If you consider yourself a green traveler, then you make sure your flight has been carbon neutralized, you request that housekeeping refrain from washing your sheets during your hotel stay, you eat at sustainable restaurants and you take public transportation whenever you can.

We're guessing that if you make this much of an effort when you're traveling, you're probably doing way more when you're at home. And we're guessing that if we peeked into your medicine cabinet we would probably find some Tom's of Maine personal care products stashed in there.]]> juliana 2009-11-18T08:39:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/5/201554/172

We talk about Travel Gear a lot here at Jaunted, and issues like Green Travel just as much. Merging the two are some innovative companies, who specialize not only in producing eco-friendly travel products, but also giving back to their communities and promoting a positive image of a global citizen. Perhaps when you're looking for your next piece of luggage, a new swim coverup, or even a full-size tent for that camping trip, you'll remember that there are options out there doing good for the world while they help you enjoy your trip.

Without further ado, here are a few of those companies: Five Travel Gear Companies That Give Back To The World:

Matt & Nat
In case you didn’t know, this uber-hip Vegan handbag line out of Montreal makes fashionable bags and wallets and totes from recycled water bottles. In addition to being environmentally smart, designer Inder Bedi gives back to various charities throughout Europe, Canada and the United States. From battered women’s shelters to animal rights, Bedi cares. He also sees that hundreds of homeless people eat a vegetarian meal twice annually in their home base of Montreal.

Additionally, a dollar for every bag sold goes to the charity of your choice. Within the first quarter, the line has accumulated charitable contribution dollars exceeding $16,000. Our favorite item? A little perfect-for-your-passport Men’s Murse.]]> kellycrabb 2009-11-06T09:45:08-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/22/82642/590

During yesterday's big news day down at Southwest Airlines' headquarters in Dallas, much more was revealed beyond the ten new routes for 2010, including the reveal of Southwest's new "Green Plane."

Aside from the snazzy new recycling logo added to the usual Southwest heart on the plane, the 737-700 is outfitted with a range of eco-products being tested out by Southwest, since the Green Plane serves as more than just a machine flying passengers place to place, but also as a test lab. It will still be flying it's regular route as flight WN222 between Chicago-Midway and Boston-Logan, so Midwest and Beantown travelers should keep an eye out, although it'll still rotate throughout the system.]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-22T08:46:45-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/21/123332/38

We know someone whose biggest travel dream is to visit the Alaskan town of Skagway while on a cruise along the Alaskan coast. It's hardly unattainable, with cruise ships hitting up Skagway and other towns like Sitka and Ketchikan all through the summer. But what to do once you've done the typical Alaskan cruise? Thanks to melting of the polar ice caps—or rather not, since this is a very bad thing, environment-wise—cruise ships are discovering ports further north than every before. Now you can add the Bering Sea town of Nome to your must-see in Alaska list.

The LA Times drives home exactly what a big deal it is for big ships to be calling in Nome: "More than 500 roadless miles from Anchorage, rugged tundra and frigid Bering Sea waters have a way of discouraging visitors." But after Nome spent $90 million dollars renovating their port to accommodate big ships, the temptation of venturing beyond the tried-and-true Alaskan itinerary is majorly attracting tourists. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-21T12:56:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/13/162151/83

The culmination of a story we've been following for two years, Qatar Airways has finally launched their eco-friendly natural gas commercial jet. There will always be debates about whether it's actually better for the environment to use natural gas on such a large scale, and someday we might discover that there are costs we don't know about, but in the meantime the airline is basking in the attention that they're rightfully getting:

Qatar Airways is claiming its place in history by operating the world's first commercial flight using fuel made from natural gas, creating a potential new source of aircraft fuel for the future. The jet fuel... helped power an Airbus A340-600 from London Gatwick that landed in the Qatari capital, Doha... 'Qatar's position as the GTL capital of the world has been further enhanced with today's achievement,' Abdulla bin Hamad al-Attiyah, the country's deputy prime minister of energy and industry, said.

]]> Omri 2009-10-13T16:35:10-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/6/154255/227

The Mexican government has a creative new idea for getting tourists to stop overwhelming and destroying the coral reefs around Cancun: distract them with something shiny. So they're building the world's largest underwater museum and filling it with art work, hoping that the new attraction will take some pressure off the regional ecosystem.

There's little environmental risk to the area as the concrete will be PH-neutral. Exactly the opposite in fact: the new rocks will allow algae and small invertebrates to flourish, adding rather than subtracting from the local ecosystem. The construction of the museum itself will probably take a bite out of the local environment, but we assume it'll be done in a minimalist way. Can you imagine the headache if it came out that their Green Tourism museum was, well, not?]]> Omri 2009-10-06T17:58:55-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/30/22836/3588

A couple years ago, we were all able to live our greatest dream of wearing repurposed airline seat covers, thanks to Worn Again, which turned worn-out covers from Virgin Atlantic planes into bags and accessories.

This year, they've taken the collaboration several steps further by branching out from Virgin to include Eurostar, and hiring UK designer Christopher Raeburn to create the products. And for the first time, all of the products are completely made in the UK.]]> JetSetCD 2009-08-31T11:39:43-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/