Exhibitors at Outdoor Retailer (OR), which ended on July 25th, are getting hip to the green thing. In all fairness, they have been for the last couple of years, but the green campaign did not receive much press until about five years ago, until the Outdoor Retailer started promoting its Green Steps initiative. Which rewards companies for being environmentally conscious. It just makes sense you should have as little impact on the earth as possible, but it’s just plain silly for an industry whose bread and butter and not to mention bottom line, lies in the wild places of the world.
The story of Indigenous Designs and its co-founders is too long and involved to tell in this medium. They are a fascinating, progressive, revolutionary company. They make fair-trade, simple and timeless clothing in Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala and India. All of their pieces are made in South American and Indian knitting co-ops using including alpaca, Merino wool and organic cotton. They have a rigorous inspection regimen and, once again, an extremely transparent supply chain. With clean lines and not over built, these items are beautiful while having a minimalist quality about them. Co-founded by Scott Leonard and Matt Reynolds, a soft spoken, intelligent and articulate man in his late 30's in 1994. Both Scott and Matt were way ahead of their time. Indigenous is a pioneer in bringing organic and fair-trade practices to the forefront of the World's consciousness, even before the 'Go Green' movement was in its infancy in Al Gore's brain.
