What you missed: Day 1 of Outdoor Retailer
Keep tabs on the most newsworthy things happening on the show floor.
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Happy Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. We hope your Day 1 has been packed with discoveries and fruitful meetings. Here are a few of the things you might’ve missed:
- Afdhel Aziz, author of Good is the New Cool, was the keynote speaker at the Outdoor Industry Association Breakfast. Aziz talked about how to make money and do good by harnessing the power of cool through seven steps. Know your purpose; find your allies; think citizens not consumers; lead with the cool; don’t advertise, solve problems; people are the new media; and back up the promise with the proof. “You can do a tremendous amount of good right rom where you’re sitting and bring that meaning into your life…You need to let your values drive your value. You need to use your hearts, not your minds,” he said.
- Travis Campbell, of The North Face, has stepped down as president of the Outdoor Industry Association board and Nora Stowell from W.L. Gore has stepped up.
- Gear.com is rolling out a new scholarship as part of its Give-A-Buck Program, which helps people who don’t have the means to buy gear and get outside. For every purchase, Gear.com gives 20 percent back: 10 percent back to the customer for their next purchase and 10 percent to someone of the customer’s choice. Gear.com will begin accepting applications for its first round of scholarship recipients on July 1 and select four scholarship recipients by Sept. 30.
- LifeStraw commissioned a plastic-use survey last week and the brand released it today. The survey—which polled more than 1,000 U.S. outdoor enthusiasts—found that 43 percent of them use single-use plastic water bottles during outdoor activities. Forgetfulness was cited as the main reason. “The findings of the survey suggest that while the outdoor industry has been very vocal in advocating for a reduction in single-use plastics, we still have work to do to create changes in behavior,” said Alison Hill, Managing Director of LifeStraw.
- Speaking of which: More than 170 water stations are scattered across the show floor, giving you plenty of opportunities to fill your reusable water bottle and stay hydrated. Forget yours? Plastic Impact Alliance members are giving away free ones. Plus, Outdoor Retailer is giving away special edition Nalgene bottles. So you have no excuse to use single-use bottles.
