Just the other day I said I was excited by the concept of Osprey’s ReSource Series recycled packs and eager to see that type of environmental technology work its way into technical backcountry backpacks. Well, the folks at Backpacker are thinking along the same green lines. Last week the magazine announced a contest for pack designers to create a mid-size (3,500 cubic inches or larger) backpack whose materials and manufacturing process have minimal environmental impact and that makes no performance compromises.

Backpacker will tell readers more about its Zero Impact Challenge in their September issue. After field-testing the pack prototypes, Backpacker will announce the contest winners next year.