I hate winter, but I’ve been learning to appreciate it more over the last couple of years. One thing I decided is that I won’t let the cold stop me from going outside and enjoying things. So now instead of trying to pretend it’s not happening, I actually get proper winter gear and feel like I can walk around without freezing to death. Which has made the winter more bearable, and sometimes if I’m bundled up enough – even enjoyable.
I’ve taken a look at a variety of retailers and brands that have cold weather items, including coats, boots, hats, gloves, thermals, and more. As a seasoned winter gear buyer, I have a couple of tips:
Absolutely wait until after Christmas if you’re buying a new coat. All the coats go on sale, usually discounted 20, 40, 60% or more, so if I want a coat as a gift I usually ask for a gift card instead so I can shop the deals.
Secondhand is GREAT for coats – you will need to check the coat to make sure the lining and insulation is still intact, but you can find some great deals on good brands. I personally want to get one of those crazy long puffers secondhand to wear walking my dog and running errands around my neighborhood.
Local: If you have a local sporting goods store or other retailer that has these items, definitely check them out first!
Direct: If you have a particular winter gear company you love, check to see if you can order directly from their website.
Secondhand/free: Thrift stores & other secondhand sources are incredible ways to get winter coats and other gear. Especially if you live in a place where it’s not cold for very long so you don’t have to spend a ton of money to stay warm for a shorter period. Estate Sales also have great vintage coats, and you can use your local Buy Nothing Group to request items.
Cobbled Goods: Worldwide shopping directory of independent and eco-conscious shoe brands. Founded by Ariel Fabbo, you can learn more in his interview with the Clotheshorse podcast.
What they have: You can use their search & browse functions, or check out their guides like Made to Last Boots and Doc Martin alternatives.
Scheels: Sporting Goods store based out of North Dakota.
The Details: Scheels is 100% Employee-Owned since 1991! Scheels has not spent money on lobbying in the last two years. But Steve D. Scheel, current board chair emeritus [aka honorary lifetime board member] and former CEO for 35 years, donated $500K to Americans for Prosperity Action, a Koch brothers super PAC in 2024, and $500K to Best of America PAC in 2023, which was created to support Doug Burgum’s presidential campaign. Scheels does not have a diversity policy.
My thoughts: While Steve D. Scheel may not be great, since the company is owned by the employees I feel like it’s still worth shopping at.
What they have: Men, Women, & Kids winter coats, boots (included insulated), gloves, hats, thermals, and socks, among other items
Where to order: Online (US only) or at one of their stores across the Midwest/West.
What they have: Men, Women, & Kids winter coats, boots (included insulated), gloves, hats, thermals, and socks, and everything else you’d find at Macy’s.
Where to order: Online with international shipping to over 200 countries, or in-store
TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Sierra: Covered here.
What they have: Sierra is a specifically outdoor/sporting goods store, so they have everything you need for cold weather for Men, Women & Kids. TJMaxx and Marshalls have winter coats, boots, gloves, hats, and other accessories. I would be careful buying faux leather shoes from TJ Maxx & Marshalls as they were found to have elevated levels of lead in 2022.
Where to order: Online or in store (US only)
What they have: I can’t see their inventory since it’s not listed online, but I would assume they have coats, gloves, hats, socks, and potentially thermals. However, in 2022 28% of accessories from ROSS were found to contain lead, including faux leather shoes and belts, so I’d stick to coats only.
Where to order: In-store only (US only)
Burlington Coat Factory: Now referred to Burlington Stores, the classic place to get a winter coat.
The Details: Publicly traded with institutional investors as their largest shareholders. Burlington has not spent money on lobbying in the last two years and supports diversity with employee resource groups (although they call it “Social” on their page).
What they have: Men, Women, & Kids winter coats, boots, gloves, hats, and other winter items. One in four accessories at Burlington in 2022 contained lead however, so similarly I would stick to coats for this one.
Where to order: In-store only (US only)
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Uniqlo: Covered here. I personally love Uniqlo and their winter gear is great.
What they have: Men, Women, & Kids winter coats, hats, gloves, thermals & other accessories.
Where to order: Online or in-store, they have locations worldwide
Burton: Snowboarding company that has great winter gear.
The Details: Owned and operated by Donna Carpenter, the wife of founder Jake Burton Carpenter. Burton has not spent money on lobbying in the last two years, and 100% of their political contributions went to Democrats. Burton is a certified B Corp and has a Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion program. They have been supporting diversity for years, with programs like Chill that started in 1995 to teach at-risk youth snowboarding, surfing, and skating with over 70% of participants identifying at BIPOC.
What they have: Mens, Womens & Kids winter coats, gloves, hats, thermals, socks, and other snowboarding/winter sports items.
Where to order: Online or find a store near you via their locator tool – which also works worldwide!
Carhartt: Classic outdoor and workwear manufacturer.
The Details: Family-owned by the Carhartt family. Carhartt does not have a profile on OpenSecrets, and supports diversity with employee resource groups.
What they have: Men, Women, & Kids winter coats, boots (included insulated), gloves, hats, thermals, and socks, among other items
Where to order: Online via their website, or use their store locator tool to find a retail partner near you. Canadians can order via the US website (shipping is $30 however). Internationally, I’m not sure if you can order from carhartt.com, but there is the Carhartt WIP brand which is more fashion forward and may not be as durable for winter items.
L.L. Bean: The classic Bean Boot purveyors, among other winter and outdoor gear.
The Details: Family-owned by over 50 family members, including Linda Bean. She supported Trump in 2016 but died in 2024, and the rest of the family members very publicly denounced her support and said they did not align with her viewpoint. However – Shawn Gorman, the current executive chairman gave the Maine Republican Party $2.5K in 2022, though he has not made donations since then. Billy Gorman, one of the family members, gave Trump $468 in 2024, so there are still conservatives in that 50+ family member mix. L.L. Bean has not spent money on lobbying in the last two years and supports diversity with employee resource groups.
My thoughts: I’m a little concerned that the executive chairman made a donation to the Maine Republican Party, but considering the weirdness of Maine politics and the smaller amount (less than $3K versus hundred of thousands or millions) I feel like it’s not enough to stop shopping there, but if it’s a dealbreaker for you I get it!
What they have: Mens, Womens & Kids boots, winter coats, gloves, hats, thermals, socks, pajamas, and tons of other stuff for the winter.
Where to order: Online (US, Canada, Japan, All Other Countries) or find a store near you.
Patagonia: Let’s get into it.
The Details: In a unique twist, the billionaire founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, shifted his ownership of the company to two organizations, the Holdfast Collective and the Patagonia Purpose Trust. The Holdfast Collective is a non-profit that will use the money earned from Patagonia to fund environmental programs, and the Patagonia Purpose Trust is an organization that ensures Patagonia continues to remain committed to the company’s values and mission. Patagonia is a Certified B Corp. Interestingly, they don’t have a diversity page on their website, though they do have social responsibility which does not cover diversity.
My thoughts: I don’t really like this move for a number of reasons. First – non-profits aren’t going to save the planet, though I’m glad they have more funding for projects. But ultimately we need political action and Marshall plan levels of investment to change the deeper structural issues to reduce and ultimately eliminate fossil fuel use, invest in renewable energy, and stopping the fossil fuel industry from having a stranglehold on our politics in the US. We could do that better with a well-organized and supported working class, which leads me to my second reason. In his memo about the change, Chouinard said “Truth be told, there were no good options available. So, we created our own.” He is referring to either selling the company, or taking it public. Sweetie, there’s a third option – you could have converted your company into an employee-owned one, like Bob’s Red Mill did. I would imagine the employees who work there are also passionate about continuing the company’s mission, making the Patagonia Purpose Trust unnecessary. I find it frustrating that companies and founders often tell us “there’s only this way!” when that’s not the case. While the unique setup alone doesn’t warrant not shopping there (to me at least, feel free to make your own decision!), I wanted to flag this because we can’t take even “good” companies statements as absolute fact, and should dig deeper. Also, the lack of a clear diversity policy seems frankly like a huge miss for such a “progressive” company.
What they have: Men, Women, & Kids winter coats, hats, gloves, thermals & other accessories.
Where to order: Online or in-store. They offer international shipping.
Lands End: Covered here, would recommend L.L. Bean over Lands End.
The North Face, Timberland, Smartwool, Napapijri: Owned by VF Corporation, which also owns Vans, Altra, Fastpak, Icebreaker, Jansport, and Kipling brands. The VF Corporation has spent $650K on lobbying in the last two years on the GSP Reform Act and other issues. They support diversity with employee engagement groups.
Columbia Sportswear (Owns Mountain Hardware, Sorel, & prAna): Publicly traded but the founder, Tim Boyle & his family members own the majority of the shares at approximately 53%. Columbia has spent $80K on lobbying in the last two years on manufacturing and distributing issues. They have a page for inclusion & diversity on their website but do not share if they support with employee resource groups or specific programs.
Helly Hansen: Owned by Kontoor Brands, a publicly traded company with institutional investors as their largest shareholders. Kontoor Brands also owns Wrangler, Lee, Musto, and Rock & Republic brands. They have spent $400K on lobbying in the last two years on apparel supply chain issues, and have a “belonging” policy but interestingly diversity is not mentioned once on the page.
JCPenney & Eddie Bauer: Owned by Catalyst Brands, which in turn is part owned by Shein. Details here.
REI: REI may be a co-op owned by its customers, but that’s where anything good ends. REI has been accused of racial discrimination and other workplace inequities, and UNION BUSTING. When the SoHo location in NYC unionized, REI refused to recognize the union, and workers had formally accused them of breaking labor laws by threatening and intimidating workers, disciplining and firing organizers. The National Labor Review Board (NLRB) found that REI broke the law by withholding merit raises and summit pay from workers at unionized stores. Now, REI is closing the SoHo and Boston unionized locations. They also endorsed Trump’s pick for Interior Secretary in January, then backtracked a couple months later.
Arc’teryx: In September 2025 Arc’teryx had a marketing display of fireworks in Tibet, in a fragile Himalayan ecosystem, despite promoting themselves as a eco-conscious brand. While this may be one dumb act by leadership at the company, I find it incredibly frustrating when companies say they support all these causes and then turn around and act like this. There’s a million other ways to promote your sh*t.
The Details: Owned by Amer Sports, which is publicly traded but Anta Sports owns the near majority of shares at ~42%, with Chip Wilson, Lululemon founder maintaining the second highest at 18%. If you don’t remember, Wilson fat-shamed and blamed women for Lululemon’s serious product issues. He named the company Lululemon because its “funny to hear them [Japanese people] say it”, blamed rising breast cancer rates on “cigarette-smoking Power Women who were on the pill”, and bases his personal and business philosophy on Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. Although no longer in control of the company, Wilson also recently blasted Lululemon for their DEI efforts for noreason. Amer Sports also owns Salomon, Wilson, Atomic, and Peak Performance brands, and has not spent money on lobbying.
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