The Top Eco-Friendly Outdoor Knife Brands for 2025

Slicing Through Sustainability, One Blade at a Time

Let’s face it: the knife world isn’t exactly known for its granola-crunching tree-huggers. We’re more steel and edge than hemp and sprouts. But even in our world of blades and badassery, there’s a growing movement toward sustainability—and some of our favorite knife makers are leading the charge.

Victorinox: Old School Swiss Meets New School Sustainability

Victorinox, the maker of the iconic Swiss Army Knife (aka the most useful thing in your junk drawer), has been ahead of the eco-game since before it was trendy. These guys don’t just care about efficiency in their tools—they apply it to their entire operation.

Here’s how Victorinox is slicing into sustainability:

  • 100% Hydropower: The main Victorinox factory in Ibach, Switzerland runs entirely on hydropower. That’s right—the Swiss Army Knife is powered by Swiss water. Efficiency meets alpine cool.
  • Recycling: Scrap steel from the knife-making process? Recycled. Plastic trimmings? Reused. Even the heat from their own furnaces is repurposed to warm up local homes and their own buildings.
  • Built to Last (and Last and Last): Victorinox famously doesn’t retire knife models often, and they offer repairs instead of replacements. That means fewer knives in landfills and more in your pocket—where they belong.

Fun fact: They even have a knife museum that reuses part of the original factory space.

Spyderco: Golden (Colorado) Standards in Green Innovation

Spyderco has always marched to the beat of its own pocket clip—funky designs, forward-thinking ergonomics, and a passion for quality. But their commitment to Mother Earth? That’s one edge they really sharpened over the years.

Spyderco’s eco-friendly moves include:

  • Green Building, Literally: Their headquarters in Golden, CO is a LEED-certified facility. Translation: it’s a lean, mean, eco-machine designed to use less energy and reduce waste.
  • Responsible Materials: Spyderco actively seeks out and uses materials from suppliers who meet strict environmental and labor standards. That means your knife isn’t just high quality—it’s high integrity.
  • Recycling Programs: They’ve implemented strong in-house recycling practices, so even that rejected blade prototype finds a second life.

Benchmade: Made in the USA

Benchmade proves that being eco-conscious doesn’t mean compromising performance. In fact, they’re showing the knife world that sustainability and precision go hand in hand.

Their green practices include:

  • Certified B Corp: Yep, Benchmade is a certified B Corporation, meaning they meet high standards of social and environmental accountability.
  • Zero Waste Goals: Benchmade is working toward achieving zero landfill waste in their Oregon factory. Every material is tracked and managed like it’s part of their next custom build.
  • Community and Conservation Support: They regularly donate to conservation groups like Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. Because what’s a great hunting knife without great public lands?

Bonus points: Benchmade’s LifeSharp service keeps your blade (and your investment) alive longer—less throwaway culture, more heirloom legacy.

What About You?

We love seeing knife companies take sustainability seriously—but we know our community is full of folks who walk the talk too.

What are you doing to make your knife habits more eco-friendly? Do you sharpen instead of replace? Pass knives down? Use your blades until they practically file for retirement?