Outdoor Insight

44 • Outdoor Insight • November 2018 outdoorinsightmag.com S ustainability is all around us. Research shows that 86 per- cent of consumers across the world are concerned about sustainability and that concern has only grown in the past year. Ninety-three percent of consumers in emerging mar- kets express concern for sustainability. (Source: "The 2017 Global Environmental Survey," by Cotton Council International and Cotton Incorporated.) This didn't just happen overnight — eco awareness has taken root in the perfor- mance textile and active outdoor area during the past couple of decades and now defines the future landscape. Members of OIA's Sustainability Working Group (SWG) have been tackling supply chain issues important to the industry for over 10 years, including chemicals management, animal welfare, social responsibility and fair labor practices. Earlier this year, the OIA unveiled its "State of Sustainability in the Outdoor Industry" report. The study indicated that the Higg Index is delivering tangible benefits to outdoor industry companies and underscores that sustainability is a core value to the outdoor industry regardless of company size, product type or location. (The report sur- veyed 120 individual small, midsize and large companies in the outdoor industry.) Seventy-five percent of participating companies have at least one employee who is responsible for sustainability efforts in their organization and 87 percent use the Higg Index to guide internal sustainability conversations or benchmarking efforts. Here are three sustainability trends to watch: 1. THE AG TREND The area of regenerative agriculture is gaining ground, with a handful of outdoor brands already forming partnerships and educating suppliers to inspire product innovation. Patagonia is a strong believer in regenera- tive agriculture, which serves as the basis for its Patagonia Provisions food and beverage line. And The North Face is working with Fibershed, a group of fiber producers in California advocating "soil to soil" product development. The North Face's Climate Beneficial wool beanie was made with Fibershed, whose restorative agriculture practices promote healthier soil and a dynamic underground ecosystem that impacts the quality of fiber. Domestic hemp cultivation, flax production and creation of hemp/wool blends are all on the Fibershed radar. 2. THE PACKAGING TREND Nearly 30 percent — a whopping 76.7 mil- lion tons — of municipal waste is comprised of packaging, according to the EPA. According to LimeLoop, 32 percent of Americans want sustainable packaging. The sustainable shipping company has introduced reusable product mailers made from upcycled vinyl billboards that can be reused up to 2000 times. Mailers are designed with a zipper so packaging stays intact when opened, and closed, and the mailer includes an internal return label. Users flip the label and the package is ready to be mailed again. Toad&Co has signed on as LimeLoop's first partner. Meanwhile, Pearl Izumi is introducing an effort to "eliminate" hangtags. Beginning in January, the brand will only attach one card, at the smallest size that can still be recycled, to capture critical codes/pricing information. "We feel that with all of the digital resources available, relying on a large hangtag to communicate product details is outdated and they generate a surprising amount of our total packaging waste," Pearl Izumi president Chris Sword says. The new hangtags use 19,400 pounds less paper, saving 165 trees, 68,082 gal- lons of water and 4503 gallons of oil annually. In addition, all new polybag packaging will shift to 100 percent recycled plastic, which can be recycled again, further reducing petroleum use. 3. SECONDHAND STYLE The "resell and reuse" trend isn't up-and-coming — it's already here. Many outdoor stores have operated consignment shops for years. A look at the fashion world shows growing potential for the secondhand market. One in three women shopped secondhand last year, according to thredUP, the largest thrift store online. Buying a secondhand item extends its life by an average of 2.2 years, as noted in thredUP's 2018 Resale Report, thus reducing carbon, waste and water footprints by a whopping 73 percent. ThredUP spokesperson Samantha Blumenthal attributes some of this change for good to the rise in our world's "sharing economy." While "a few years ago you would never get into a stranger's car or stay in someone else's home, now these practices have been normalized by Uber and Airbnb. Companies like Rent the Runway and thredUP are doing the same for secondhand clothing," explains the exec. ThredUP competes directly with off-price and fast fashion retailers, offering mid-priced brands like J. Crew and Banana Republic, as well as upscale labels such as Gucci and Prada. For consumers looking to clean out their closets and sell their wares, a free Clean Out bag can be ordered from the site, which can then be filled up with cloth- ing and sent back with a prepaid shipping label. The thredUP team will evaluate, price and list the items, paying the seller for pieces it can resell. What can the outdoor market learn from this fashion retailer? Second-hand sales can drive big business, for one. ThredUP processes one million items a month and plans to open 100 retail stores by 2020 (there are currently stores in California and Texas). And second-hand commerce can also drive big sustainability gains. "Our goal is to keep 100 percent of the clothing we get out of landfills, whether that means reselling it on thredUP.com or working with our network of textile distributors to turn clothing that can't be resold into useful aftermarket products such as pillow stuffing," says Blumenthal. l Three Future-Forward Trends Eco Is Everywhere. Here's a Look at Where it's Headed Next. SUSTAINABILITY

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