New Partnership with The Nature Conservancy Kicks Off Smartwool Advocacy in Action Month

July 18, 2018

Smartwool and The Nature Conservancy partner to protect public lands access and the health of our rivers and open spaces

Steamboat Springs, CO – July 18, 2018– Smartwool has designated July its official Advocacy in Action month, designed to motivate and encourage employee engagement in the industry and around their communities. The Advocacy in Action month is focused on showcasing the two pillars of the brand’s give-back efforts: sustaining and preserving the environment and helping build a diverse, inclusive community through opportunities to experience the joy of the outdoors.

The brand is kicking off the month with the announcement of its new partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the global non-profit dedicated to tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Smartwool will launch the partnership with a $20,000 donation and an industry “Party with a Purpose” fundraiser on July 21. Both the partnership and the fundraiser represent the brand’s support of organizations that are philosophically aligned with its core values and help to build engaged communities that fight to protect access to public lands and sustain and preserve healthy rivers and open spaces.

“The Nature Conservancy’s mission to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends fits perfectly with the Smartwool mission,” said Jen McLaren, president of Smartwool. “We believe in doing everything we can to sustain and preserve our public lands so that everyone has the opportunity to experience a life lived outdoors. This partnership delivers on that goal.”

In its first year, the partnership will focus its efforts on the Yampa River that flows through Steamboat Springs, CO, the hometown of Smartwool.  All partnership dollars will go into the Yampa River Water Fund to ensure that the free-flowing Yampa River has enough water during the dry, hot summer to support healthy fish, wildlife and recreation. Beyond the monetary donation, the Smartwool team will host community clean-up days throughout the year on the Yampa.  Other volunteer and community clean-up days will support the historic Carpenter Ranch, a Nature Conservancy preserve just 20 miles from the Smartwool global headquarters. Carpenter Ranch is an iconic landmark in the Yampa Valley and the centerpiece of TNC’s broader effort to conserve the natural and agricultural heritage of the Yampa River Valley.

Carlos Fernandez, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado’s State Director, said, “We work to protect and restore the places we love to live, work and play in Colorado and around the world. Who we are and how we work is what makes us successful. Our partnership with Smartwool will help us continue to transform business practices, invest in nature, raise awareness and champion smart environmental policy.”

The Smartwool Party with a Purpose fundraiser will be held on Saturday, July 21, at the Rayback Collective in Boulder, CO, from 6-9pm.  The party is designed to raise both funds and awareness for TNC’s efforts of conservation and protection of natural places. The party is open to the general public and all Outdoor Retailer trade show participants are encouraged to attend. Tickets are $20 and include two beers and live music. Fifty percent of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to The Nature Conservancy.

Other highlights of the Smartwool Advocacy in Action employee-engagement month include several onsite events for employees, including brown bag lunch and learn clinics with Protect Our Winters and The Nature Conservancy, Advocacy Bingo, and a Dirt & Donate mountain bike ride. The Smartwool Advocacy Fair, with all advocacy partners at the global headquarters, will educate Smartwool employees and their families on ways they can get involved and make a difference.

In addition to the Smartwool Party with a Purpose, the Advocacy in Action month includes several events open to the industry.  For those attending Outdoor Retailer, the brand will be selling PhD® Outdoor Approach socks, Women’s PhD® Ultra Light tanks, and Men’s PhD® Ultra Light t-shirts at its booth July 23-26 with all net proceeds going to Big City Mountaineers.

Smartwool team members will also be participating in the 3^rd Annual Roadhouse Beaver Creek Mountain Bike Ride, July 28, with proceeds benefitting SOS Outreach. The ride offers short and long route options, both starting and finishing in the heart of Beaver Creek Village.  SOS ride and registration information can be found at http://sosoutreach.org/get-involved/events.

Smartwool advocacy partners include:

• Big City Mountaineers – Big City Mountaineers transforms the lives of underserved urban youth through wilderness mentoring expeditions that instill critical life skills. www.bigcitymountaineers.org
• SOS Outreach – SOS Outreach is a youth development nonprofit that fosters self-confidence, leadership skills, and positive decision making in underserved youth. SOS programs are unique in their use of adventure sports to engage participants for future success. www.sosoutreach.org

• POW – Protect our Winters – POW was started in 2007 by pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones who witnessed first-hand the impact of climate change on the mountains. www.protectourwinters.org
• Conservation Alliance – The Conservation Alliance’s mission is to engage businesses to fund and partner with organizations to protect wild places for their habitat and recreation values. www.conservationalliance.com
• The Nature Conservancy –  The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, TNC creates innovative, collaborative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together.

www.nature.org and www.nature.org/colorado

To learn more about Smartwool and its commitment to advocacy, visit Smartwool.com.

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About Smartwool

Based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Smartwool is an apparel brand whose products are inspired by living and playing in the mountains. All Smartwool® products come with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee and are created to get the most out of the inherent benefits of Merino wool. For information on the full range of Smartwool® products or to find a dealer near you, please log onto www.Smartwool.com. Smartwool, a division of VF Outdoor, LLC, is a brand of VF Corporation. For event and company updates, visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/smartwool and Twitter www.twitter.com/Smartwool.