Show your love for the Earth with planet-conscious ways to swim, bike, run – and shop.
(Photo: Challenge Family)
Published April 22, 2026 06:00AM
As triathletes, of course we appreciate the Earth – we want to be able to continue to swim, bike, and run outdoors.
But just because we enjoy its natural beauty doesn’t necessarily mean that we are the best stewards of our planet. See: used gel packets discarded on the roads, neoprene wetsuits clogging up landfills, and a ceaseless pursuit to own the latest, greatest, “aero-est” tri gear without extending the life of – or properly disposing of – the previous iteration.
While we know that three sports require a lot of gear, we also recognize that even small steps – like racing locally instead of flying, actually using your reusable water bottle instead of a disposable version, patching that hole in your wetsuit instead of tossing it – when done collectively, can have a huge impact on the future.
So let’s take a moment to rethink how we approach our training, racing, and shopping. Follow these simple steps to make your gear last longer, minimize your impact, and help protect our corner of the universe so that triathletes can keep racing for generations to come.
Extend the life expectancy of your wetsuit
Most triathletes only expect their tri wetsuit to last them a couple of years, but that short lifespan can usually be attributed to poor care, not poor quality, and with proper care, you can make your suit last up to seven years.
To start, make sure you’re investing in a high-quality suit from the beginning. Purchase a suit with more stretch, more layers, and more than one type of seal to minimize the likelihood of tears. Then, make sure you swim in it often to keep it from getting brittle.
And there are right and wrong ways to put on your suit – make sure you put your suit on the right way, every time. And follow these tips to enjoy a long, happy relationship with your wetsuit.
Repair your wetsuit before buying new
A core tenet of the sustainable living movement is to buy less because it reduces the environmental impact of manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of products, which drives climate change and resource depletion and increases the waste in landfills. So the longer you can hold onto your tri gear – like your wetsuit – the better it is for the planet.
And a lot of what goes wrong on your wetsuit, like tears, stuck zippers, and funky odors, can all be fixed if done the right way. Just be sure to skip the duct tape and dental floss and follow this guide to repairing your wetsuit and add years to your suit’s lifespan.
Buy used gear when possible
Besides the obvious benefit of cost savings, buying triathlon gear secondhand has a higher feel-good impact: You’re helping the environment by extending the lifespan on triathlon equipment, reducing waste, and lowering the demand for brand-new products.
But you need to know where to look and how to shop. To save on shipping costs (and environmental impact!), start local. You can go through your tri club’s members-only classifieds page, your local bike shop or tri shop, or local Facebook groups. If you need a wider selection, check out Triathlon Marketplace USA or Triathlon Buy & Sell. Follow these tips for savvy secondhand shopping when you’re looking for used tri gear.
Properly dispose of your old wetsuits
When your neoprene wetsuit has served its purpose, don’t just drop it in the trash. The very qualities that make wetsuits useful in cold water make them terrible in a landfill – they’re specifically designed to never break down. Cold water surf apparel company Finesterre estimates that more than 9,200 tons – that’s more than 18 million pounds – of old wetsuits end up in landfills every year.
Instead, if it’s truly unusable, you can recycle your wetsuit. Some wetsuit companies, like Rip Curl, have robust wetsuit recycling programs. The material can then be repurposed into things like soft fall matting for playgrounds. Or a place like Suga Yoga uses old wetsuits to create yoga mats.
Be sure to research how to best recycle your type of wetsuit and how the suit is collected. Find out more wetsuit recycling tips and programs – and about perks like discounts or vouchers on new products.
When registering for a race, skip the swag
A well-accepted perk of racing is the swag (the endurance athlete’s acronym for “stuff we all get”), especially the race T-shirt. But that’s one of the least environmentally friendly aspects of racing. On the front end, a single cotton T-shirt requires as much water to produce as a person would drink in 2.5 years.
And then on the back end, merch typically goes unused and winds up in the trash. Even if you donate it to a charity organization, you can’t assume the goods will be put to use by the less fortunate – some countries have started rejecting these donations because they have more than they can handle. But that’s where Trees Not Tees comes in: They partner with race directors to give athletes the option of foregoing the free race shirt. In exchange, the race gives the money they would normally spend on a shirt to the organization to plant a tree instead.
Give your tri gear a second life
Even if you’re ready to move on from your tri gear, that doesn’t mean it has to be destined for the trash. Think about donating it to someone who will get good use out of it (perhaps a local college triathlon team?), or selling it to a fellow triathlete.
If your gear needs repair, research ways to fix it. And even if it’s worn out beyond repair, reusing even one old shirt in a new way (like as a cleaning rag) can save 700 gallons of water. Remember that for every pound of clothing not sent to a landfill, you could save 3-4 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.
Discover some new ideas for keeping your tri gear out of the landfill.
Buy sustainable sports nutrition
The most planet-friendly sports fueling option would be to use whole foods, but we can’t all fuel on bananas and dates. The second most environmentally friendly option would be making your own fuel, but not everyone has time for that (if you do, we do have recipes for homemade energy bars, energy gels, and sports drinks).
The next best thing is being more Earth-conscious when choosing your sports nutrition. All products have an environmental cost, but some have less of an impact on the environment than others. Think about purchasing products from companies that are actively shifting to more sustainable processes, like using organic ingredients, supporting environmental organizations, or cutting back on plastic use. See what brands this sports dietitian recommends.
Keep your old gear out of landfills
Once you’re ready to move on from your tri gear, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s reached the end of its life. And these days, both independent companies and brands are making it easier to recycle or upcycle our mountains of multisport stuff.
While it’s perhaps not as simple or quick as just tossing it in the garbage can, it’s worth the effort. You’ll feel good knowing that you’re not only helping the planet by minimizing what’s making it to landfills, but also you’ll be finding a new home for your well-loved tri gear.
When buying new, look for recyclable materials
We get it – you can’t just buy secondhand and need to buy new running shoes regularly. But old running shoes are not the easiest to recycle. But what if you could get new shoes in the mail and mail back your old ones to be recycled by the original brand?
That’s the idea behind the On Running Cyclon program. The Cyclon shoes are fully recyclable – made from things like bio-based yarn made from castor beans. Salomon and Adidas have also offered fully recyclable shoes. Try to consider your running shoe’s end of life the next time you go shopping.
