With all due respect to the many great outdoor sock brands out there, let鈥檚 be honest: For most consumers, socks are a commodity. So when the folks at Nester Hosiery,聽a North Carolina sock maker, decided to launch a private label line called Farm to Feet in 2013, they knew they had to do something that would help them stand out. They landed on two key things: First, they would build socks that relied completely on a U.S. supply chain. Second, they would embrace total transparency.

A prime example: When the leaders looked around the factory floor, they were appalled by the piles of wasted raw mate- rials they saw, and asked themselves how they could divert waste from the landfill. The result was the Remix collection, launched in 2019, which turns these excess fibers into new socks. 鈥淭his allows us to extend the life of existing materials while we figure out how to create less waste in the future,鈥� said Katie Kumerow, director of sustainability for Nester Hosiery.

Supply chain transparency is a fairly new concept. Fifteen years ago, nobody cared about where a product came from as long as it worked. But over the last decade鈥攁nd even more so in the last five years鈥攖ransparency has emerged as a key corporate value in the outdoor industry and beyond.

Not only are we seeing governments, stakeholders, and NGOs demanding information about where goods come from, consumers are demanding it.

鈥淲ith the way people can track and trace everything these days, it鈥檚 very important to be open and honest,鈥� said Ralph Oliva, professor of marketing at Smeal College of Business at Penn State University. Consumers are spending unprecedented time online researching the companies they support. That鈥檚 why, he says, more and more outdoor companies are lifting the veil when it comes to how they operate.

Farm to Feet drills into all aspects of its operation on its website, which features a prominent 鈥淥ur Supply Chain鈥� tab with a wealth of information about where its materials come from, how and where its socks are made, and the people involved in every step. The company has invested heavily in communicating its story via packaging, custom videos, and more.

Supply Chains Can Be Messy

Even if businesses find unsavory things when digging deep into their supply chains, these days it鈥檚 scarier not to be transparent about what you find. 鈥淏rands may discover things they aren鈥檛 proud of, but the best course is to fess up and admit it鈥檚 something they鈥檙e working on,鈥� said Oliva. 鈥淭he right customers will stay with you.鈥�

Transparency does eventually pay off, says Alex Scott, assistant professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. 鈥淲hen companies audit suppliers, develop trusting relationships with them, and write contracts with penalties for unethical behavior, it will eventually lead to increased sales. Our research shows that people will pay 2 to 10 percent more for products from companies that provide聽greater supply chain transparency.鈥�

He emphasizes that transparency isn鈥檛 so much about perfection as it is about progress.

Leaders in Transparency

Patagonia was an early adopter of transparency. According to the 2020 Fashion Transparency Index, it ranked seventh among 250 apparel companies analyzed (see right).

聽The Most Transparent Outdoor Companies

The 2020 Fashion Transparency Index ranks 250 large companies (with at least $400 million in annual sales) on their transparency in five categories: Policy & Commitments; Governance; Traceability;聽Know, Show &聽Fix; and Spotlight Issues.

These outdoor companies scored in the top 75 positions: Adidas (#3); Patagonia (#7); The North Face (#8, tied); Timberland (#8, tied); New Balance (#29); Helly Hansen (#60); Fja虉llraven (#69, tied); Mammut (#69, tied)

In 2012, Patagonia launched a blog called Footprint Chronicles with a simple mission: to 鈥渂e completely honest about where our products come from and the resources required to create them.鈥�

Vincent Stanley, Patagonia鈥檚 director of philosophy, has been involved with the blog from the beginning. Although he says it鈥檚 impossible to say how Patagonia鈥檚 transparency efforts have affected sales growth, it鈥檚 clear that the company鈥檚 honesty has created a lot of trust that they might not have had with products alone. 鈥淲e make our values and how we act on them crystal clear,鈥� said Stanley. 鈥淎nd we don鈥檛 shy away from talking about shortcomings.鈥�

For example, in 2014, Patagonia published an article called 鈥淧atagonia鈥檚 Plastic Packaging: A Study on the Challenges of Garment Delivery.鈥� In it, the company admitted that it was contributing to the world鈥檚 plastic problem via shipping the garments it sells in polybags. The article details a series of failed experiments aimed at finding more sustainable solutions, like roll-packing with twine and paper mailers. As of fall 2019, Patagonia switched to 100 percent recycled polybags that can be sent back to the company for recycling (a spokesperson reports that 25 percent of bags shipped get returned).

Keen also has a strong transparency track record and, like Farm to Feet, a wealth of information on its website detail- ing its efforts. An example: In 2013, Keen decided to examine its waterproofing treatments, which contained perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) that have been linked to a host of health problems. The company got to work. After 1,000 hours of testing, they hit upon non-toxic, PFC-free alternatives that met their quality standards. To date, this change means Keen has avoided using more than 150 tons of perfluorinated chemicals. 鈥淚t took cooperation and trust across our entire supply chain,鈥� said Chris Enlow, senior director of philanthropy, advocacy, and sustainability. 鈥淲e would never had gotten here without transparency.鈥�

And it鈥檚 not just consumers that are looking to support this kind of transparency, says Enlow. 鈥淩etailers are also demanding it in order to curate responsible and sustainable collections in their shops.鈥�

Lindsey Barr manages Blue Ridge Hiking Company in Asheville, North Carolina, which specializes in small batch ultralight gear. She says sourcing products with transparent supply chains gives them a leg up with customers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way to differentiate what we sell from what everyone else sells,鈥� she said.

Beyond the Supply Chain

Other types of corporate transparency are equally important. Transparency in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts is also on the rise among outdoor companies and recent events have created a sense of urgency. 鈥淚t鈥檚 imperative that to begin the work of DEI, a company must first be transparent鈥攁t least internally鈥攁bout the racial diversity of their employees and their failures to recruit or maintain a diverse work force,鈥� said Teresa Baker, founder of the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge.

Merrell, which signed the Pledge in early 2019, has fully embraced transparency in its DEI efforts and is among a handful outdoor brands doing an outstanding job, says Baker.

Merrell knows that looking into the mirror is key to driving meaningful change. 鈥淪ince signing the Pledge, we鈥檝e done brand-wide, formal, biannual training sessions on JEDI topics,鈥� said Chris Hufnagel, global brand president. 鈥淲e have a culture audit next month that will inform our 2021 team learning sessions, and we鈥檒l also be implementing a scorecard to keep us moving forward. [Merrell will share the results of both with customers.] As we continue the journey to diversify our team, our Merrell senior leadership team now more closely reflects the diversity of the population.鈥�

Transparency is the Future

Nester Hosiery鈥檚 Kumerow says brands need to be fearless in their transparency efforts. 鈥淏y working to improve鈥攚hether it be supply chain or DEI efforts鈥攁nd shooting straight, we鈥檙e opening the door for deeper connections and loyalty among our customers.鈥�

And hopefully that will be the saving grace as brick-and-mortar retail comes out of coronavirus hibernation. Kumerow says that when that happens consumers will want鈥攎ore than ever鈥攆or the products they purchase to align with their values. She thinks that will give brands like Farm to Feet, which shares openly, an edge over the competition.

In the end, the labels we wear are more than just labels. They stand for something, and most people want to know what they stand for.

The post Trend Report, Part 2: Show and Tell appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

To put it bluntly, Supreme is the cool kid on the block. The one whose lack of effort seems unattainably chill, whose attention you鈥檙e dying to grab but can鈥檛 ever seem to figure out how to get.

Even if you think you don鈥檛 know them, you鈥檝e almost certainly seen riffs on their block-lettered logo. Supreme started out as a clothing brand for skaters, and along the way, it became the ultimate hype brand. Millions of followers around the world eagerly await Supreme鈥檚 regular 鈥渄rops,鈥� their co-branded collaborations with clothing, outdoor, lifestyle, and home goods brands across the board.

Part of what makes Supreme work is its scarcity model: there are always more fans than there is product available. Drops sell out in seconds worldwide, in spite of mass quantities available, which makes nabbing a collab with Supreme a slam dunk. Karl Fritzsche, category manager for SealLine, told us that the See Pouch they produced for a Supreme drop early this year accounted for more than ten times the amount they typically sell in a full year.

鈥淧eople are buying it because it says 鈥楽upreme,鈥� that鈥檚 the crazy thing,鈥� he said. For the most part, they don鈥檛 even need a drybag. 鈥淚t鈥檚 super mind-boggling.鈥�

That鈥檚 essentially Supreme鈥檚 whole model: find cool stuff, slap their name on it, sell it en masse.

If you scroll through their recent drops, you鈥檒l find a lot of normal stuff like clothing鈥攁 fair amount of it produced in collaboration with The North Face鈥攁 lot of outdoor gear, and a heck of a lot of stuff that鈥檚 just plain weird. (Who needs an anatomically correct model of the human body with Supreme鈥檚 logo on the base?)

But while a fair bit of it ends up on eBay, selling for many times the original asking price (Fritzsche鈥檚 seen SealLine See Pouches go for about $300, compared to the MSRP of about $50), there鈥檚 another unintended consequence, too: urbanites from major cities across the world who might not otherwise care to go kayaking or camping pack up their new gear and head for nature.

鈥淪upreme comes up with some really funny things, and I think they鈥檙e very calculated in what they鈥檙e doing,鈥� said Ryan Pugh, a product designer for Advanced Elements, which produced untold thousands of inflatable kayaks (he鈥檚 not allowed to say exactly how many) for a Supreme drop in July.

The kayaks sold out in seconds鈥攚e鈥檙e not exaggerating鈥攁nd Advanced Elements had expected that they鈥檇 mostly stay in their boxes, serving as collectors鈥� items. But to their surprise, they鈥檝e seen scores of YouTube videos and Instagram posts of people kayaking for the first time thanks to Supreme. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e figured out that, with millennials, being outdoors is catching on,鈥� Pugh said. 鈥淭hey understand that their clientele is at least thinking about getting outside, doing things outdoors, and engaging in that realm.鈥�

To be sure, collaborating with Supreme can seriously boost your brand鈥檚 clout and recognition. So how do you get a deal? That鈥檚 the tough part鈥攜ou can鈥檛. Supreme is very much a 鈥渄on鈥檛 call us, we鈥檒l call you鈥� kind of company (case in point: they didn鈥檛 respond to multiple requests for comment on this story). Even SealLine didn鈥檛 work directly with Supreme on the See Pouch collab; they went through a third party agency hired by the company.

So, outdoor brands shouldn鈥檛 hold their breath and wait for Supreme to come knocking. But collaborating with other companies鈥攂oth within the industry and beyond鈥攊s still good for business.

Here Are 5 Types of Collabs That Your Brand Should Consider.

1. The Co-designed Collab

By designing products together that wouldn鈥檛 exist if not for brand collaboration, you can achieve some serious brand awareness. Take, for example, their Topo Designs x Chaco collection. Chaco made sandals and dog leashes and collars with Topo-inspired patterns. And Topo made packs featuring the same designs. Products like these, and similar projects like the sleeping pad collab between Poler Stuff and Therm-a-Rest, or the tent, sleeping pad, and table collabs between Big Agnes, Helinox, and Burton, play up both brands鈥� assets and appeal to both of their audiences. Brands like Power Practical, Rumpl, and Ravean take it a step further when they innovate by building on one another鈥檚 technology. In 2016, the three brands worked together to create the Rumpl Puffe-, a rechargeable electric puffy blanket.

Check Out These Succesful Co-designed Collabs

Burton and Big Agnes Tent Collab

Nomadix and Wylder Goods Towel Collab

Chaco and Topo Designs Sandal Collab

Therm-a-Rest and Poler Sleeping Pad Collab

Power Practical, Rumpl, and Ravean Blanket Collab

2. The Co-branded or White-Labeled Collab

This type of collaboration is fairly run-of-the-mill. You make backpacks, for example, and you want water bottles with the company name on them, or vice-versa. If the brand you want to work with has a following you want to tap, it may be beneficial to keep both companies鈥� logos on the product. But if you want to have full 鈥渙wnership鈥� over the product, you can white-label it. Sock companies like Nester Hosiery the parent company of Farm to Feet, for example, produce socks on behalf of other companies without ever mentioning their involvement.

3. The Social Collab

Perhaps the easiest type of collaboration to secure is one in which you work with some like-minded brands to tap each others鈥� audiences. Maybe you put together a sweet prize package, and to enter, Instagram users have to follow all the brands involved, like the post, and comment by tagging a friend who may be interested. Or, maybe consumers enter online with their email address, and then you end up with 10,000 new newsletter subscribers. Emails are great leads to new customers, says Yoon Kim, who runs Blogs for Brands and frequently executes social and giveaway collaborations between brands.

Social Media Collabs That Work!

Topo Designs, Big Agnes, REI, and others collaborated on this trip giveaway.

Wylder Goods collaborated with Hydro Flask, Sun Bum, Toad&Co, and others for this summer gear giveaway.

Retailer Feral Mountain Co.聽partnered with several local groups for a spring giveaway.

4. The Press Trip Collab

If you work with an external PR agency, it might be easy for you to organize a press trip where costs are shared with another gear company (or maybe several gear companies). If not, look around you鈥攖here may be other gear companies in your city that you can approach on your own. If co-hosting a trip is out of the question, you can also try to support an existing trip by offering up product to pass out to writers for potential review.

5. The Out-Of-Industry Collab

Just because you can鈥檛 hunt down a Supreme collab doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e out of luck for increasing your brand recognition beyond core outdoor users. Just look to Woolrich, for example, which made a co-branded 鈥淧ennsylvania Tuxedo鈥� beer a few years ago with Dogfish Head Brewing. It was a pale ale brewed with spruce tips from Pennsylvania and Delaware forests. Stormy Kromer has worked with a tattoo shop in Michigan to do 鈥淗ats for Tats.鈥� Major fans could trade a free lifetime supply of Stormy Kromer hats in exchange for tattooing a hat somewhere on their body. And if you鈥檙e tight on budget for your upcoming catalog but want to go somewhere exotic for killer photos, you can seek partnerships with destination tourism boards, too, who may be able to help lower your costs.

The post Collabs: If You鈥檙e Not Doing Them, You鈥檙e Crazy appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

For endurance pursuits, a well-designed pair of socks is on par with an ultralight tent and chafe-free pack. Endurance hiker and author Jennifer Pharr Davis agrees: in 2011, she set the fastest known time (FKT) on the Appalachian Trail (AT) and was recognized as National Geographic 国产吃瓜黑料r of the Year.

After her FKT, Davis continued to hike mega miles but with an underlying goal to find the perfect sock. Enter: Farm to Feet, Davis鈥檚 number one brand choice for socks that dry fast.

国产吃瓜黑料 Business Journal spoke with Davis about her latest book, her inaugural sock design, and endurance goals.

Consumers don鈥檛 generally prioritize their sock selection. Why are socks a key piece of gear for you?

I learned the importance of socks the hard way. The first time I hiked the AT (editor鈥檚 note: Davis has hiked it three times) I got trench foot in Pennsylvania, which is halfway鈥攁nd it wasn鈥檛 because of my shoes or the weather. I wore the wrong socks: ones that don鈥檛 breathe or dry.

Now, I鈥檝e tried all of the brands and all types of hiking socks. I prefer wool or a wool blend. Farm to Feet socks dry the fastest, are the most breathable, and have padding where it needs鈥攂ut not too much padding. The socks are lifetime guarantee and are made in a factory in North Carolina, local to where I live.

And now you help to design socks? Tell us about the Blue Ridge.

I approached the brand about how much I love the product鈥擨 think they create the best socks on the market鈥攁nd a partnership blossomed. Farm to Feet is also good at storytelling and connecting with authentic people and places that are meaningful to the outdoor world.

My husband and I own Blue Ridge Hiking Company, so Farm to Feet asked if we would like to help with a sock design.

The Blue Ridge [editor鈥檚 note: set to debut spring 2019] is a unisex hiking sock, and it has a beautiful scene with the iconic southern Appalachian mountains and a female hiking figure: it鈥檚 a statement that Farm to Feet supports the outdoors and women in the outdoors.

The sock will be in the technical hiking series with all of the features I like: thin, compression, above-the-ankle height, no seams, and padding鈥攂eneath the ball of the foot, beneath the heel, and on top of the arch.

When you set the Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the AT, in 2011, you averaged 47 miles per day. What is a tip that you have for someone trying to reach their peak endurance and performance?

A key to endurance is that you need to be hopeful and believe things can get better. It鈥檚 a relationship between the mind and the body: you have to lean on your mental reserves when you鈥檙e feeling weak physically and vice versa. Also, have someone physically supporting you on the trail, or at home believing in you, helps.

Congratulations on your seventh book, Pursuit of Endurance. What can readers expect?

Pursuit of Endurance is a look at endurance through the lens of Fastest Known Times (FKTs) or trail records. I tie together the personal stories of six athletes鈥攚ho have all set records on the AT or Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) with sports psychology and physiology.

The athletes include Warren Doyle, who is working on his 18th completion of the AT. Barkley Marathon finisher Andrew Thompson. David Horton, the ultrarunning godfather. Scott Williamson, who completed a yo-yo of the PCT. Heather Anderson, the first woman to hold the unsupported thru-hiking records on the AT and PCT. And Scott Jurek, the most well-known ultrarunner in North America.

What鈥檚 next for your adventure goals?

I鈥檓 hiking Pinhoti Trail, 340 miles鈥攚hich is the southernmost part of Appalachians鈥攖his year. Pinhoti, means turkey in the Creek Native American language. It鈥檚 a beautiful area, and I have two kids under the age of five, so it鈥檚 great to stay closer to home.

The post 5 Questions for Jennifer Pharr Davis appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.