't just about selling more of it, but about keeping it in use for years?

In episode 227 of the Outdoor Minimalist podcast, I sat down with Monica Broder, Product Design Manager, and Pete Kearns, Head of Product at Ruffwear. The brand we know and love for designing equipment to help us and our dogs explore the outdoors together.

Together, we discuss how they designed their Front Range Flex Harness for performance, to reduce manufacturing waste, and to extend its post-consumer life.

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Ruffwear

Website: https://ruffwear.com/products/front-range-flex-harness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruffwear/

Episode Sources:

https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/management-of-used-and-waste-textiles-in-europes-circular-economy

https://www.unep.org/technical-highlight/sustainable-fashion-take-centre-stage-zero-waste-day

This week in the Outdoor Minimalist public lands news briefing, we're unpacking three stories:

1. At the end of June, the Forest Service proposed a rule that could limit when the public has a say in Forest Service decisions.

Article that inspired the first segment: ⁠https://ourpubliclandsandwaters.substack.com/p/forest-service-moves-to-reduce-public⁠

2. New pressures form to develop the Copperwood Mine in Northern Michigan, and we cover what it could mean for Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains with Tom Grotewohl, founder of Protect the Porkies.

3. Bears Ears & Grand Staircase-Escalante are threatened once again with upcoming Executive Orders, featuring Steve Bloch, Legal Director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

Subscribe to the Outdoor Minimalist newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.theoutdoorminimalist.com/⁠

Links and Sources:

U.S. Forest Service. Forest Service publishes proposed rule to redefine, streamline guidance. https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/newsroom/releases/forest-service-publishes-proposed-rule-redefine-streamline-guidance

Federal Register. Organization Functions and Procedures; Public Notice and Comment for Standards, Criteria, and Guidance. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/01/2026-13281/organization-functions-and-procedures-public-notice-and-comment-for-standards-criteria-and-guidance

Public Inspection Copy of Proposed Rule. https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-13281.pdf

The Heritage Foundation. Project 2025: Mandate for Leadership. https://static.heritage.org/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

ProPublica. How Proposed Changes to Grazing Rules Could Limit Public Oversight. https://www.propublica.org/article/public-land-livestock-grazing-ranching-access

Protect the Porkies Campaign. https://protecttheporkies.com/

Iron Mountain Daily News. EGLE extends comment period on Copperwood Mine permit. https://www.ironmountaindailynews.com/news/local-news/2026/05/egle-extends-comment-period-on-copperwood-mine-permit/

ABC4 Utah. President Trump is expected to issue an executive order affecting Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. https://www.abc4.com/news/politics/inside-utah-politics/president-trump-executive-order-grand-staircase-bears-ears/

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. https://suwa.org/

Dr. Bronner's has long been considered the gold standard of sustainable soap. It's a staple in outdoor kits, zero-waste homes, and camping gear lists thanks to its versatility, plant-based ingredients, and reputation for environmental responsibility.

But how much of that reputation actually holds up under closer scrutiny?

In this collaborative episode with the hosts of Greening Up My Act, we take a deep dive into one of the most recognizable sustainability brands on the market.

Today's guests are Tiffany Verbeck and Kat Cox, the co-hosts and co-producers of Greening Up My Act, a podcast that dissects everyday products and sustainability claims to expose greenwashing and help consumers make more informed choices. Together, they bring curiosity, research, and plenty of humor to conversations about sustainability, making complex environmental topics more accessible for everyone.

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Resources & Links

Greening Up My Act podcast: https://www.greeningupmyact.com/

Dr. Bronner's: https://www.drbronner.com/

Dr. Bronner's: Leave No Trace Guide to Using Soap Outdoors: https://www.drbronner.com/pages/camping-with-dr-bronners

Leave No Trace Seven Principles: https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/

Dirty Labs: https://dirtylabs.com/

Camp Suds: https://www.rei.com/product/407166/campsuds-biodegradable-concentrated-soap-2-oz

Something I’ve always loved about human-powered adventures is that they can teach you a lot about what you really need to live a happy, fulfilled life.

Access to safe and easy biking routes and walking paths is also an avenue to building community. But integrating human modes of transit isn't always easy in the United States.

In many ways, our limited access to biking and walking is by design.

My guest today is Taylor Nichols. Taylor is the producer and co-host of Bike Talk, a podcast and radio show covering urban planning, cycling, and bicycle advocacy.

An avid cyclist himself, he combines his background in journalism and storytelling to explore how bikes shape transportation, communities, and public policy.

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Taylor Nichols

Bike Talk Radio: https://biketalk.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylornichols.bikelife/

When the political moment feels overwhelming, what role do public lands actually play?

Are they a luxury issue or something more fundamental to democracy itself?

These are some of the core questions at the root of our conversation today, but much of what we need to know to protect our public lands might actually come from the history of these lands themselves.

Will De Man is a Michigan-based educator, writer, and public land advocate. He combines history and advocacy to help his audience understand and respond to the many issues our public lands and national parks are facing.

And as you’ll hear in my full conversation with Will, he challenges us to reevaluate our relationship with civic engagement, to find beacons of hope through dark times, and to reflect on the history that has brought us to the public lands we know and love today.

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Will De ManSubstack: https://nationalparkhistory.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationalparkhistory/

The Bureau of Land Management recently approved the Townsite Data Center, a project that would construct a data center on 88.5 acres of public land near Lake Mead in southern Nevada, marking this as the first approved data center on federal public lands.

After skipping the environmental review process, the BLM announced the project as part of the Trump administration’s effort to accelerate permitting for data center infrastructure as the demand for AI and computing power continues to grow.

After the BLM’s announcement in late July, it left many of us asking why public lands should become a resource for powering the AI boom at all, and who ultimately benefits from that development?

To help answer those questions and give each of us an idea of how we can actually fight back against data centers, I’m joined by Thomas Meyer, the Deputy Political Director at Food & Water Watch.

Based in Seattle, Washington, Thomas works with organizers, volunteers, and coalition partners across the country to develop campaign strategies and build grassroots power.

He has played a major role in multiple successful Food & Water Watch campaigns, including stopping dirty energy legislation in Congress and organizing the March to End Fossil Fuels.

Thomas brings actionable advice and stories of how communities across the country, sometimes starting with just one brave individual, have successfully stopped data centers where they live.

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Food and Water Watch: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2026/03/05/how-to-stop-a-data-center-near-you/

Map of Data Centers: https://www.brockovichdatacenter.com/

Good Jobs First: https://goodjobsfirst.org/

Townsite Data Center: https://www.blm.gov/announcement/approved-decision-townsite-data-center

No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands Act: https://tlaib.house.gov/posts/rep-tlaib-introduces-a-bill-to-ban-ai-data-centers-on-federal-lands