The Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, Chaco Footwear, and Native Energy are proud to announce that travel for Grassroots retail members, totaling 92 buyers, will be offset by Native Energy for this year’s Early Show,  June 11th-14th at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort, Snowbird, Utah. The move reflects the expanded mission statement of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance.

Chaco, a vendor member of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, made the $1100 investment to Native Energy on behalf of Grassroots in an effort to make the Early Show a more sustainable event.

Chaco and the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance realize that offsetting travel is not a total sustainability solution for the Early Show event. The decision was made to compliment a range sustainability efforts being implemented for the 2007 Early Show.

Chaco and the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance chose to buy offsets from Native Energy for a number of reasons. First, Native Energy is known for its transparency, and the entire offset purchase amount will go toward a Native Energy project called “Farmer-owned Distributed Wind Turbines.” This project was chosen because it benefits independent farmers who have been working family-owned, heritage farmlands for multiple generations. Native Energy was also selected because of the depth of resources it offers to businesses of all sizes. The Grassroots Outdoor Alliance and Chaco are actively encouraging the membership to incorporate other sustainability services from Native Energy into their retail businesses as well as communities and events, as the organization takes collective steps toward educating its membership about sustainable business practices. The Early Show will include an educational overview on Native Energy for its membership to facilitate this connection.

The Alliance chose to host the event at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort in Snowbird, Utah once again this year. Snowbird is known for its sustainability efforts, and was honored by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) last month with its prestigious Golden Eagle Award for Overall Environmental Excellence. What’s more, this spring Snowbird was also
honored with the EPA’s Environmental Achievement Award and the State of Utah’s 2007 Earth Day Award. To read more about Snowbird’s environmental platform, click here.

Chaco Footwear, located in Paonia, Colo., is a company committed to creating great-fitting footwear and environmental stewardship. Founded in 1989 on the principle of creating a product that outlasted the competition—one that could be repaired rather than pitched into a landfill—Chaco products continue to be the gold standard for superior comfort, fit, durability and simplicity. Chaco donates ten percent of after-tax profits to organizations dedicated to caring for people and the planet, and in 2006 purchased 400-megawatt hours of windpowered Green Certificates to match 100 percent of its yearly electrical usage. For more information about Chaco’s environmental efforts, click here.

The Alliance and its 32 specialty retail members collectively acknowledge that they are at the start of a journey toward becoming more sustainable. As they work toward this commitment, the organization pledges to do all it can to lead by example.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS