Coalatree

Each Evolution hoodie from Coalatree, a gear company run from Salt Lake City, starts as 10 plastic bottles and three cups of used coffee. Mental Floss reported in 2019 that employees usually collected the grounds from coffee shops on their way into work. The grounds are dried and stripped of oil, then ground finer and mixed with melted bottles into yarn. The hoodie does not smell like coffee, but it does fold into its own pocket as a travel pillow.

Coalatree started farther east, as an organic farm in Colorado. Founder Charlie Bessey had been on Skullcandy's original team, and when Coalatree launched clothing in 2010 it used materials like recycled x-ray film and recycled lunch trays. Then came Kickstarter. The Trailhead pant asked backers for $15,000 and raised more than $420,000.

Backcountry bought Coalatree in April 2026. Terms were not disclosed. Coalatree became the first brand in a new incubator called Backcountry Garage. The brand kept its own website. Its About page says that each year it turns surplus fabric into blankets for homeless people in Salt Lake City, which it calls its hometown.