Textile Insight

50 • Textile Insight ~ July/August 2019 textileinsight.com OUT OF CONTEXT What makes an industry? The Golf Industry is about playing the game of golf. The Publishing Industry is tied together by putting words and images on a page. When we think of distinct industries we group them together via the businesses and values that surround their central meaning. They are about something. So what is the Outdoor Industry about? I used to think the Outdoor Industry was about human powered recreation in the out- of-doors. Having a good time outside without killing the planet was a left-over idea from the 1960s and it formed the essence of the original companies' culture. Backpacking, i.e., carrying what you need to survive in the outdoors, was what the cool kids did. Somewhere along way that outdoor expression became mass market trendy. The big corporations and investment firms ate up all the little crunchy companies and turned them into international brands. The name of the game was growth. Manufacturing shifted to third world factories and supply chains stretched across the globe in order to bring cheaper goods to market. The Outdoor Industry became a gross margin and volume machine. The backpacking part of the industry slowly morphed into adventure travel, which now includes driving a fancy RV across the land- scape. Overlanding, I think they call it; a marketable and ironic name for your feet not touching the ground while you tear through flora and fauna alike. When Mercedes Benz came calling a few years ago the industry swooned and happily put their gas powered tin cans front and center at the Outdoor Retailer trade show. The term "camper" now refers to automobiles more than people. Sustainability is the new industry focus. Environmental sensitivity is what unites outdoorists now. Ignoring the filthy cargo ships and cheap factories a continent away, the Outdoor Industry touts how clean and environmentally friendly their products h a v e b e c o m e . Plastic has been singled out as evil and rightly so. The conundrum is this is an industry where the major- ity of products are made exclusively from polymers. No Nylon, No Polyester, No Outdoor Industry. Outdoor Retailer, the big trade show, also reflects the awakening environmental ethos. Organizers decided to ban the sale of single use water bottles for the OR Summer Market 2019 show. Hallelujah, they get it, minimizing the show's environmental expense is abso- lutely the right thing to do. Then, in the next breath, the industry's trade show proudly announced that they would give away 5 tons of plastic water bottles to the show's 25,000 patrons. "We're excited … to give Summer Market attendees a refillable bottle and offer an easy way for everyone to reduce their plastic footprint." Hmmm, maybe they don't get it. One might think that the absolute last group of people on Earth in need of yet another plastic water bottle would be the attendees of the Outdoor Retailer Show. Newsflash, they already have one, or two, or twelve. Most of those "I was here" bottles will be stashed in cupboards and bins and forgotten. They are simply trash that has not yet reached the landfill. Now imagine an industry in concert. Think of the Trade Show, the physical gathering of the entire industry, the gala. The Show communicates directly via email with each attendee and asks, "Would you mind bring- ing a bottle with you? We'll have plenty of water for everyone and we'd just like to have as plastic-free show as possible. Thanks." Do you think the media would notice? Could it start a trend? Might flatware be next? The Outdoor Industry needs to decide what it is all about. Is the outdoor experience about personal consumption and individual achievement, or is it about preservation, conservation and longevity? l Disclaimer: Mr. Gray always has a fork and spoon with him; they're on his Swiss Army Knife. The Publisher may not share his opinions or table manners. What Makes an Industry? by Kurt Gray The Term "Camper" Now Refers More to Automobiles than People.

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