Cotopaxi, Leading Outdoors Brand And Benefit Corporation Takes Top Honors In Carryology Awards
It was recently announced that Cotopaxi, a Certified B-Corp that creates outdoor products and events, and gives 2% of its revenue to alleviate poverty, has won Carryology’s highly coveted Brand of the Year Award. The award recognizes a champion in the outdoor industry that pushes beyond product and profit, and instead aspires to genuinely engage, educate and inspire.
“When we launched Cotopaxi four years ago, it was our dream to build a brand that would inspire adventure and move people to do good,” said Davis Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Cotopaxi. “This year, as we move beyond being a direct-to-consumer digital brand to selling our gear in retail stores across the country, including entry into all 150+ REI stores, our greatest hope is that this growth will continue to fuel our humanitarian efforts across the globe and inspire both young and old to spend more time exploring this amazing world we live in.”
Cotopaxi’s motto is Gear for Good, and the company works hard to make sure that this motto is reflected in all the work that they do. As a mission driven brand, Cotopaxi donates 2% of its revenue to alleviate poverty. The company also works with organizations like International Rescue Committee, Educate Girls, and Proximity Designs to provide health, education, and livelihoods to people across the world. Grantees are carefully chosen for excellence in their field, and their commitment to sustainability.
Cotopaxi’s Mission
Cotopaxi’s mission is also embedded in the way it treats its employees. As a Certified B Corp, Cotopaxi not only ensures fair wages and working conditions, but also provides its employees with clubs, sports teams, and even offers factory workers full creative control of some projects. Every opportunity is taken to reduce waste, as evidenced by their Repurposed Collection, which uses remnant material and hardware from factories to create limited run products.
Michael Knispel, Managing Editor at Carryology said, “Now in its sixth year, our Carry Awards have become the highlight of the carry community’s calendar. This year we decided to include a new category, one of utmost importance to us – The Brand of the Year, to be awarded to a brand not just for its product and profit, but for its work and impact beyond that. Cotopaxi was truly victorious. A brand engineered from the ground up to ‘do good’ and inspire. From their charitable endeavors to responsible business to their world-class experiential events, every touchpoint has a finer link to something with real social impact. And in my opinion, in today’s climate, it’s the blueprint of what a brand can and should be.”
Cotopaxi continues to work to spread its mission by organizing Questival events that allow participants to explore their own senses of adventure and empathy. These 24 hour adventures challenge teams to complete a variety of acts of service, hikes, selfies and more—all while raising money for carefully chosen charities. Most recently, Cotopaxi gave all employees the day of June 21 off, in an internal, employee-driven campaign, Seize the Día, encouraging volunteer work, adventures and outdoors immersion on the longest day of the year.
“Given our mission, we couldn’t be more proud to be selected as Carryology’s Brand of the Year, which is designed to recognize brands that push product and profit and are focused on genuinely engaging, educating, and inspiring,” Smith added.
