Mountain footwear company SCARPA is known for its performance gear for skiing, hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering and alpine running. 

Founded in 1938 in the Dolomite Mountain region of northern Italy the family-owned company has become one of the biggest names in high-performance outdoor gear. 

When the company started producing plastic boots in the mid-1990s, the Parisotto family unknowingly started on a path as an industry leader in another way that wouldn’t be relevant for years.

Members of the Parisotto Family in the SCARPA manufacturing facility (L to R) Sandro Parisotto, Cristina Parisotto and Davide Parisotto. (Photo: SCARPA)

“At that time our leadership, specifically the Parisotto family, who own the company, realized that the plastic production waste should not be just thrown away because of the impact it would have on the environment,” said Melanie Hood, Director of Marketing for SCARPA North America. “They therefore began to collect and catalog all of the plastic waste. At the time they did not yet have the technology to repurpose the material but knew that someday that they'd be able to.”

For 23 years SCARPA collected its scrap manufacturing plastic until the technology was available to recycle it into a new polymer and use it to create its Maestrale Re-Made ski boots.

SCARPA is one of the most recognized brands in the outdoor industry, but almost no one knows of its story of saving plastic for decades or its conservation foresight rooted in a time when few were placing emphasis on environmental impacts. 

The company is not alone when it comes to some of the biggest brands in the outdoor industry that are committed to environmental initiatives that most people don’t even know about. Other brands like Simms, Johnson Outdoors, Patagonia, Costa, and YETI also drive creativity and innovation to protect the space where their companies, customers and products thrive—the outdoors.

KINUTE took a deep dive into the decisions and motivations behind the conservation efforts of some of the biggest and most profitable brands in the outdoor industry, oftentimes putting purpose over profit. 

High-performance mountain boots being assembled at the SCARPA factory in Asolo, Italy. (Photo: SCARPA)

SCARPA

While the SCARPA story is admirable, discovering the technology and investing in the research required to adequately recycle scrap material into a new plastic was not straightforward. The brand needed to be able replicate the high-performance that customers expected with a new kind of plastic.

“We did a lot of research with the goal of using those repurposed materials in a way that could replicate the qualities and characteristics of boots made with new material. To make the limited-edition Maestrale Re-Made (just over 2,000 pairs), we used three tons of recycled material,” said Massimo Pelizzer, Ski Category Manager for SCARPA.

SCARPA ski-touring boots being assembled in their factory just east of Asolo in Italy. (Photo: SCARPA) 

As technology evolves so too do the opportunities for SCARPA to continue to collect manufacturing waste that it plans to re-use in future products.

“How we will use the production waste in the future depends a lot on what goal we want to achieve and what resources we have available,” Hood said. “We still retain waste material that can allow us to make a new product. The experience we have gained allows us to be much more responsive and quicker to introduce new models based on these kinds of choices.”

The early vision of the Parisotto family to take an active role in environmental protection laid the foundation for SCARPA’s “Green Manifesto,” a document that guides many of the company’s decisions. For example, SCARPA developed a "planet" product line that relies on using sustainable materials and production practices to create items like the Mojito Bio, a 100% certified biodegradable shoe. 

Solar panels used to power SCARPA’s factory in Asolo, Italy. (Photo: SCARPA)

The SCARPA factory in Asolo, Italy is solar powered with a photovoltaic system that produces approximately 400,000 kWh of energy, equivalent to saving 320 tons of CO2 emission per year. SCARPA’s next mission is to become B-Corp Certified, a designation given to companies that meet specific standards for social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

“Almost all the products we create are designed for the mountains, and we must do our part to ensure those places are protected to be enjoyed for generations to come. If we don't do that, in the future there will not be a use for many of the products we create,” Hood said.

An angler using Simms gear fishing on the Gallatin River in Montana. (Photo: Simms)

Simms

Simms is one of the most recognized and reputable fishing brands selling waders, outerwear, footwear and accessories. The company prides itself on selling gear that not only performs well but embodies the full experience of enjoying the outdoors, and that includes protecting it.

“With everything we do here at Simms whether it’s product, brand work, or conservation initiatives, we really try to provide a unique lens that shows that fishing is not just a hobby, it’s not a past time, and it’s not a sport,” said John Frazier, Simms Manager of Public Relations and Product Marketing. “Through the “Simms” lens, we try to show anglers and non-anglers alike that fishing is so much more than catching the biggest or the most fish.” 

In 2019, Simms started the Fish It Well initiative to align its company pillars of products, brand and the future of fishing.

“Fish It Well is actually short for: You Get One Life. Fish It Well. The reason is, through the Simms lens, we believe a life fished well, is a life lived well,” Frazier said.

Gallatin River Project Manager, Connor Parrish, working on a conservation effort with Simms in Montana. (Photo: Simms) 

The alignment of the brand pillars is the guide the company uses to develop new gear and to promote the lifestyle, emotional benefits and personal bonds that are formed while fishing. The goal is to also inspire anglers to do their part in protecting the environment.

“As an industry leader, we have a responsibility to not only invite more anglers in, but we have a responsibility to create a culture that cares,” Frazier said. “We want to roll out the red carpet for any and all that want to fish, but we want them to understand that fishing comes with responsibilities.”

Simms employees alongside volunteers hand collecting trout stranded after a dam malfunction on the Madison River. (Photo: Simms)

A key goal for the Fish It Well initiative is to amplify the collective voice of outdoor enthusiasts to promote clean water, conservation, stewardship, and sustainability. This commitment trickles down to Simms’ employees like Frazier who are invested in the company ethos on a personal level. 

In 2021 the Hebgen Dam on the Madison River in Montana malfunctioned leaving the Blue-Ribbon fishery in a catastrophic state stranding thousands of trout. Instead of heading into the office that morning Frazier was one of many Simms employees that went straight to the river to help hand-collect trout to save them.

“We aren’t and never have been in the conservation, stewardship, sustainability game for recognition. Any organization or effort we support as it relates to our fisheries or protecting our fisheries, we do because it is the right thing to do,” said Frazier.

To Simms it's more than just the right thing to do. The company recognizes that leading by example is the only way to create a culture that cares.

As Frazier put it, “The future of fishing depends on it.” 

Johnson Outdoors employee Alex Newton uses an Old Town Sportsman kayak to haul in a floating dock piece from Lake Lanier in Georgia. (Photo: Allison Kitzerow)

Johnson Outdoors 

Johnson Outdoors is a leading global innovator of outdoor recreation equipment and technologies for brands that cover watercraft recreation, fishing, diving, and camping. 

The company manufactures and markets recognizable brands including Old Town® canoes and kayaks; Minn Kota® trolling motors, shallow water anchors and battery chargers; Cannon® downriggers; Humminbird® marine electronics and charts; SCUBAPRO® dive equipment; and Jetboil® outdoor cooking systems.

Given its global reach, Johnson Outdoors recognized an opportunity to offer more as a stakeholder for environmental protection, so in 2022 it partnered with the National Wildlife Federation on an ambitious Clean Earth Challenge. 

The goal was for Johnson Outdoors employees from its international manufacturing and operation locations worldwide to collect one million pieces of trash.

They surpassed that in the first year.

“Shortly after the first anniversary of the Clean Earth Challenge, we had already accumulated over 3.3 million pieces, a 230% increase over the original goal,” said Myra Shockley, Johnson Outdoors Strategic Brand Manager. “At year two's end, we removed 7.6 million pieces, a 660% increase. As the Challenge continues, we’ve been thrilled at the collective impact that has been made.”

A Johnson Outdoors employee uses SCUBAPRO diving equipment to pick up trash off the coast of Italy. (Photo Credit: Davide Vattuone)

While many companies take part in community trash clean-up projects, what’s unique about the Clean Earth Challenge is that it leverages the Johnson Outdoors brands to do it.

Diving-certified employees from Johnson Outdoors’ Italian and German locations used its SCUBAPRO diving equipment to remove trash from the ocean floor and kayaks clean up Lake Lanier in Georgia.

“We discovered early on that trash is not always small pieces like soda cans or chip bags,” Shockley said. “Some of our employees used our Old Town Sportsman pedal kayaks to haul large and cumbersome trash, like floating dock pieces, out of the water to dispose of properly.”

Johnson Outdoors employees clean up a beach on Lake Michigan in Racine, Wisconsin. (Photo: Allison Kitzerow)

Many of the employees involved in the challenge are now inspired to continue the effort independently in their own communities strengthening their connection to nature. 

“When people spend more time outside, they build stronger connections to the outdoors and are more likely to care for their favorite spaces. That caring will make a difference now and for future generations,” Shockley said.

To date, the Clean Earth Challenge has cleaned up nearly 9.2 million pieces of trash from outdoor spaces. 

Patagonia Provisions food line that includes tinned seafood. (Photo: Amy Kumler)

Patagonia

Patagonia is a brand known almost as much for its environmental activism as it is for its high-quality outdoor clothing. When it launched its Patagonia Provisions line in 2012, expanding from clothing to food was a natural progression. 

“To me, Provisions is more than just another business venture. It’s a matter of human survival,” Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard said in an essay published on the company’s website in 2020. “Why is Patagonia making and selling food? The real question, to me, is how could we not?”

Reef net fishing for wild pink salmon from Lummi Island. (Photo: Amy Kumler)

The company’s first Provisions product was salmon jerky. Chouinard, who is an environmentalist and lifetime angler, used this as an opportunity to not just launch a new product line but to exemplify the interconnectivity between humans and their environment. 

“Working with Canadian conservation organization Skeena Wild, Patagonia sourced sockeye and pink salmon from sustainable Skeena River fisheries that used tangle-tooth nets, beach seines and traditional First Nations fish wheels and dip nets," said Paul Lightfoot, General Manager at Patagonia Provisions. "Salmon has remained a part of the Patagonia Provisions food line, and today we offer a reef net harvested wild pink salmon from Lummi Island, Washington."

The product line evolved to offer responsibly sourced seafood including sardines and beans, seasoned mussels, roasted garlic mackerel, smoked wild pink salmon, and products like organic crackers, pasta and beer. 

Patagonia Provisions tinned seafood snack varieties of sardines. (Photo: Amy Kumler)

What’s unique about the Provisions tinned seafood is that it was developed specifically to utilize high-protein resources on the lower end of the food chain. 

“Because these abundant fish have short lifespans and eat a plankton-rich diet, they don’t accumulate the high levels of toxic heavy metals found in larger fish such as tuna or swordfish,” Lightfoot said. “Plus, by eating these forage fish, we’re taking the pressure off the larger, less-abundant species—species like tuna that just cannot withstand the pressures.

While Patagonia was built on a commitment of protecting the planet’s resources, consumers may not know that some product decisions are made solely for that effort even if it doesn’t boost the bottom line.

“Creating entirely new food systems and supply chains can be expensive on the front end, but we truly believe that it will pay dividends when it comes to environmental health and human health,” Lightfoot said. 

“For example, we helped build a supply chain for Kernza, a wheatlike grain that grows perennially rather than annually like traditional wheat. The yields and the actual size of the kernel aren’t the same as wheat, so we built—literally and figuratively—a new pathway for this grain and we use it in our beer and our pasta.”

Fisherman catching sardines and anchovies for the Patagonia Provisions food line. (Photo: Amy Kumler) 

The Patagonia Provisions line is a product decision that the company believes is an important step toward a major shift that must happen with food sourcing as the planet’s population grows. 

Patagonia’s founder wrote in the 2019 book Some Stories, “With Provisions … we don’t expect to change the food industry overnight. But I think if we get it right, we can help start the ball rolling toward an old-new way of producing what we eat. It really is our only hope. This is the most important project the company has ever tackled. We might even save the world.”

Every product and business decision from Patagonia, like the Provisions food line, is done because it is moving the needle in the right direction and because its leadership believes at some point the rest of the planet will be forced to do so too. 

Costa Del Mar and YETI brands utilizing creative efforts in environmental initiatives. (Photo: Anietra Hamper)

Costa Del Mar & YETI

Other high-profile brands like Costa Del Mar and YETI are also getting creative with their environmental initiatives.

Costa Del Mar, known for its high-performance sunglasses that cater to outdoor enthusiasts and anglers, launched an Untangled Collection featuring sustainable frames made from recycled fishing nets. 

Costa teamed up with Bureo, the company that developed the recycled material. The Untangled Collection was born from the brand’s responsibility to do something about the 640,000 tons of fishing materials, namely discarded fishing nets, that make up a significant amount of the harmful plastic pollution in oceans. 

The popular outdoor brand YETI, known for its durable products from coolers and drinkware to bags and outdoor living products, strives to minimize its environmental impact with careful decisions throughout the entire product lifecycle. This includes materials used for its products to the packaging and manufacturing practices. 

Though YETI has several conservation efforts in place its lesser-known story lies in its efforts to engage consumers in the process. The company offers a used gear section on its website to extend the life of its products and offers a buy-back program for its Rambler Drinkware to enable YETI to responsibly recycle it.  

A mountain climber on the Gallet Ridge of Mont Dolent that borders France, Italy and Sweden. (Photo: SCARPA)

High profile outdoor brands increasingly recognize their responsibility to lead by example and to engage customers in the process of protecting the environment, because it’s the right thing to do.