What if one simple habit after your next camping or fishing trip could dramatically reduce your environmental impact?In this powerful episode of The Sustainable Angler, I sit down with Meg Carney, founder of The Outdoor Minimalist, to explore practical, honest, and hopeful solutions for protecting the places we love. Meg shares how conducting a personal waste audit after your outdoor adventures can uncover hidden waste and help you make smarter, lower-impact choices moving forward.We also dive into urgent threats facing our public lands—including a proposed copper sulfide mine at the headwaters of the Boundary Waters. This is an action moment. Listeners are encouraged to contact their Senators and oppose HJ Res 140,the bill that would undo the 20-year mining ban near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. ACTION ALERT! Call your Senators TODAY (2/9/26)! Save the Boundary Waters has an excellent call script which takes less than a minute to protect our public lands and waters!From there, the conversation turns to PFAS in the outdoor industry, highlighting brands working to eliminate these harmful “forever chemicals,” and a candid discussion about greenwashing—how to spot it, avoid it, and build real trust. Rick explains how tools like REI’s Product Impact Standards can guide brands toward transparency and authentic sustainability, and Meg shares the red flags she looks for—like missing sustainability pages or reports.We close on a hopeful note: what’s giving Meg optimism about the future of outdoor stewardship, responsible brands, and a more sustainable industry.If you care about clean water, honest sustainability, and protecting wild places for future generations, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:How to conduct a simple waste audit after your next outdoor tripWhy the Boundary Waters mining proposal matters—and how to take actionThe truth about PFAS in outdoor gear and who’s leading changeHow to recognize and avoid greenwashing in the outdoor industryPractical tools brands can use to build authentic sustainabilityReasons for hope in the future of conservation and outdoor recreationTake Action: Call your U.S. Senators today and urge them to oppose HJ Res 140 to protect the Boundary Waters.Connect with Meg Carney: The Outdoor MinimalistSubscribe & Follow: Follow The Sustainable Angler for conversations at the intersection of conservation, responsible business, and the future of the outdoors.Sponsors:This episode is brought you you by: A New Earth Project, the sustainability initiative of Atlantic Packaging, Emerger Strategies, and Ecolytics (don't forget to mention The Sustainable Angler fo🎣 Like what you heard? Subscribe to The Sustainable Angler wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review to help us grow the conversation around sustainable business in the fishing and outdoor industries. For more resources, or to learn how Emerger Strategies can help your brand turn sustainability into a competitive advantage by making it simple, strategic, and profitable, visit www.emergerstrategies.com. Follow us on Instagram @emergerstrategies and @thesustainableangler and stay tuned for more insights from leaders at the intersection of conservation, business, and the outdoors.