Smartwool: Unite at OR for Public Lands this July

February 14, 2017

To our industry partners and friends,

For the last 20 years, we have donated our time, our energy and our dollars to supporting the outdoors. We see the decisions of the Utah policy makers as direct and irrefutable threats to what we hold most dear. We, along with other industry leaders, will not sit idle. We will stand our ground and fight for what we value and believe in most – the safety and protection of our public lands for all to enjoy.

At Smartwool, we believe we can be most effective in this cause by staying at the Outdoor Retailer tradeshow. We believe we are stronger as a united industry in our unprecedented battle for the outdoors.

We recognize each brand will need to determine what is right for them and we applaud any willingness to fight for our shared values. We look forward to continued collaboration as we build a united industry strategy.

The change we need now, will take effort from every brand and every employee in the industry. We must be louder and stronger than our opposition and that means everyone coming together. We can’t do that if we leave the OIA to fight on their own – with fewer resources.

We agree OR should leave Utah, but we’re going to help the OIA and Outdoor Retailer search for a new, better location. In the meantime, we’re going to let Utah know how we feel. We are working on this right now and when we arrive in July, we will not leave without making our values and concerns heard – that public lands need to remain public.

As they say in Washington, “You’re either at the table or you’re on the menu”. We choose to be at the table. We will participate in every opportunity to fight this battle and have our voices be heard.

Please be at the table with us – show up and join this fight.

Sincerely,
Travis Campbell
President, Smartwool