Celebration, Inspiration, Declaration: Outdoor Industry Association Marks Multiple Milestones During Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2017

BOULDER, Colo. (January  3, 2017) — This month’s Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2017 will play host to the commemoration of several milestones for Outdoor Industry Association’s Sustainable Business Innovation department. The Sustainability Working Group (SWG) celebrates its 10-year anniversary with a pre-show party; OIA’s inspirational speaker at its industry breakfast is Joel Makower, GreenBiz chairman and executive editor; and 43 companies have publicly committed to using the Higg Index to improve their supply chain management. 

“Sustainability is one of OIA’s three pillars and represents our commitment to sustainable business practices throughout our membership and the outdoor industry as a whole,” said OIA Executive Director, Amy Roberts. “Outdoor Retailer provides a great time for us to reflect on the work and changes we’ve been able to accomplish in the past decade while also looking ahead to all of the challenges we have facing us as an industry. But working together, we truly are a force that can, and will, effect major change.”

Celebration: Industry Marks 10 Years of Sustainability 

Events kick-off with Higgins the Goat and Brushfire Records artist ALO for a celebratory evening commemorating the 10th anniversary of OIA’s Sustainability Working Group. Several brands instrumental in the founding, development and ongoing work of the Sustainability Working Group will be awarded the first ever “Together We are a Force for Sustainability” award. This exclusive event is by invitation only. Email the OIA Sustainable Business Innovation team for more information at sustainability@outdoorindustry.org.

Inspiration: Key Note Speaker at OIA Industry Breakfast 

A Powerful Force For Meaningful Change: Celebrating the outdoor industry’s sustainability leadership. Guest Speaker – Joel Makower, GreenBiz chairman and executive editor.

Through the global leadership of the outdoor industry over the past 10 years, it has been proven time and again that impact reduction in the supply chain doesn’t have to come at the expense of product performance. Business sustainability has shifted from being a fringe “add-on” to a critical business imperative that is driving innovation, product quality, risk mitigation and ultimately, continued growth and success of the outdoor industry within an increasing resource-constrained world.

Come learn about the global sustainable business movement, with Joel Makower, voice and founder of Green Biz. He is an award-winning writer and strategist on corporate sustainability practices and clean technology who, for over 25 years, has helped a wide range of companies align sustainability goals with business strategy. Leave inspired to take action utilizing the collaborative spirit of the outdoor industry to tackle the challenges together. 

Declaration: Higg Index Commitment Statement

To date, 43 leading outdoor industry companies have signed a public commitment statement expressing their support of the Higg Index adoption effort within the outdoor industry. These companies are acknowledging the tool as the emerging industry standard and declaring their intention to use the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Index as the primary means to measure and communicate supply chain performance and to participate in its continued development.

Those companies are:

• Allied Feather & Down
• Berghaus
• Brooks Sports
• Burlington Industries, LLC
• Cascade Designs
• Columbia Sportswear
• Cone Denim, LLC
• Eagle Creek
• Farm to Feet
• Fenix Outdoor Interational
• Fjallraven
• Indigenous Designs
• JanSport
• Kathmandu
• KEEN
• La Sportiva
• MEC
• Mountain Hardwear
• Mountain Khakis
• MSR
• Nemo Equipment
• Nester Hoisery
• ORVIS
• Packtowl
• Pearl Izumi
• Platypus
• PLUSfoam
• Point6
• prAna
• REI
• Safety Components Fabric Technologies, Inc.
• Salomon
• SealLine
• Smartwool
• Sustainable Down Source (a division of Down Decor)
• The North Face
• Therm-a-Rest
• Theads 4 Thought
• Timberland
• Toad&Co.
• L. Gore
• Yakima

Read the entire public commitment statement.

To learn more about the Higg Index and the outdoor industry’s adoption commitments, visit www.outdoorindustry.org/sustainability.

Outdoor Industry Association

Based in Boulder, Colo., with offices in Washington, D.C., Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) is the leading trade association for the outdoor industry and the title sponsor of Outdoor Retailer. OIA unites and serves over 1300 manufacturer, supplier, sales representative and retailer members through its focus on trade and recreation policy, sustainable business innovation and outdoor participation. For more information, visit www.outdoorindustry.org or call 303.444.3353.