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" The State of the Union address is bigger news, frankly, so I&amp;#039;ll try to keep this short and give readers time to head over to the political blogs. My first step will be to resist the journalist&amp;#039;s urge to find big new trends to report on \u2026 instead, I&amp;#039;ll just confirm that many small trends of the past several years are continuing to develop. In apparel, I&amp;#039;ll mention just one, the movement toward wool\u2014fine, itch-free, luxurious wool that is now in competition with fleece. Nearly every company has some pieces that are entirely wool or that incorporate wool, and at least three (Ibex, SmartWool and IceBreaker) focus entirely on the stuff. One reason is that wool fabric is more comfortable and convenient than it used to be. Another is that wool inherently is a fantastic technical fiber. The final reason is a marketing one: Years ago, fleece was promoted heavily in part because only specialty manufacturers such as The North Face and Marmot used it. Those companies could charge a lot for the technology. When fleece became a cheap commodity available in gas stations, drug stores and big-box retailers several years ago, wool started looking good as a material that outdoor companies could charge a premium for. (BTW, I&amp;#039;m not knocking the sheep--my ski pants, favorite outdoor jacket, best base layer and favorite outdoor socks all incorporate wool.) Next: Lightweight everything. This isn&amp;#039;t a trend anymore; it&amp;#039;s the new mainstream. Lightweight stuff tends to beget more lightweight stuff. Stoves are measured in ounces now, and it&amp;#039;s easy to find a 3- or 4-pound tent for two, while 7 pounds used to be a very reasonable figure. Since everyone is using lighter gear, they need less burly backpacks. That, combined with new technology, make 4-pound packs mainstream. That would have verged on ultralight just a few years ago. Because people are carrying less weighty gear, and going on shorter trips, the big backpacking boot has virtually died out. What&amp;#039;s surprising these days is that innovation in lighter trail shoes continues with new materials and new designs. There are some other product developments to talk about, but the most compelling trend\u2014and it really is a trend\u2014that I find among outdoor companies is their effort to be leaders in sustainable manufacturing. I&amp;#039;m quite the cynic, normally, but it&amp;#039;s hard to dismiss this stuff as mere PR posturing. Patagonia, for instance, has long spent one percent of its sales on preserving and restoring natural areas, and these days it uses only organic cotton, has loads of recycled materials in its fleece, and\u2014most impressively, perhaps\u2014gives employees who want it time off, with pay and benefits, to work for environmental groups. A number of textile companies with big outdoor businesses have made major efforts to reduce the use of the most toxic chemicals and to recycle more of their manufacturing waste. Several companies use wind or solar power to help run their headquarters. While I didn&amp;#039;t get around to their booth to see it, a number of showgoers told me about Timberland&amp;#039;s new packaging, which tells consumers just where and how each product was created, making it possible to get a sense for how workers (and the environment) were treated along the way. Speaking of packaging, much of the industry seems to be making a major effort to reduce wasteful packaging\u2014in contrast to those companies (you know who they are) that design enormous and frustrating plastic clamshells to carry small bits of electronics. Well, it&amp;#039;s mea culpa time. I promised to be short and to avoid picking trends. And I didn&amp;#039;t come through on either. Oh well\u2014just call me a journalist.\u2013Jerry Beilinson "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/a388/2238452/>