Toad&Co Archives - șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online /tag/toadco/ Live Bravely Wed, 10 Apr 2024 19:39:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://cdn.outsideonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/favicon-194x194-1.png Toad&Co Archives - șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online /tag/toadco/ 32 32 5 Ways to Help the Planet on Earth Day /outdoor-adventure/environment/5-ways-help-earth-day/ Thu, 22 Apr 2021 04:15:58 +0000 /?p=2567951 5 Ways to Help the Planet on Earth Day

A few easy ideas for getting involved this year

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5 Ways to Help the Planet on Earth Day

Earth Day is upon us once more. Ahead of the big day tomorrow, brands small and large across the industry are spreading the word about ways to get involved. As outdoor enthusiasts and businesspeople, our home planet, as Patagonia calls it, supports us in everything we do. Consider taking a little extra time tomorrow to look after that planet in whatever way you can. If you need some inspiration for doing good this Earth Day, here are five ways you can pitch in.

Donate Shoes to Divert Them from the Landfill

Footwear is notoriously under-recycled and terrible for the environment when it ends up in landfills. șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, our parent company, has launched a shoe drive in cooperation with the Tennessee-based organization this Earth Day to collect used footwear and make sure it doesn’t end up in the dump. Each pair donated will either be recycled or shipped to micro-enterprises around the world with the aim of alleviating poverty in developing countries.

Give Your Old Socks Second Life

ultra-thin running socks
(Photo: 101 Degrees West)

While you’re at it, you might as well deal with all those ratty, worn-down socks taking up space in your dresser drawer, too. Smartwool has launched an initiative called the Second Cut Project that takes old socks and upcycles them into new products like dog beds.

Starting today through May 2, consumers can celebrate Earth Day by recycling any brand or material of sock in any condition (as long as they’re clean) at drop-off bins at more than 250 participating specialty retailers nationwide. A pre-paid postage recycling bag that fits ten to 15 pairs of socks is also available through the Smartwool website when a purchase is made.

Go Earth Day “Plogging” with FjĂ€llrĂ€ven

Plogging is the Swedish activity of picking up trash while walking or jogging. It’s a great way to get out of the house with a purpose tomorrow. To celebrate Earth Day this year, FjĂ€llrĂ€ven will be offering plogging kits free for pickup at any North American brand center. Anyone who picks up a kit will also get a coupon for $50 off their next in-store purchase.

Shop Online to Support Wild Spaces

Starting today and running through April 27, the Conservation Alliance’s annual #WeKeepItWild campaign is bringing together outdoor brands that will donate five percent of online sales to support wild spaces. Participating companies this year include Backpacker’s Pantry, Gregory Packs, Helly Hansen, Royal Robbins, Ruffwear, Toad&Co, and more. If you’re planning some online shopping this week, make sure it’s with a brand that has signed up for the campaign.

Make a Pledge to Clean up Public Lands

#PickUpAmerica, an initiative from the RV brand Thor, is challenging outdoor lovers to hold themselves accountable for cleaning up public lands. The campaign includes a pledge measured in garbage bags: “I pledge to be the difference and clean up: X garbage bag(s) of trash from public lands,” the promise states, asking users to fill in a number of bags. Participants are prompted to give their name and email address to hold themselves accountable.

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate the planet and make our shared spaces a little cleaner this Earth Day, head over to the website and commit yourself to a few bags.

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5 Innovative Packaging Solutions That Can Help Your Company Kick Plastic /business-journal/issues/5-packaging-solutions-to-eliminate-plastic/ Thu, 22 Oct 2020 07:17:24 +0000 /?p=2568897 5 Innovative Packaging Solutions That Can Help Your Company Kick Plastic

If you’re serious about eliminating single-use packaging from your company and the outdoor industry, these five companies can help

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5 Innovative Packaging Solutions That Can Help Your Company Kick Plastic

The outdoor industry, more than most, is keenly aware of the effects of climate change and, in particular, the need to create greener supply chains. It’s the reason more than 377 outdoor brands have joined the Plastic Impact Alliance, committing to making our industry more sustainable by eradicating single-use plastic from their businesses.

Although everything from materials to manufacturing contributes to a company’s carbon footprint, it’s end-of-the-line packaging that really adds up and is often unable to be recycled curbside. Still, it’s arguably one of the easiest things to change and make more sustainable (not to mention, it serves as a significant touchpoint with customers, especially as ecommerce continues to trend upwards).

Only about 9 percent of all plastic waste is currently recycled and as such, single-use plastic packaging accounts for nearly half the plastic waste found in nature. In August, prAna, an early member of the Plastic Impact Alliance and a leader in sustainable, outdoor fashion, announced the Responsible Packaging Movement, a program designed to create industry-wide change. Since 2010, prAna has successfully eliminated more than 17 million polybags from the supply chain and its new initiative takes it a step further by collaborating with other industry brands.

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This year, prAna announced its new Responsible Packaging Movement, a program designed to create industry-wide change. (Photo: Courtesy)

In line with the Plastic Impact Alliance and prAna’s mission of sharing knowledge and transforming the industry together, we’ve compiled this list as a resource for outdoor brands. From mailers to labels, protective wrapping to polybags, here are five companies out to revolutionize how we package and ship products. The first three innovations on this list were recent winners of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition 2020 Protective Packaging Design Challenge.

Returnity

The Product

Chrysalis is a reusable shipping bag designed to replace poly-mailers and reusable shipping boxes.

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Returnity creates mailbags that can be transformed into totes, duffles, or makeup bags. (Photo: Courtesy)

How It Works

Brands work with Returnity to design mailbags that, once used for shipping, can be flipped inside out by the customer and transformed into a tote, duffle, or makeup bag. The boxes are made for companies engaged in a circular shipping model.

“Our view is that companies will not scale the use of reusables if it doesn’t make sense financially, so we enable them to make the switch by making it cost-effective,” said Returnity CEO Michael Newman.

Returnity believes its packaging creates perfect social media moments once in the customer’s hands.

“In addition to cardboard boxes and poly-mailer bags being wasteful, they’re just boring,” said Newman. “For so many retailers, this is the one physical touch point they have with the consumer. When you ship something in a reusable package, consumers take notice and love it.”

Environmental Credentials

All bags and boxes are made from recycled plastic bottles. Returnity is also working with a household name in outdoor fabric to turn used or deadstock fabrics—things that may have failed color matching or quality control and might otherwise be landfilled—into reusable shipping bags. Additionally, all of Returnity’s boxes have a layer of rigid plastic in between them, meaning they outperform cardboard in terms of strength, durability, and product protection. Returnity guarantees its packaging for 40 shipments and will even take products back from clients at the end of their life span in order to handle the recycling of the material.

Applications for the Outdoor Industry

Returnity’s willingness to work with brands on a case-by-case basis means its industry applications are endless. Although the company’s model is similar to LimeLoop, which is used by Toad & Co, it differs in the respect that its reusable packaging isn’t leased.

“I’m super proud of our ability to adapt our reusables in a way that makes sense for almost any product,” said Newman. “The thing that we’re working on now is really enabling systems, so that if your company isn’t inherently circular we’re able to help you get there.”

Returnity counts O’Pros Fly Fishing and Camp Rents among its current clients. In the coming weeks they will add a yet-to-be-name gear rental company plus another big name in outdoor apparel.

Mushroom Packaging

The Product

High-performing packaging made from hemp and mycelium that resembles pulp packaging or an egg carton, and easily could replace similar plastic versions as well. Additionally, it’s cost competitive, thermally insulating, and water resistant.

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Mushroom Packaging creates packing solutions from sustainable organic matter. (Photo: Courtesy)

How It Works

Every piece of Mushroom Packaging (powered by Evocative Design) is custom designed, using CAD software, and grown in just seven days. The product is a living material and spends four days in its tray before being removed to grow for two more days, and finally, dried for one to disable future growth.

Environmental Credentials

Mushroom Packaging takes just 30 days to break down in a home compost, no industrial composting required. (It takes 180 days in a marine compost.) Consumers simply have to break the packaging into small pieces and place it outside in the soil, allowing nutrients to return to the earth. Additionally, the trays used to grow the packaging are reused hundreds of times.

Applications for the Outdoor Industry

Mushroom Packaging has distribution centers in the U.S., Europe, Oceania, and the U.K. Paradise Packaging, located in California, is the main hub for growth and distribution across the U.S. and does have some standard shapes available. Incredibly versatile and with custom options available, this packaging could be used on everything from ski goggles to fly rods, from solar lights to camping stoves, or anything that benefits from a more rigid form of packaging.

Flexi-Hex

The Product

A range of plastic-free packaging solutions made from recycled cardboard that use a honeycomb design and are ideal for replacing bubble wrap.

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Flexi-Hex utilizes a unique structure that allows it to wrap a wide variety of objects safely. (Photo: Courtesy)

How It Works

The hexagonal cellular structure of Flexi-Hex means it can wrap a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and materials, including glass. Flexi-Hex Air is a lighter, tissue paper-based packaging ideal for smaller, fragile objects.

Environmental Credentials

Flexi-Hex’s mission is simple: remove plastic from the packaging industry and raise awareness of the threats currently facing the world’s oceans. Flexi-Hex is nontoxic, reusable, biodegrades readily, and is made of 100 percent recycled cardboard. The company is also currently investigating bio-adhesives in order to remove its reliance on petroleum-based glue.

Although much more low-volume than its plastic counterparts, Flexi-Hex is still manufactured in China and shipped around the world (distribution accounts for the majority of its carbon footprint, although the company does purchase carbon offsets to compensate). Internally, every Flexi-Hex employee also gets a personalized carbon footprint report complete with recommendations on how they can improve things like their travel habits, diet, and home energy use. As of 2020, the company is carbon-negative according to conservation organization Mossy Earth.

Applications for the Outdoor Industry

Flexi-Hex can be used to protect surf boards, skis, snowboards, bikes, small electronics, water bottles, tent poles, sunglasses, helmets, oats, lanterns, coolers—you get the idea.

Vela

The Product

A durable, paper polybag alternative, Vela bags are weather resistant and protect their contents from humidity, moisture, and dust.

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The Vela bag was originally designed for apparel companies, but its potential uses extend much further. (Photo: Courtesy)

How It Works

A product of family-owned Seaman Paper, a company that now focuses on lightweight paper solutions used in packaging, the Vela bag officially launched at the beginning of this month. Although the bag was designed with apparel companies in mind, it has potential beyond that.

“We’re in testing with lots of global apparel brands whose names you would know,” said Seaman Paper’s VP of business development, Julie Skibniewski. “What’s been surprising to us is the non-apparel inquiries we’ve had from consumer products companies.”

Environmental Credentials

Vela bags are made from paper, one of the most highly recyclable products in the world. What’s more, the Vela bag is made from Forest Stewardship Council-certified, sustainably harvested paper fibers; globally, FSC is considered the strongest system of forest management. Since Vela bags can be recycled four to six times, they also promote a circular economy where maximum value is extracted from raw material. Finally, Seaman has partnered with sustainable solutions firm South Pole to calculate the carbon footprint of producing Vela bags and to purchase corresponding carbon offsets.

Applications for the Outdoor Industry

In addition to prAna, the women’s fashion brand Mara Hoffman and sustainable clothing brand Outerknown are already using Vela bags. “There’s really a limitless opportunity for Vela bags,” said Skibniewski. “Anywhere you’re currently using plastic, you can use a Vela bag.”

EcoEnclose

The Product

EcoEnclose, based in Louisville, Colorado, isn’t a new company but its product line is extensive—from mailers to boxes, packing tape to hemp twine—and constantly evolving. We particularly like their focus on shipping supplies, specifically zero-waste shipping labels, which the company claims are the world’s most eco-friendly.

How It Works

Companies can request free, individual samples of specific products or full sample kits. EcoEnclose has the capacity to serve companies of all sizes, whether you need 1,000 units or 5 million. Additionally, the majority of its products can be custom branded.

Environmental Credentials

EcoEnclose offers two types of zero-waste shipping labels, the first being 100 percent recycled white labels, compatible with laser and inkjet printers, which come on EcoEnclose’s 100 percent recycled and curbside recyclable liners. The second option is direct thermal labels that are compatible with standard thermal printers, also on the Zero Waste Release Liner. There are also several tape options that are better than the typical plastic stuff, including Cello Carton Sealing Tape, which combines cellulose backing with a natural rubber adhesive, making it plant-based, renewable, and biodegradable.

By 2030, EcoEnclose hopes to be an “ecologically net positive” company, meaning that its products, operations, and supply chain are a positive, regenerative force for the planet. The company has a comprehensive sustainable packaging framework and is committed to innovation.

Applications for the Outdoor Industry

EcoEnclose’s outdoor industry clients already include La Sportiva, United By Blue, Adidas, and FjĂ€llrĂ€ven.

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Toad&Co Steps up Again to Help Independent Retailers /business-journal/retailers/toad-and-co-gives-back/ Wed, 18 Mar 2020 06:52:43 +0000 /?p=2569864 Toad&Co Steps up Again to Help Independent Retailers

Expanding on its coronavirus aid program announced last week, Toad&Co has pledged even more help to struggling retailers

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Toad&Co Steps up Again to Help Independent Retailers

Last week, Toad&Co rolled out an ambitious program to help small retailers weather the economic uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis, becoming one of the first brands in the outdoor industry to do so. Now, the California-based company has taken its efforts a step further with a second phase of the program meant to extend the benefits of the initiative far into the future for shops carrying Toad&Co products.

Effective immediately, independent retailers may opt into one or both of two new programs:

  1. Toad&Co will provide retailer-specific codes that can be used at checkout on the Toad&Co website. When a new customer uses a retailer-specific code to purchase a product, Toad&Co will share 30 percent of the net revenue (on full-price Spring ’20 products) with that retailer.
  2. Instead of a checkout code, retailers may also receive a link to share with customers that directs to the Toad&Co website and performs the same tracking/revenue-sharing function.

“We got a terrific response from part one of the program,” Toad&Co CEO Gordon Seabury told șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Business Journal. “A lot of people thanked us for reminding everybody that we’re all in this together as an industry. With part two, we’re trying to create real-time financial benefits for retailers to provide them with cash flow, which everyone desperately needs right now.”

Toad&Co has also specified that “any new customers who purchase products through either of these programs will be lifetime tagged in Toad&Co’s database to the specific retailer that referred them.” All future purchases made through the Toad&Co website will be tracked in the same way, with an “ongoing option for retailers to…share in future revenue from these new customers.”

“This is just an awesome additional benefit they’re providing to the whole community,” said Travis Zarnis, VP of merchandise at Great Outdoor Provision Co. in Raleigh, North Carolina. “As soon as I saw, it I reached out to Gordon and expressed our sincere appreciation. They were the first ones to think of something like this, and it speaks volumes just to make the initiative.”

As to whether he thinks customers will actually use the resources Toad&Co provides, Zarnis said, “We have a ton of customers reaching out asking how they can help. It’s same thing you see in the restaurant industry—people asking if they can buy gift cards or provide support in other ways. So I feel like they will use the Toad&Co program. We’re still one big community, even in these tough times, and everyone is doing what they can.”

The new programs will be in place at least through May. Retailers can sign up for one or both of the initiatives by contacting their Toad&Co sales representative or Toad&Co dealer services.

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Toad&Co Helps Retailers Weather the Economic Storm of the Coronavirus /business-journal/brands/toad-and-co-launches-coronavirus-assistance-program/ Tue, 10 Mar 2020 03:13:13 +0000 /?p=2569912 Toad&Co Helps Retailers Weather the Economic Storm of the Coronavirus

Ever an ally of independent retailers, the Santa Barbara-based company has agreed to provide financial assistance to specialty shops whose bottom lines have taken a hit

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Toad&Co Helps Retailers Weather the Economic Storm of the Coronavirus

In an unprecedented move, the California brand Toad&Co has announced that it will help its brick-and-mortar retailers survive the economic uncertainty of the coronavirus outbreak by sharing 10 percent of its new-customer ecommerce revenue for at least the next two months.

“I hope that much of the predicted public health risk associated with COVID-19 is overstated and life returns to normal in short order,” wrote Gordon Seabury, Toad&Co’s CEO, in a statement Monday. “That said, we cannot ignore the reality we could be facing a considerable retail disruption. Many of our retail partners have been major brand supporters, loyal partners and friends over the last 20 years. We stand with our retailers shoulder to shoulder.”

The program arrives at a critical juncture in the economic shake-up that has resulted from the coronavirus. While plenty of brands have expressed sympathy for their brick-and-mortar retailers and offered advice to keep revenue flowing in trying economic times, none has taken action as financially meaningful as Toad&Co’s new initiative. Effective March 15, the program will follow seven key tenets:

  • All of Toad&Co’s independent specialty brick-and-mortar retailers nationwide will be automatically included in the program.
  • 10 percent of net ecommerce revenue from first-time customers will be calculated by sales territory.
  • Revenue will be allocated to eligible sales territory retailers and shared with sales reps.
  • Retailer allocation will be on a prorated basis by net preseason spring 2020 orders.
  • A voucher will be issued to each retailer to be used against future preseason orders.
  • If any store is forced to close due to employee health risks or regional quarantine, Toad&Co’s additional programs will provide support on a case-by-case basis.
  • Toad&Co will provide regular updates and evolve the program to appropriately address needs.

Toad&Co tested a similar program two years ago with , a retailer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In that program, Toad&Co. shared a portion of its ecommerce revenue with Rock/Creek for every online purchase made by a shopper who identified him or herself as a Rock/Creek customer.

“Instead of competing with our retailers, our goal is to have an ecosystem that works for everyone. Our retailers are the ones connecting to our customers on a day-to-day basis,” Seabury told șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Business Journal. “I’ve been talking with our board members about how to take that program with Rock/Creek and apply it on a wider scale. We decided that the coronavirus crisis was a perfect opportunity to do that.”

Seabury says that Toad&Co wants to expand the program further—a move that may happen as soon as this week.

“If a retailer is shut down due to coronavirus, we’ll provide them a special code,” Seabury said. “When customers come to our website, they’ll put in the code to identify as customer of retailer X. After a sale, that store will get part of the revenue and that customer will be tagged as a customer of that retailer for all sales going forward. Any subsequent online sale will be flagged, and part of the revenue will go back to that retailer, even after the coronavirus outbreak calms down. It’s our way of trying to work together with our retailers in real time to provide a mutual benefit for everyone.”

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Beyond the Polybag: New Ideas in Packaging Sustainability /business-journal/issues/beyond-polybag-sustainable-packaging/ Fri, 15 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000 /?p=2571652 Beyond the Polybag: New Ideas in Packaging Sustainability

Collaboration is key as brands and organizations think outside the box for more creative and sustainable packaging options for its products

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Beyond the Polybag: New Ideas in Packaging Sustainability

If you glanced at your garbage can or recycling bin right now, what would you find inside? Chances are, it’s a jumble of plastic and cardboard—and you’re not alone. According to the EPA, nearly 30 percent—a whopping 76.7 million tons—of municipal waste is comprised of packaging, things you rip, break, and tear apart, then immediately toss aside. In a recent op-ed, Salida Mountain Sports founder Nate Porter took the outdoor industry to task for its overuse of packaging materials. Based on the chatter when OBJ posted the story on Facebook, he’s not the only one concerned about these issues. And he’s not alone in looking for solutions. You’re likely to see less packaging waste come along with your outdoor goods as creative sustainability initiatives increase across the industry.

A pile of paper, plastic, and cardboard litter the grass in a display of wasteful packaging that is not sustainable.
Packing peanuts are thankfully all but extinct, but many companies still use way to much packaging: cardboard inserts, plastic, tissue paper, packing paper, and more. (Photo: Shawnté Salabert)

“Any company that wants to reduce its carbon footprint, address water consumption, or anything else— you’re not going to be able to get tremendous gains without at least doing something about packaging,” said Adam Gendell, associate director of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. “No one’s going to solve all of our environmental issues by just looking at packaging, but at the same time, no one’s going to be able to solve all of our environmental issues without including packaging.”

For some brands, sustainability is central to their core ethic. “We were founded as a triple bottom line business, so we measure our success as it relates to the environment, our social impact, and our financial impact,” explained Kelly Milazzo, VP of operations for Toad&Co. “When we look at our environmental impact, it’s kind of soup to nuts.” In a bid to reduce waste, the company recently launched a partnership with sustainable shipping company LimeLoop, who use reusable mailers made from upcycled billboard material.

Black LimeLoop shipping bag with label and Toad&Co leather label is a new solution in sustainable packaging.
Customers can now choose to have their Toad&Co purchases shipped in a reusable LimeLoop bag instead of a cardboard box. The durable bags are cycled back into the shipping system and can be reused up to 2,000 times. (Photo: Courtesy)

Small Steps Lead to Big Changes

No matter the intention, it’s not always easy to enact change. Complex supply chains involving a multitude of vendors and facilities, each with their own capabilities and limitations, can vex larger operations; smaller brands face other roadblocks.

Shawn Parry, VP of marketing and product development for Teton Sports, said that to find more sustainable packaging options, the company was forced to invest in a year’s worth of materials up front. He also said that because his company is small, change is incremental. Last year, the brand began retooling its sleeping bag fill; this year its shell materials. It’s also rebuilding its entire packaging system, step by step. Parry likened it to a kid plunking pennies into a piggy bank. “Every time we want a new bike, we have to save up.”

There’s also the challenge of adequately protecting consumer goods, a job that’s long been entrusted to polybags. Back in 2014, Patagonia conducted a case study to see if it could reduce its plastic use by eliminating the bags. The results were disappointing. “We found that about 30 percent of the products were damaged beyond the point of being sellable,” explained Matt Dwyer, senior director of materials innovation and development. “The best thing we can do is produce clothing that’s going to last a long time, and if 30 percent of our product is getting damaged in the distribution process, we’re failing.”

The brand was able to make a few impactful changes spurred by the study, related to bag size and packing. “If my mom had told me that by folding my clothes better, I could save the world, I wouldn’t have believed her,” Dwyer laughed. “But it turns out that by folding our clothes better at the factories, we use 30 percent less plastic in our polybags.” He anticipates that by this fall, every polybag they use will featured recycled content; this will bump to 100 percent recycled content in the near future.

Taming the Polybag Beast

When it comes to polybags, most would argue that using recycled content is great, but using no bags at all is even better. prAna found a way to achieve this sustainability coup with a multi-year polybag reduction initiative driven by a dedicated group of employees who felt there had to be a better way. “We are a brand that believes in taking positive steps toward change, yet if all of our product comes in a polybag, what is that initial experience telling our customer?” asked director of sustainability Rachel Lincoln. “Small choices equal big change, and that’s kind of where that idea came—how can we make a choice every single day to do something different and find a different standard?”

Toad&Co's recycled polybag use din shipping: sustainable packaging
Apart from their LimeLoop pilot program, Toad&Co incorporates sustainable materials into all of its packaging systems, including its recyclable polybags, which are made from 50 percent post-consumer recycled materials, and used to line the boxes of rolled, raffia-tied garments. (Photo: Courtesy)

After extensive testing, the prAna team realized that they could eliminate most polybag use by rolling items, then tying them with compostable raffia. Items could then be packed in one large box lined in plastic to prevent moisture damage. They developed training materials and worked with each component of their supply chain to ensure the process was streamlined. Their efforts paid off. “Just in 2018 alone, I think it was over 26,000 tons of polybag plastic that we saved,” said Lincoln. “That’s equivalent to two adult-size elephants.”

Strength in Numbers

While prAna’s success may not be replicable for every brand, the push for packaging sustainability has never been stronger. The Outdoor Industry Association’s Sustainability Working Group and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition are working on best practices.

One of the most prominent tools in this regard is the Higg Index, a sustainability scorecard. This summer, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition will relaunch its Brand & Retail Module, which will offer adopters ways to measure and seek improvement in packaging.

Even without a codified set of best practices, individual strategies are emerging. Lincoln suggested that more brands tap into the Teton Sports micro model. “Take one topic, go after it, be tenacious, don’t take no for an answer, ask a lot of whys, and then move on to the next thing once you’ve tackled it.”

On a broader scale, Gendell advised brands to adopt a “three pillar” system that addresses materials sourcing (using recycled, biodegradable, and compostable materials), optimization (reducing materials and volume), and recovery (ensuring materials are easily recyclable). This involves interrogating the supply chain.

“Most folks probably don’t even know where their polybags come from, let alone what they’re made out of,” said Dwyer. “The easy button for any big brand is to just let the factory do it—let them pick the materials, let them even help with the design, certainly let them pick the boxes and polybags.” Instead, the Patagonia team suggests putting in time to build personal relationships with suppliers.

Lincoln takes this a step further by advocating for the concept of “non-competitive collaboration,” allowing brands to share ideas, resources, and even purchasing power for the greater good. She pointed out that prAna’s recent move to 100 percent organic cotton was sparked when a competitor introduced them to a new vendor. “We have to be able to talk about those things in a non-competitive way or we can’t move the industry forward,” she said. “Together we’re stronger—and we have to believe that, enforce it, and encourage it.”

Cooperation is also key to magnifying the impact of initiatives like LimeLoop’s reusable mailers. Milazzo said that initial testing shows a shelf life of 2,000 shipments for each bag. She suggested that if more brands adopt the service, the impacts could be huge. “I think it’s essential that we as a business community find a solution to packaging,” she said. “I think we’re in a powerful position to make change.”

Perhaps the brightest glimmer of hope, then, is collaboration. “The power of one is strong, but the power of many speaks volumes,” said Lincoln. “If we can come together and find a way to leverage that louder voice, then the sky’s the limit.”

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Do Brand Stores Crush—or Help—Independent Outdoor Retailers? /business-journal/brands/are-brand-stores-crushing-or-helping-independent-outdoor-retailers/ Thu, 06 Apr 2017 18:47:42 +0000 /?p=2572062 Do Brand Stores Crush—or Help—Independent Outdoor Retailers?

Outdoor companies are benefitting from opening their own retail brand stores across the country. But is their move into brick-and-mortar good for independent specialty shops, too?

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Do Brand Stores Crush—or Help—Independent Outdoor Retailers?

At the FjĂ€llrĂ€ven store in downtown Boulder, Colorado, there’s a message on the window that reads “Join Us For a Trekking Experience Only FjĂ€llrĂ€ven Can Deliver.” It’s an invitation, in the literal sense, to join 200 or so other FjĂ€llrĂ€ven customers on hikes in some of the most beautiful backcountry in Colorado. But it’s also a message.

“FjĂ€llrĂ€ven’s mission is to empower people to use the outdoors,” said Joe Prebich, vice president of the brand in North America. It also wants to sell product. It does direct-to-consumer sales via its website, it sells wholesale at places like Nordstrom, and it’s available through outlets like backcountry.com. But like a growing number of specialty brands, it believes that having a brick-and-mortar presence, where people can touch, feel, and see its products—as well as its ethos—is the best way to create brand awareness and loyalty.

The idea of a brand store, of course, is nothing new. L.L.Bean opened its first—a one-room operation—in Freeport, Maine, in 1912. The North Face followed, opening its first brick-and-mortar 50 years later. Patagonia launched its first flagship store in 1973. Early Winters, G.H. Bass and Co., and others went next. Some thrived, others didn’t, all while independent outdoor specialty stores sprouted across the U.S.

Patagonia Portland Store, West Burnside
Patagonia’s brand store in Portland, Oregon. (Photo: Courtesy)

These—including both small mom-and-pops and larger stores like REI and EMS—cranked along until the early 2000s when online stores began to change the retail landscape. By the 2010s analysts were saying online was killing specialty retailers.

But starting in 2012, several more outdoor specialty brands—the likes of Arc’teryx, Teva, Timbuktu, Merrell, GoLite, and others—began launching their own brick-and-mortar locations. Today, dozens more stores have opened—or are setting up shop. The North Face now has 55 retail and 20 outlet locations in the U.S.; Patagonia owns 30 U.S. stores. Toad&Co. (formerly Horny Toad), Arc’teryx, Mammut, and PrAna now have a dozen-plus between them. Even smaller or startup brands—like Snow Peak, Icebreaker, Cotopaxi, MIIR, and the niche ski company Rocky Mountain Underground—have done the same. Each brand we spoke to says some version of “It’s the best way to create community, build relationships, and bring customers into the [insert brand name] fold.”

The Bad and Good of Brand Retail

Virtually all outdoor brands wax about their commitment to supporting independent specialty retail. But some independent shop owners believe the brand store trend poses a direct threat to businesses.

Are brand stores crushing—or helping—independent outdoor retailers?
Mountain Khaki’s new Denver store oozes the brand’s Jackson Hole vibe. (Photo: Courtesy)

Kevin Rosenberg, whose Gear To Go Outfitters, in Brooklyn, New York, opened in 2009, said, “Online is the biggest killer of specialty retail, but the brand stores aren’t helping us, either.”

It’s especially problematic, he said, when brands discount items yet expect specialty retailers to sell at full retail. He said deep discounts and promotions by some of the outdoor brands he carries played a part in him having to close his shop this month (he’ll still offer sales and rentals at geartogo.com). “And it certainly doesn’t help that Mammut—which we sell—opened a shop [located alongside a bouldering gym] in Brooklyn,” he said.

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Kevin Rosenberg poses in front of his Brooklyn store Gear To Go, which he recently shuttered because of he found it impossible to compete with brands offering deep discounts and promotions. (Photo: Andrew Kornylak)

Rich Hill, president of the specialty retailer consortium Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, said a more extreme example of this exists when a particular brand opens a “company store” in a certain location and “literally trucks consumers in to buy things at a steep discount.” He added that this is the exception rather than the rule, however, and that, in actuality, when big brands play nice (by selling their in-season, in-line wares at full-price), they have little effect on independent retailers. Prior to joining the Alliance, Hill worked for many outdoor industry brands including PrAna, Ibex, Patagonia and Marmot—and said that in his career of opening “many brand stores,” he has seen many instances where flagships can open and have a positive impact on overall market.

Hill said Grassroots retailers (there are 63 of them) are naturally going to evolve away from doing businesses with companies that traffic in “unhealthy brand practices” and choose instead to work with brands that are more disciplined about their direct-to-consumer and flagship store sales practices as their products simply sell better. He added that while Grassroots actively monitors brand behaviors and how they impact sales, it’s basic supply-and-demand economics that typically handles the response—an oversupply of discounted product in the market leads to lower demand at speciality retail, which leads to retailers dropping underperforming products and lines.

The Symbiotic Relationship

Dan Mann, president of the retail growth strategy facilitators The Mann Group, agreed that though there’s a feeling that online and brand stores are strong-arming mom-and-pops, it’s misguided.

“Statistically, online [sales are] still less than 10 percent of retail,” he said (Hill says it’s 20 percent). “The fact is that the vast majority of shoppers are doing initial research online, but once they have an idea of what they want, they’ll go somewhere to [physically experience] that item.” He agreed that brand stores actually validate smaller shops that carry their brand because “the [presence of both] are symbiotic.”

To independent specialty shops, the sudden arrival of a brand store “feels like a betrayal, but it’s not,” Mann said. He cited the example of how a former retail store he owned sold Tommy Bahama sportswear. Mann’s store did “very well with Tommy,” so he was “No, no, no!” when a Tommy brand store moved to town. “But it created such credibility, and raised the specter of our business, because the quality is so high. So we actually increased sales of Tommy even with a Tommy store nearby,” he said. “If a [specialty store] can see the relationship as symbiotic, I see that as a good exercise.”

Drew Simmons, founder of Pale Morning Media, who represents outdoor brands like Buff, Deuter, Farm to Feet, and Flylow said, “The single-best way to build a brand is to focus on the retail experience. In the outdoor industry, this is a well-known maxim, and we’ve all benefited from three decades of superior retail experiences. Retail has built the biggest brands of the outdoor industry. All the ads and social media and PR in the world can’t compete with the personal brand endorsement from a great retailer to an interested consumer.”

Simmons acknowledged that brand-owned stores, because they own their entire retail experiences, have the opportunity to control that “super powerful moment” of connection that builds a brand as well as long-term consumer loyalty. “Strengthening the brand within a controlled environment can benefit sales in all channels—online, wholesale, etc. But if you’re using your controlled environment [brand store] as a discount warehouse, or an employee store for corporate clients, it’s not just a missed opportunity, it’s a step backward.”

Third Place Theory

For brands, forking over money to erect flagship stores is an investment in fortifying loyal customers, and they’re often building on the base they have established online. But opening a brick-and-mortar comes at an exceptionally high cost.

“When you look at the U.S., and distribution in general, especially in the past 20 years, major metro areas have priced themselves out of reach for most independent retailers,” said Hill. These underserved markets are a great opportunity for brands to connect with a vast number of consumers and build awareness. And there are other benefits for brands by opening brick-and-mortar shops—a newfound retail wisdom. “They develop better merchandising, signage, and training tools, as well as learn directly from consumers about what works and doesn’t,” said Hill. Brand stores also allow customers to become intimately acquainted with a brand and its core values.

Patagonia stores, like this one in Portland, Oregon, are hubs for local activism. // Photo: Courtesy
Patagonia stores are more than just gear outlets, they are “hubs for environmental activism.” (Photo: Courtesy)

Perfect examples: Patagonia considers its 30 stores to be hubs for environmental activism. PrAna offers free yoga classes every day at each of its seven locations. The North Face encourages people to “Never Stop Exploring” in its stores. And Cotopaxi, which started online in 2013 and now has two retail stores in Utah, pushes the idea of “global giving” through three “pillars” of grant creation “inextricably linked and crucial to creating a sustainable pathway out of poverty.”

For other brands, ideology is less explicit. MIIR launched its first growler on its website and the product sparked the idea for a flagship store shortly thereafter. “The [Seattle] store happened organically,” said MIIR founder and CEO Bryan PapĂ©. “We needed new office space, and with the growler, we joked that we should have taps people could access.” That grew into a store with a tap room, company shop, retail, and events space that opened in 2015.

Companies that believe in the brand store model feel that having these physical presences not only grows their customer bases by introducing new people to their brand, but it also gives loyal customers a place to come to immerse themselves in the brands’ ethos. MIIR said they’re approaching profitability after just two years in existence, and FjĂ€llrĂ€ven was successful enough in its first Boulder store (with 900 square feet) that it opened a new 3,500-square-foot store in 2016.

Mountain Khakis opened its first store in Jackson, Wyoming, in 2016 and has just opened a second in Denver, Colorado. “We’ve looked forward, since 2003, to the day that we could really exercise the brand vibe and experience in a one-on-one manner,” said Jen Taylor, director of creative development. She hopes the Denver store will be the first place locals will bring a friend after picking them up at the airport and before they embark on an adventure.

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The new Mountain Khakis store in Denver includes a whiskey tasting bar. (Photo: Courtesy)

Once inside, they can “belly up” to the store bar and sip a Wyoming Whiskey (VIPs only). The idea, said Taylor, is to bond with consumers. “We’re creating memories, and the store is a home for that.”

“It’s ‘Third Place’ theory,” she added, created by the urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg. He believed in the importance of free or inexpensive public gathering spaces that are highly accessible and involve “regulars.” “It’s what Starbucks was developed around, and Cheers,” said Taylor. “Your first place is your home, your second place is your work, and your third place is where you go to recalibrate.”

Forging a New Retail Relationship

Third Place Theory may seem heady for outdoor retail. But brands are exploring all ways to make themselves more accessible, relevant, and profitable. Last year, Toad&Co. approached the owners of Vital Outdoors, a small shop in Golden, Colorado. The two entities forged an agreement in which Vital’s owners Simona and David Livingston would keep their shop and open a Toad&Co. branded store across the street. Vital Outdoors was unavailable to comment for this story, but Toad&Co’s vice president of global sales Scott Whipps said, “Vital is a key, longtime retail partner with Toad&Co. When we discussed the idea of [co-opening], everyone’s heads were nodding.”

Are brand stores crushing—or helping—independent outdoor retailers?
The Toad&Co store in Golden, Colorado (Photo: Courtesy)

Flash forward, and now Vital owns “the store, the lease, everything associated with being operational,” said Whipps, while Toad&Co.’s investment was in “building out the look, feel, and experience within the store so it represents who we are as a brand.”

The new store “feels very Toad,” said Whipps, with an “old-school map of the Golden area and the Front Range behind it, that calls out things like close-proximity trails, key coffee shops, and breweries. To us, that adds to our value. And we really believe combining forces will be a successful long-term strategy.”

Dan Mann would approve of the relationship. “In general, a lot of manufacturers are opening brand stores because they believe they can do [retail] better,” he said. But the Vital/Toad&Co. relationship allows the brand to oversee messaging and the retailer to leverage its local knowledge, consumer understanding, and longtime relationships.

In a landscape that will likely continue to be challenging for brick-and-mortar stores to survive, it seems any and all innovation to keep it alive is crucial.

Tracy Ross is a National Magazine Award winner and the author of . She is currently at work on her next book, about a young woman who disappeared in Nepal. 

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