Timberland
Though it's a $1.6 billion behemoth, with a GDP larger than Belize's, Timberland has incorporated green components like recycled-rubber outsoles and organic-cotton liners into 80 percent of its shoes. Even better, it will plant a million trees by 2009 to offset carbon and is printing a Green Index on many shoe boxes detailing the amount of earth-friendly materials used and how much greenhouse gas each product created.
Green-O-Meter: 2.5

New Belgium
Despite being the nation's third-largest craft brewer, New Belgium Brewing recycles some two-thirds of its waste stream. The brewery's excess methane gets turned into heat energy, and water is used so efficiently, the wind-powered brewery uses 20 percent less than the industry average. In 2007, New Belgium released its first all-organic beer, Mothership Wit, and last November it signed on to 1% for the Planet.
Green-O-Meter: 4

Icebreaker & SmartWool
Fabrics don't get more sustainable than wool. But both Icebreaker and Smartwool take extra steps to make sure the merino wool used in every shirt, sweater, and base layer comes from hormone-free sheep that are sustainably raised on New Zealand family farms. You be the watchdog. Starting this summer, Icebreaker's Baacode initiative will let you trace every stop on a garment's path—from the free-range sheep that grew it to the factories that recycle the dye wash.
Green-O-Meter: 4.5

Seven other green-gear all-stars made our list this year. Check out Outside’s March 2008 issue, on newsstands February 12, for the full profiles.

Simple
Green-O-Meter: 3.5

Nau
Green-O-Meter: 5

Clif
Green-O-Meter: 3.5

REI
Green-O-Meter: 2.5

Patagonia
Green-O-Meter: 4

Big Anges
Green-O-Meter: 2.5

Sierra Designs
Green-O-Meter: 2.5