Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1334452
textileinsight.com January/February 2021 ~ Textile Insight • 27 "We see growing consumer expectations on how brands address corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Today's consumer wants to understand what brands stand for, and how they are addressing these issues. Having programs in place to address these issues is now required. Specific to product, versatility and hybrid design continues to be a strong trend, but increasingly sustainability features such as recycled content, biodegradability, or plant-based materials sourcing is becoming more and more important in these products." Mark Mathews, VP of Sales, SCARPA North America "We see the continuation of multi-functional, multi-occasion wearable products combined with comfort and value. Specifically, in the outdoor industry, we are seeing more and more customers exploring the great outdoors – some technical, true hikers and explorers; but mainly families & "weekend warriors" spending more time outside due to the pandemic, for exercise, safe social distance "socializing" and simply to mentally recharge / decompress during this difficult year." Brandy McCarty, CMO / SVP Global Brand Strategy, The Eastman Group "New performance technologies. There has been little meaningful technical innovations in outdoor footwear in many years – and we're excited about disrupting the category with a visible technology that has a measurable positive benefit for our Fans – making their days on the trail easier and happier." Erik Burbank, VP Keen Effect, Keen "With the advancement of mills being able to produce sustainable or recycled fabrics and materials at lower cost than previous years, suppliers have been more aggressive with those offerings. Since they will be at a comparable price to non-recycled materials, I think brands will follow suit organically. Smart fabrics are continuing to trend, with technology that can cool or warm your foot based on the atmosphere inside the shoe, in addition to offering anti-microbial aspects." Jordan Anderson, Product Development Director, Rocky Boots Khombu Abby Outdoor Rocky Boots Rocky XRB Scarpa Rush Trk GTX Keen Ridge Flex