Interviews
EOCA sees several achievements in 2019
28 Dec '19
3 min read
Pic: European Outdoor Conservation Association
For the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA), 2019 has been a hugely successful year with record number of new members, more money than ever in one year spent on conservation projects, over 2/3 of funds raised for its public fundraiser project and the launch of its Plastic Pledge. This has made EOCA an essential part of a business’s CSR strategy.
Thirty-one new members have joined the association over the last 12 months, including team building and mountain skills company Adventure.ie, Spanish eco ski wax producer Nzero, Spanish ski wear company Söll World, Italian performance clothing company Redelk, Asian zip manufacturer HSD Zipper, German Merino wool headwear attire company Altidude, Polish fast and light outdoor clothing and equipment producer Cumulus and Italian neck and headwear producers Wind X-treme. This brings the total number of EOCA members to 158, an impressive 23 per cent increase over the last year.
Following a large increase in membership numbers, EOCA has also seen a leap in the amount of funding it has been able to put into conservation projects this year. In addition, contributions from The North Face, Keen, Pomoca and Smartwool via EOCA’s Summit Membership programme have meant that in total EOCA has been able to commit €510,000 of funding for conservation projects this year.
Several members have run specific campaigns to raise further funds for the association via consumer events (Original Buff, Arc’teryx), Black and Green Friday events (La Sportiva, Salewa) and other events (Gregory Packs and Ternua). These actions combined with the record-breaking conservation fundraisers at ISPO and OutDoor by ISPO, have resulted in an additional €60,000 being available for project funding in 2020, on top of membership fees.
Finally, EOCA’s current focus on single use plastic - Plastic Free: Mountain to Sea - has seen the launch and take up of the trade show Plastic Pledge, to reduce the amount of single-use plastic used during trade shows, as well as during stand build and removal. A total of 69 companies, including 8 non-members have signed the Pledge for ISPO in January, a 57 per cent increase on OutDoor by ISPO in June. OutDoor by ISPO also saw a 75 per cent reduction in carpets used and the provision of water fountains in all halls at the show, thanks to Messe München.
Perry Laukens, sales and business development director for Keen Footwear EMEA and newly elected president of EOCA commented, “The last 12 months have been a really exhilarating time for EOCA in terms of growth, fundraising and significance in the mind of the industry. We have exciting plans for the organisation going forwards and this increased confidence and support from the outdoor sector will ensure that proactive care for our wild spaces will start to take centre stage in the minds of the leaders of our industry.”
Thirty-one new members have joined the association over the last 12 months, including team building and mountain skills company Adventure.ie, Spanish eco ski wax producer Nzero, Spanish ski wear company Söll World, Italian performance clothing company Redelk, Asian zip manufacturer HSD Zipper, German Merino wool headwear attire company Altidude, Polish fast and light outdoor clothing and equipment producer Cumulus and Italian neck and headwear producers Wind X-treme. This brings the total number of EOCA members to 158, an impressive 23 per cent increase over the last year.
Following a large increase in membership numbers, EOCA has also seen a leap in the amount of funding it has been able to put into conservation projects this year. In addition, contributions from The North Face, Keen, Pomoca and Smartwool via EOCA’s Summit Membership programme have meant that in total EOCA has been able to commit €510,000 of funding for conservation projects this year.
Several members have run specific campaigns to raise further funds for the association via consumer events (Original Buff, Arc’teryx), Black and Green Friday events (La Sportiva, Salewa) and other events (Gregory Packs and Ternua). These actions combined with the record-breaking conservation fundraisers at ISPO and OutDoor by ISPO, have resulted in an additional €60,000 being available for project funding in 2020, on top of membership fees.
Finally, EOCA’s current focus on single use plastic - Plastic Free: Mountain to Sea - has seen the launch and take up of the trade show Plastic Pledge, to reduce the amount of single-use plastic used during trade shows, as well as during stand build and removal. A total of 69 companies, including 8 non-members have signed the Pledge for ISPO in January, a 57 per cent increase on OutDoor by ISPO in June. OutDoor by ISPO also saw a 75 per cent reduction in carpets used and the provision of water fountains in all halls at the show, thanks to Messe München.
Perry Laukens, sales and business development director for Keen Footwear EMEA and newly elected president of EOCA commented, “The last 12 months have been a really exhilarating time for EOCA in terms of growth, fundraising and significance in the mind of the industry. We have exciting plans for the organisation going forwards and this increased confidence and support from the outdoor sector will ensure that proactive care for our wild spaces will start to take centre stage in the minds of the leaders of our industry.”
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SV)
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