Environment

Patagonia Responds To Trump

by The Editors on December 4, 2017

In response to President Trump’s historic plundering of America’s protected public lands, Patagonia has this to say:

Americans have overwhelmingly spoken out against the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attempt to shut down our national monuments. The Administration’s unlawful actions betray our shared responsibility to protect iconic places for future generations and represent the largest elimination of protected land in American history. We’ve fought to protect these places since we were founded and now we’ll continue that fight in the courts. – Rose Marcario, President and CEO, Patagonia

For more info, follow the jump.

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The Outdoor Industry’s Letter To Trump

by The Editors on October 25, 2017

The Outdoor Industry Association has sent a letter to our short-fingered vulgarian President Donald Trump asking him to keep his Twitter twiddling hands off protected public land. They asked a little nicer:

As leaders of more than 350 American companies, we ask you to embrace the conservation ethic of your predecessors and keep current protections in place for our public lands and waters, ensuring these places live on for the benefit of every American today and for generations to come.

That’s a pretty big ask, and it won’t do a thing to change our current situation, but it’s a nice try. 

[Link: Outdoor Industry Association]

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Surf Industry Raises Funds For Puerto Rico

by The Editors on October 3, 2017

Led by the SIMA Humanitarian Fund, the surf industry is coming together to help the victims of both Hurricane Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico. All funds will be routed to Waves For Water, who is on the ground in Puerto Rico working to secure access to clean drinking water in the most impacted and neglected areas of the U.S. Territory.

“Surf culture and the surf industry have a long history with Puerto Rico, starting with the fourth World Surfing Championships held there in 1968,” said Dylan Slater, President of the SIMA Humanitarian Fund. “The people, the surfing community and the surfing industry has been significantly impacted by these storms, and we feel an obligation to do what we can to help them get back on their feet.”

If you’d like to help, click here. For all the details, please follow the jump.

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Patagonia’s CEO Is Watching You Donald

by The Editors on April 26, 2017

In a presidency that becomes more absurd with each day, the Trump administration is now moving to review all of the United State’s National Monuments and Patagonia’s CEO Rose Marcario doesn’t like it one bit. She says:

Our National Monuments were established after extensive public input because they provide unique and irreplaceable cultural, ecological, economic and recreational value worth protecting for our children and our grandchildren. As stewards of America’s federal public lands, the Trump administration has an obligation to protect these most special wild places. Unfortunately, it seems clear they intend to do the opposite.

In a statement released today (Wednesday, April 26, 2017) Marcario urges everyone who loves America’s public lands to contact their members of Congress and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to “express outrage at the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back National Monument protections.” For the official statement from Marcario, please follow the jump.

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Outdoor Retailer Is Out Of Utah

by The Editors on February 16, 2017

Today (Thursday, February 16, 2017) Emerald Expositions, the parent company of Outdoor Retailer and Interbike, announced that after holding a teleconference with Utah Governor Herbert that they will no longer be considering Utah as a potential location for future trade shows.

The shows reportedly bring nearly $45 million to the Salt Lake City economy each year, according to a story in the Salt Lake City Tribune and that money will be going elsewhere. . . Hells yeah, OR. For the official word, please follow the jump.

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Outdoor Retailer Responds To Boycott

by The Editors on February 14, 2017

In the last week the Outdoor Retailer Show has seen several companies state their opposition to the policies of Utah’s Governor Gary Herbert by announcing that they will not be attending this summer’s Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, Utah — Patagonia, Arc’teryx, and Polartech just to name a few. With all these announcements the group that stands to lose the most is the Outdoor Retailer Show itself. And we wondered what their response would be.

In a open letter to the outdoor industry titled Our Goal is Not Just to Speak. Our Goal is to be Heard, OR Show Director Marisa Nicholson said today (Tuesday, February 14, 2017) that while several companies have announced they are leaving, other have showed their support.

“We respect that brands have to make decisions that reflect their values,” Nicholson says. “However, in the last week, the heart-felt expressions of support for the show from exhibitors of all sizes have far outweighed those choosing not to participate. Iconic brands such as adidas Outdoor, Ibex, The Conservation Alliance, The North Face, REI and Wolverine Worldwide, among many others have not only reinforced their intent to come to SLC this summer, but also, will make their voices louder than ever before. (Please look at unity.outdoorretailer.com for specific expressions of support.)

While Nicholson says OR respects the larger company’s decisions, the people she says the boycott hurts most are the smaller brands.

But the boycott of Outdoor Retailer levies the most significant negative impact on those medium and small-sized companies that count on the show to conduct business,” Nicholson says. “We have a unique, maybe even singular, opportunity to coalesce, organize, speak and lay plans to make a difference around public land awareness in such a way that it is not only heard but that it can make a positive difference.

Yes, trade show directors still believe that trade shows are important, and so do some brands, but Utah’s governor certainly isn’t helping anyone out by being staunchly against the protection of wilderness lands.

Nicholson says Outdoor Retailer is “as swiftly as humanly possible” looking for alternative locations to hold the show. So there’s that. For Nicholson’s entire letter, please follow the jump.

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Jumbo Wild Fights BC Development

by The Editors on October 12, 2015

We continue to be entertained by the ironies of Patagonia’s drive to sell us all more clothing we don’t need ($35 “Live Simply” T-shirts) as well as their commitment to using the environmental movement to market their brand. Occasionally, however, it all comes together into something interesting, and maybe even good.

Sweetgrass Productions‘ Jumbo Wild appears to be one of them. The film, funded by Patagonia, covers the “decade’s long fight over a proposed ski area” in the Jumbo Valley backcountry, part of British Columbia’s Purcell Range. Be warned, there is far too much skiing in this clip. For more on the story (and the film), please follow the jump.

 

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Happy 30th Birthday Surfrider Foundation

by The Editors on August 22, 2014

Surfrider LogoToday, the Surfrider Foundation turns 30 years old and to celebrate they have launched a website that chronicles the last three decades of the organization’s history. Here’s a little piece of it

Thirty years ago a group of surfers from Malibu, California, were concerned about the health risks associated with environmental threats posed by escalating coastal development at their favorite surf spot. They took action. Not even they could have envisioned the history they were making when they succeeded in protecting their beloved surf spot. . . .Since its inception in 1984, the Surfrider Foundation has evolved into one of the largest non-profit grassroots organizations with a volunteer-activist network dedicated to its mission to protect and enjoy the world’s oceans, waves and beaches. . . . Today, the Surfrider Foundation is measurably stronger, with more force and movement than ever before. It has 84 chapters, including 30 high school and college clubs, 50,000-plus members and more than 250,000 supporters and volunteers, fighting 90 active campaigns around the country. Armed with a model to defend the coast the organization has a record of 271 victories (and counting) since 2006.

Happy Birthday, Surfrider. You are living proof that good people can do great things when they work together. For the rest of the timeline, click the link.

[Link: 30 Surfrider]

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Waves For Water + 100k World Water Day

by The Editors on February 3, 2014

Hurley Waterday

Jon Rose and friends are making valiant efforts to get clean water to people who need it through his Waves For Water initiative. Now, Nike is taking this opportunity to upgrade their social conscience (and their Hurley surf division) by participating in World Water Day 2014.

Five groups of Clean Water Couriers will lead missions to five different parts of the globe: Brazil, Haiti, Indonesia, Liberia and Nicaragua. Each team of key advocates will include Hurley Surfers and ambassadors to participate in the distribution of water filtration units. The teams will be bringing with them 1,000 water filters for a single-day activation (March 22, 2014), with capacity to provide clean-water access for 100,000 people. . . “We typically work in a very lean and covert fashion to maximize our efficiency on the ground, but since this specific project is just as much about awareness as it is action,” says Waves For Water Founder Jon Rose. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to bring some of our longtime friends and advocates – Carissa Moore, Rosario Dawson, Rob Machado, Alex Atala, and more – along for the ride.”

From the official word from Rose and Hurley, follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Project WOO Could Use Your Help

by The Editors on May 29, 2013

Project WOO (Wave of Optimism), a 7-year-old non-profit founded by ex-Peace Corp volunteers, is currently working in Playa Gigante, Nicaragua to create a sustainable community based partially on surf tourism. They’re doing well with the program, however, they’ve turned to Indiegogo.com to help raise funds to do more.

The non-profit has already started a surf-mentorship program where kids can earn donated boards through community service, initiated a waste management program, and procured a school bus that facilitates education. Our next project is a health center and we’re using the crowd-funding site indiegogo.com (link to our page) to help raise money from surfers who have been touched by this beautiful paradise.

The organization is run in Nicaragua by Palos Verdes, California bred surfer Bo Fox, and the Executive Director stateside is Trent Gordon. Watch the edit, click the link to the Project WOO website for more info and then made a donation if you feel compelled. They’d like to raise $15,000 for this project and with 38 days left, they’re already halfway there. It’s hard not to feel good about what Fox and Gordon are doing. Especially when you see the smiles on the kids’ faces.

[Link: Project WOO]

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